I know drama makes for good television, but this thing trainer Jillian has going on with her team…started out as huh?!?!?…progressed to OMG!!!…became annoying…and last night settled in as disturbing.
She is verbally and emotionally abusive with her clients. The excuse is that they need sense knocked into them and she needs to get their attention.
I don't care what's going on, I don't care how unmotivated, I don't care what the situation. There is no excuse for the profanity and the threats.
Last night clearly showcased the different styles of each trainer. Bob is still tough, but he's affirming. He can become angry, but if something bothers him it's always expressed in a respectful fashion.
In many cases, part of the reason these contestants gained weight is as a way to stuff feelings. Part of getting better is about learning to appropriately express feelings so that they don't have to be eaten.
It's not ok to eat less, exercise more, and fling those stuffed words out into the world where they can hurt someone else.
During the show I was on the phone with a friend who was telling me about a dog trainer who, to his horror kicks dogs as part of his training. His rationale is that he can't hit them with his hand because they need to view the hand as their reward. It was ironic that I was, at the same time, watching these people submit to being verbally kicked and then, in their interviews, talk about the emotional reward for consenting to that. That is exactly how perpetrators keep their victims in the cycle of abuse.
I don't care what the situation, there is ALWAYS a way to motivate someone, light a fire under them, push them farther than they think they can go, be angry with them, etc., that does not involve verbally abusing them or publicly humiliating them. Is it just me…or isn't there already enough anger and conflict in this world?
Shouldn't this show be modeling healthy emotional health as well?
For anyone reading this post who is seeking the assistance of a physician, nutritionist, trainer, psychologist, whatever for help with your own weight. If any of them says or does anything verbally abusive to you and somehow frames it as"help"…it is your right to decide they are not for you. It is your right to walk away. It is your right to decide you deserve to be treated with respect. You don't have to put up with the Jillians of the world. Ever.