There are still coaches doing this 🤯

Online coaching has to be one of the most unregulated industries, but yet nearly anyone with over 10k followers is seen as some sort of expert.

I know that because everyone thought I was an expert in 2015 when all I had was a PT cert, a decent transformation photo, and 10k followers.

I have learnt so much and evolved so much as a coach since then.

I doubt myself now so much more than I did in 2015. It’s called the Dunning Krueger effect.

But I realise now that the industry needs me, my coaches in The Furnace and all the other coaches that are putting women’s health first.

Look, I know a lot of you want to be thinner.

I know how to get you thinner.

But I also know that what it takes might not be healthy for you.

It can even be dangerous.

Or else just plain miserable.

But some coaches are capitalising on it.

They will sell you the transformation, or the photo shoot prep, or whatever dramatic name that will get your money off you.

They will then give the crazy extremes needed to achieve this transformation e.g. 1200 calorie diets, cardio sessions on top of your resistance training, inflexible diets, and even illegal supplements.

And then the onus will be on you to get the results - because they have given you the necessary tools, and if you can’t stick to it, you must not want it bad enough? (Or else your body is naturally trying to survive this attack and is forcing you to crave food).

Even if you do manage to stick to these unhealthy methods, not only will you lose your social life - but there is a possibility that you will lose your menstrual cycle. Hypothalamic Amenorrhea is a serious problem and shouldn’t only be investigated when you want babies.

Bone density loss, low libido, potential for early onset menopause, anxiety, hair loss, brittle nails, are just some of the problems women with HA face.

And for what? Less body fat?

This isn’t supposed to be an email about how to recover from HA, but the solution is more than likely a calorie surplus.

Of course, this is the last thing that somebody with a strong desire to be thinner will want to hear.

So when the coach, that is focused on health, advises against dieting further, we see people going back to the coaches with less knowledge or questionable ethics (I really hope it is the former) and can perpetuate the problems for the female body.

We can’t save everyone from these type of coaches but I hope that I can help a few people realise that your health is your wealth.

The thing is, it is actually possible to drop body fat, while protecting your physical and mental health. But slow steady results that won’t result in transformation pictures online just aren’t as easy to sell, and so don’t gather as much traction.

If you’d like to learn how to do it in a healthy, sustainable way, check out thefurnace.ie or click the button below.

Thanks for reading,

Siobhan “When you know better you do better” O’Hagan