How to Help Clients with Eating Disorders
Being a personal fitness trainer means helping your clients not only in reaching their fitness goals the right way but also ensuring that they are properly manage and maintain a healthy eating lifestyle. Every fitness trainer is bound to come across a few clients with eating disorders. Unfortunately, this is uncommon when it comes to fitness. The main thing to keep in mind is that your client might not admit that they are suffering from eating disorders. Hence, it is up to you to look for signs so that you can properly help them. Here are some ways you can assist the clients with eating disorders:
Things to Look Out For
Typically, fitness trainers can tell if their clients are suffering from an eating disorder. But if you are not sure, keep on a look out for the following signs:
- Not willing to take rest days
- Frequently checking weight
- Experiencing disorientation, lightheadedness, or dizziness after or during workout
- Refusing to miss training despite point of exhaustion, injury or illness
- Felling anxious about disruptions or missed sessions
- Taking performance enhancement supplements or weight gain or loss supplements
- Frequent or sudden weight changes
- Preoccupation with body composition, shape or weight
Sometimes, it can get hard to determine the right way to help such clients, especially when they are not aware of their own disorder or are in denial.
Compulsive Exercise and Eating Disorders
Eating disorders are linked with server mental issues that affect numerous individuals around the globe. This is not a lifestyle choice, a craving for attention, a diet going wrong, but any individual can start developing this problem regardless of their gender or age.
Negative body image, compulsive exercises and eating disorders can also co-occur frequently. It is essential that you keep on a lookout for the above-mentioned signs and other issues like social withdrawal and an unhealthy eating pattern.
Steps to Take If You Are Concerned
It can get difficult to approach your client who is struggling since it is a sensitive topic. However, being a fitness trainer, it is your job to promote the wellbeing and health of your clients. If you see one of your clients struggling with an eating disorder, here are a few tips that can help you:
- Ensure you have details of the eating disorders organizations at hand so that you can hand them to your client in case they need it.
- Ensure that you don’t get upset or angry if they start opening up to you.
- Be honest, open and calm and share specific examples of what you have noticed that indicates they have an eating disorder.
- Select a right place and time to talk to them about the disorder, be mindful and ensure confidentiality.
- Read up and gather as much information as you can about body image, eating disorders, and other issues to be better prepared.
There are many ways of helping your client but if you feel things are out of your hand, it is best that you try to encourage them to seek the right help. Keep in mind that if you don’t get the right response from your client regarding eating disorder; it is not your fault. Just try your best but at the end of the day, the decision is their own.
If you are looking for more ways to help your clients with their fitness goals and health, have a look at a number of useful articles on www.fitnessproincomebooster.com