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Give Them the Best You Have

American Fitness, March, 2001 by Peg Jordan

Getting your clients trustworthy, reliable information in the health, nutrition and fitness fields will continue to be a challenge in the years ahead. The confusing array of overhyped diet books, questionable exercise fads and equipment will be tough for most people to decipher. More frequently, your clients will have to count on your ability to find the best thinking and resources in the field.

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Confidence is built through growing trust in an individual's or company's ability to deliver consistently. Word of mouth spreads, and reputations emerge that can either make or break that confidence. That is why AFAA, the world's largest and leading fitness educator, values above all else the trust and confidence its instructors have placed in the organization. AFAA has always taken the high road when it comes to delivering information based on sound research, years of experience and practical application. Fad diets, trendy, unsafe workouts and shoddy equipment will always come and go in the fitness industry, but AFAA will steer clear of endorsements or attempts to jump on faulty bandwagons. AFAA's ability to build and maintain a reliable reputation is what has attracted major health-care corporations to its network of certified instructors and trainers, published materials and Web-based information and consulting capacities.

I was in Washington, D.C., when the results of the long-awaited USDA report on the health effects of popular diets were released, indicating that the optimum weight loss programs over the long-term continue to be moderate fat, high complex carbohydrate diets. High protein diets fared poorly in studies evaluating the maintenance of weight loss. I had a chance to look over the data in this meta-analysis of longitudinal studies and the argument was very convincing. Certainly, there are people who lose weight on any type of diet, whether it's a fad diet of eating nothing but steak and lobster or a three-day juice fast. However, diet regimens other than low to moderate fat and high carbohydrate have proved time and again to be nothing more than an initial weight loss of water, along with quite a bit of muscle wasting.

Doctors and registered dietitians at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) rated 11 of the top books, including bestsellers by diet authors Robert Atkins, M.D., and Barry Sears, Ph.D. Only two books earned the PCRM's top rating of five stars: Eat More, Weigh Less by Dean Ornish, M.D., and The McDougall Program for Weight Loss by John McDougall, M.D. Both promote low-fat vegetarian diets, which are high in fiber and low in cholesterol. Lowest ratings went to Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution and The Carbohydrate Addict's Lifespan Program by Richard Heller, Ph.D., and Rachel Heller, Ph.D., both of which espouse high-protein menus. Those ratings are right in line with the continually upgraded and reviewed AFAA Standard and Guidelines.

AFAA's textbooks and programs continuously recommend sticking with a diet that fuels exercise performance and promotes a good nutritional status. This includes a balanced daily diet of mostly complex carbohydrates, a minimum of 25 grams of fiber, five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables, no more than 50 mg of cholesterol, no more than 30 percent of total calories from fat and no more than 10 percent from saturated fat.

When the final tally is in, the most consistent winners will be the ones that have taken the safe road, as boring or unglamorous as that may sound. Every time a meta-analysis is done on either the need for rigorous physical activity or sensible diet, the data is consistently pointing in the direction in which AFAA has been leading instructors for more than 18 years. When it comes to offering advice to your clients, give them the best you have--the tried-and-true, reliable information that AFAA's network of fitness experts synthesizes just for you.

Love,

Peg

Give Them the Best You Have

American Fitness, March, 2001 by Peg Jordan

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