Should Your Pt Tell You What To Eat?

Very good question! As Insta explodes with acai bowls and #cleaneating, WH investigates the pros and cons

- Cassie Shortsleeve

Your trainer campaigns for quinoa like the grain is running for government. Insta-celebrities inundate your feed with gorgeous #mealprep shots. And you swear your spin instructor gets a commission from peddling protein shakes.

Today, food and fitness are so inextricably linked, and experts say there are several reasons these two worlds are colliding. One, the fitness arena is more holistic, says Rob Sulaver, a certified strength and conditioning specialist. “It’s imperative trainers consider the bigger picture – looking at the two as a team, not individuals.”

And with gym memberships at an all-time high (research from Suncorp Bank’s Cost of Being Fit Report found that more than 4.6 million Aussies have one), timepressed clients are turning to trainers and class instructors for nutritional guidance. Meanwhile, social media has given fitness pros an open platform to dispense their dietary beliefs like lollies – and it’s tricky not to gobble it all up. Kombucha tea = gut health = flatter abs? Yew! The only problem? Most of them aren’t nutrition experts.

“With all the information – and misinformation – that abounds online, in social feeds and in gyms, there’s a real need for expertise on food and nutrition in promoting health and wellness,” says Dr Lynn Cialdella Kam, an assistant professor of nutrition at Case Western Reserve University in the US. So how do we eat ourselves out of this mess we’re in? Read on.

Degrees of separation