There Is A Method to the Madness
This is a podcast where I will be discussing all aspects of physical fitness. I am an exercise physiologist and personal trainer and owner of Maxwell's Fitness Programs for the last 25 years. My passion is health and fitness and I am excited to share my views, some stories, interviews and much more with you.
There Is A Method to the Madness
Unveiling the Secrets to Lasting Weight Management
Welcome to there is a Method to the Madness. My name is Rob Maxwell. I'm an exercise physiologist and personal trainer. I'm the owner of Maxwell's Fitness Programs and I've been in business since 1994. The purpose of this podcast is to give you the real deal of what really works and, most importantly, why things work. Hence the name there is a Method to the Madness. Let me first thank our sponsors, jonathan and Lynn Gilded of the Gilding Group at Realty Pros. They are committed to providing the highest level of customer service in home sales. They have the reviews, they have the sales to back that up. Give them a shout at 386-451-2412, and they'll let you know what your home is worth.
Speaker 1:So I'm going to tell you a couple stories today. It is story time Now in both of these stories, one of them is going to be almost exactly how the person was, because I remember it so well and it was actually a good thing. And then, sadly, the first one is going to be kind of a collection, because it's sadly a little too similar in how many people approach getting into better shape in regards to body composition. So let me start with that one. Let's get the old negative out of the way first. Now, if you're listening and you are, obviously you know, or I should say, if you've been listening for a while you know that I've been doing this for a while 30 years and people are pretty similar over the course of my time doing this. Like, people are people kind of like the Great Depeche Mode song of the 1980s. I mean, they really are. People don't change a whole lot. So you have a lot of experience to listen to with me and you kind of get the inside of what a personal trainer thinks and, uh, you know what they go through and I think that's good. I think, like you, hearing it that way might help you possibly change some things, by hearing it kind of in the third person view a little bit, and that's why I think that stories sometimes hold a lot of value.
Speaker 1:So one of the things that I've gone through probably so many times is when people have come in and their primary goal is to lose weight. Now, earlier on, that was my number one goal. As far as people that would call it's not anymore and thankfully, because it's can be very exhausting for both parties and I have limited control over that. Like if somebody wants to know how to do the strength exercises they need to do to make their body stronger. I mean, I have a lot of control over that, that's easy. That's like, okay, let's do this. Or if somebody needs a specific workout program for something specifically, or they want to work on speed, they want to work on strength, whatever. There's so much control within that, because all of that, almost all of it, happens in the gym. So the person's there, I'm there, we can get it done. But, like with weight loss, so much of that, if not all of that, happens outside of the gym. I have very little control over that. Not that I'm this massive control freak I can be but that has nothing to do with this situation. But what it does have to do is the fact that I can lead the horse to water, so to say, but I cannot make him drink. And that's very frustrating as a trainer, because a lot of people just don't do what is recommended for them to do. So that's where these stories kind of come in.
Speaker 1:So a person will come in. They'll say, okay, so my main thing is I want to lose weight? Okay, so do the assessment figure out whether? How much, mrs Smith, do you want to lose weight? Okay, so do the assessment, figure out where they're at Now. How much, mrs Smith, do you want to lose, and then I'll give you my recommendation. I want to lose 30 pounds, okay.
Speaker 1:So we've checked your body fat and it's 31%. Let's focus a little bit more on that number. 21%. Let's focus a little bit more on that number versus losing the weight, because the weight could be muscle water. You know, it's really more important to lose body fat, although I know what you're saying. You want to bring that weight down. So instead of saying 30 pounds, let's say 20 pounds, but we're going to lose 4% body fat over the course of three months. Okay, yeah, that sounds great, like if, if that's coming off and my, my pants fit better and all that, I'm happy. We'll do that, okay.
Speaker 1:So this is what we need to do. We're going to work out two times per week, working on strength. We're going to really focus on the strength, because that's how we crank up the metabolism, and plus, of course, we need fitness. It's not just about weight loss. Yes, I get all that, and then you're going to have to do some cardio. We're going to do this. I want you to do this, okay. Okay, I'll do that, okay.
Speaker 1:So now what I need you to do is I need you to keep a food log for me for three days. Well, I can tell you what I eat. Okay, that that's good. You know, I understand, but you know, statistics show that we kind of unrepresent what we eat by 30%. So most people underestimate what they eat by 30%, and it's been my experience that if a person keeps a food log and documents it, they have a lot of success. So we're not going to be able to tackle this thing unless we really can change the diet. And the first part of changing the diet is a food log because of what I just said and the fact I can see what your natural eating habits are, so I can make some changes based on how you eat, because you'll be more likely to follow it. Okay, I don't really want to do that. I don't know that it's overly necessary, but I'll do it. Okay, great. So I'm already going into this thinking why did I sign up for this? This isn't going to go well. Keep in mind, it's a different story in 2024, because I don't do that anymore. You know, it just doesn't work for either party. It's too frustrating. So back in the day, that was the conversation.
Speaker 1:So a few days go by, usually, tell a person to do their food log over the weekend, you know. So we get a good Thursday or Friday and then a Saturday and Sunday. So I get a good representation of what they eat. And this is back when we used to write things down and all they had to do is write it down. They didn't have to figure anything out. I would do a lot, just write it down. Very simple Tuna sandwich. Write it down Tuna sandwich, you know. Bag of chips, whatever Stopped and got a coffee, write it down. I'll do all the math. I'm going to do the hard part, you know, just write it down, not asking too much.
Speaker 1:Come back in on Monday, okay. So how's it going? Good, I did my walk. You know I like to walk. I walked with my friend. Good, come on time. Great, good, that's, that's good. So can I have your food locked? Well, you know, as I said the other day, I, I know what I eat. I can just tell you. So you didn't do your food log. No, I mean, I started it and I didn't do it. Okay, so you know, I kind of give them like one more chance. And I said you know, in order to really see results, I'm going to have to get you to write these things down, or else we're kind of like not going to be able to figure some stuff out, okay, okay, so I'll write it down. So, twisting their arms, so to say they come back in.
Speaker 1:Let's say, on Thursday, did you do a food lab? Well, you know, I did one day. Okay, that's, can I see it? Let me look at it. So you know, there'll be morning time. Skip to breakfast. I don't even say it, it's just there's nothing there.
Speaker 1:So you know, what did you have for breakfast? Oh, you know, I ordinarily don't eat breakfast so well, did you have some coffee? Yes, you know what I did have some coffee, okay. So you know what I did have some coffee, okay. So did you put anything in that coffee? Well, yeah, I mean, I don't drink it black. I had some creamers, okay. So you kind of did have breakfast. You just had some creamer in this. Yes, and you know, come to think of it, I did have a half of English muffin too, so so. So here I am sitting down and I'm I'm writing coffee and creamer on their little, you know, piece of paper that they pulled out of their purse and then I write English muffin half down.
Speaker 1:Then I read you know, subway, half a sub didn't finish it. So what kind of sub was this? Well, I think it was ham and cheese, okay. So, was that on white bread or wheat bread? Well, their bread, whatever it was Okay.
Speaker 1:So, you know, I kind of fill in the blanks there and then, you know, then they write down you know they have dinner, so they have a little bit of. You know, let's say, oh, I had some chicken, that was good, right, and I had. It was fried, and then I had, you know, whatever came with it. It was a little bit of stuffing, it was a small salad. And then I had two chocolates. Okay, what kind of chocolates? Little Hershey's Kisses, okay, so that's all you had all day.
Speaker 1:Did you drink anything? Oh, I had water, and that's it. Yep, oh wait, I did have some alcohol. Well, how much? Well, like line in the evening. So I write that down for them.
Speaker 1:So, you know, I go through it and I and I, you know, being new, I take it home and I do the work, I figure out what their, you know, caloric input was and their macronutrients, and then I kind of give it back to them and I'll say, okay, so here are the changes we're going to have to do. Oh, okay. And then I say, look, we need to continue to have a food log and diary, and what we're going to do is you're going to bring that in. You know, at least until we kind of like really start to get on top of this, we're going to weigh in once a week and we're going to compare that to what you're eating. So make a long story short on. That is most of the time.
Speaker 1:In these cases the food log would never reappear again and if it did, it would be half-assed, not done, made up on the fly, written on the back of a receipt in the car before they walked in, and you can imagine that the weight did not come down. I mean, as I've said before in my book, you cannot run a poor diet. It's great that they're making it to the gym every Monday and Thursday and it's great that they're doing their walks with their friends. You know moving, but if you don't change the diet, it ain't going to happen, all right. So that's scenario one.
Speaker 1:Now I got scenario two is a guy who every so often it's funny like every few years, he'll contact me cause he puts on a little bit of weight and he wants to get the weight off. And he knows, like the accountability, um, the kick in the butt, the structure helps him very much. And so what happens is hey, rob, you know I need your help again. To you know, lose some weight. I'll say, oh, ok. So, and this guy, you know he's a doctor, so you know that's good, so he knows this stuff. But that doesn't mean anything just because we know our stuff Right. And this is the positive story. So this isn't a bad thing, this is a good thing, this is a good outcome. So I'll joke with him a little bit and I'll say, ah, he kind of let it slip away again. Huh, yeah, you know, this happened, that happened, but I didn't let it get too far out. I just really need to, you know, get back about 25 pounds and lose some body fat. Okay, so I'll say, all right, tell you what.
Speaker 1:What I want you to do is get out your tape measure at home, cause this is a guy who did his strength training and stuff and really kind of needed the online coaching that I was doing there for a long time. I still do some of that, but he really was into the online coaching thing that we would do. So I'd say this is what I need you to do Get out your tape measure. So get on the scale in the morning, wait till morning time, way naked. Then get out your tape measure and I want you to get an assessment of your belly fat. So take the tape measure, go right around your belly button, tell me what that number is and send that back to me. Uh, tomorrow morning, those numbers, and also for three days.
Speaker 1:I want you to keep a food log, and you know we can do this electronically I've done it differently with him or we can write it down. He says you know, I don't really like to use those apps, so what I'm going to do is I'm going to put it all in an email for you and I'm going to email it to you after the end of three days and you can check it out. And then, if you would make the recommendations to give me a diet pack, say okay, so you know, the next day, as soon as I wake up, in my email, the first thing would be his weight and his waist measurement and I'd look at that and I'd save it and I'd say okay, and of course I've responded and I'd say, very good, good start. So don't forget to get me your food diary in three days from now. You know, I know I don't need to say don't forget to you. So in three days I would get it and it would be detailed.
Speaker 1:It would say eight at home one half a cup of oatmeal, one tablespoon of cinnamon, one half cup of walnuts, one slice of toast, like literally snack 10 am whey protein mixed with low fat milk. I mean to the T, tell me the brand. Even Lunch, same thing, next snack, because he typically did eat five times a day, and then dinner and they'd send it to me and then he would say probably where I'm slipping is this, this is the alcohol, the desserts, and plus I'm eating out too much. So I'm going to give you, like my typical eat out meal Boom, send it to me, I'd look at it, analyze it, see where he's at, send him back a very specific diet, because I know that's how he does best. And I would send it to him and he'd read it, reply the next day and he might say something like you might not remember, but I really, really hate peas. Is there any other green vegetable I can have besides the peas? And I'd say, well, okay, so peas, decent in protein. But how about like lima beans? No, no, no, send it back to him. No, lima beans aren't going to work. All right. So how about green beans? Can you do green beans? Yes, you know what I can do green beans, all right.
Speaker 1:So we would negotiate and, by the way, this is a true story. All of this with the lime and beans and peas and green beans, yeah, this is dead on accurate coming back at you. So we'd negotiate that because that's important. That's why we do a food blog. It's important so I can see, I can tell them to eat a certain way that I eat. And if the person hates the certain foods I eat, like, for example, I like organic, low-fat cottage cheese. I sent that to a friend of mine in California as a recommendation for protein and all they got back was the throw-up face Hates cottage cheese, thinks it's the most disgusting thing in the world. Okay, I'm not going to say eat cottage cheese, then he's not going to like.
Speaker 1:The whole deal is to create a win-win. Use my experience, expertise to help somebody who is trying to get better good communication. So then we would establish it. I would then, after we talk about the changes we have to make, based on what he would eat. He would eat it to a T. I would even say hey, man, you know, you can like be a little bit less disciplined. In your case, you're so good. You're at the point now where if you want to substitute out like, let's say this, half a cup of rice for a half a cup of holy pasta, you can do that at this point. No, no, no, no, I'd rather not do that.
Speaker 1:And again, I'm giving you two far end examples. I understand that for a lot of people that comes across as extremely OCD, and you know what it is, but you also know what it works, like it works. I'm giving you two extremes One that works, one that does not work, one that completely follows instructions, one's that, another one that refuses to pick up and follow the instructions given to them. So a week would go by, there'd be an instant loss of some weight. Two weeks would go by, there'd be a significant loss, meaning the person this gentleman was feeling better. A month would go by, he would have lost over 12 pounds in the first month. Every month. Three months has gone by and he always hit his goal weight. Now he knows at that point it was hard.
Speaker 1:So how do we maintain that rigorous discipline? Because obviously that becomes the problem. So there is no perfect solution, right, and anybody that falls into that that's very like feast or famine, so to say understands that that is a potential problem. But I'm giving you the two scenarios, the two stories of what I see as a trainer, and one is unwilling to do what they need to do, whether they don't trust, whether they don't want to, whether they're not being honest, whether they're just really looking for simpler solutions that are not being offered. I don't know. I just know that I can't, I can't, I won't, I won't, I won't write it down. I know what I eat, I know better than you Attitude absolutely does not work and I know the okay. But can we do this? And I'm going to do this and I'm going to do all of the steps that you recommend Absolutely does work.
Speaker 1:Now, if you're in that situation with weight loss because mostly this comes down to weight loss I mean people battle food, people battle it. It is hard, it is not easy to eat disciplined, it is not easy to eat, right, it is absolutely worth it, and it becomes easier the more you do it. I mean, how many times has this gentleman told me that once he's in the groove, like a couple of weeks, he doesn't miss the wine he was drinking. He doesn't miss the extra dessert he was doing when he wasn't following a discipline plan. He doesn't miss it. It becomes easier as we do it and it's well worth it, but I'm acknowledging that it is hard to do.
Speaker 1:So which one do you want to be? Do you want to be the yeah, but and I know everything and that's why I'm not having success and I'm going to continue to fight you, even though I'm paying you person or do you want to be the person that just says you're the boss? Tell me what to do, I'll do it. And I guess the question also is do you want it to work or not? I mean, it's that simple and only you can answer it. Now let's thank Overhead Door of Daytona Beach, the best garage door company in Volusia County, owned by Jeff and his son, zach Hawk, two awesome individuals, by the way. Zach is one that's been following it almost to a T and he is seeing the fruits of his labor by far, losing 25 pounds recently. So give Overhead Door a shout at 386-222-3165.
