Trusting Authorities (or Not) Based on Appearance
Regina Benjamin, the United States’ 18th Surgeon General, is markedly overweight. She’s a highly trained physician who famously set up a medical clinic for Alabama’s poor hit hardest by Hurricane Katrina, and she’s unquestionably knowledgeable and experienced, but she’s also overweight. Does this negatively impact her role as the public face of health? Does her weight detract from the message?
Or take countless nutrition experts that fit the mold of the dietitian featured in this video? She’s educated, has dozens of books on nutrition and healthy cooking under her belt and, at least on paper, looks like an authority of sorts. But her physique (saying nothing of her healthy eating tips) doesn’t exactly instill confidence in her recommendations (as readers noted in the forum).
On the other hand what about someone like Jillian Michaels? Strong shoulders. Check. Trim waistline and ripped abs. Check and check. She must be doing things right? Right?
I’m sure you see what I’m getting at. Does the physical appearance of a fitness or nutrition authority affect the worthiness of the message? Do we discount weight loss advice from an obese expert who can’t take her own advice – or that takes her own advice a bit too well (in the case of Dr. Benjamin)? Do we listen, enraptured, to the opinions of a random gym rat just because he’s got massive guns? What about the lanky older dude with a Crossfit total of 1,000 pounds?
The natural reaction is to balk at the overweight nutrition teacher or the flabby fitness guru, and accept as gospel the recommendations of musclebound meatheads. And why wouldn’t it? If they practice what they preach and practice equals results they should look the part. But are we missing out on some great stuff by ignoring physically unimpressive people? On the same token, are we making false prophets out of people who are just genetically blessed statistical outliers?
Absolutely.
“Oh, I dunno. I pretty much eat whatever I want.” How often have we heard that from chiseled, elite athletes? Lamar Odom eats pounds of candy each day, sports sub-10% body fat, and is fast, tall, and powerful – does that mean you can do it and make the NBA, too? Michael Phelps eats upwards of 10,000 calories a day, most of it from refined carbohydrates and industrial, processed fats (he’s not sprouting his grains or whipping up his own mayo, folks), yet he retains a lean swimmer’s body and several world records. Neither Odom nor Phelps are telling us what to eat or how to exercise, but plenty of people point to them as evidence that nutrition doesn’t matter. Plenty of bodybuilders lift weights seven days a week for several hours each day without showing signs of overtraining. Try lifting heavy for hours each day without accelerating your anabolic hormonal response to superhuman proportions. Should Joe the middle manager with a pot belly be taking lifting advice from Ronnie Coleman? Of course not. These guys are statistical outliers; they’re the exception to the rule. Their success is often in spite of their training or diet (what if Odom and Phelps ate nothing but real food?). And in some cases, their success is amplified by chemical assistance or steroid use. And yet these are the people whose advice is trusted and sold to unsuspecting consumers looking to get in shape.
Big muscles make fitness magazine covers and sell supplements and lend credence, but that’s it. Statistical outliers don’t make the argument – for or against a particular training or eating program. We see them try, though, all the time. I can’t really blame them. I do the same. A bodybuilder’s physique makes for great marketing, and I would be remiss if I didn’t admit that my fitness levels and appearance make the Primal Blueprint more believable and easier to digest. I’ll also say that because I’m trying to reach the most people possible, it’s crucial that I maintain strong personal fitness; the knee-jerk reaction to a trainer’s appearance is a universal truth that we all must acknowledge, especially those of us who are trying to make a difference in people’s lives.
What you, as digesters of dietary and fitness advice, should focus on is what the science says, what works for the most people, and, most importantly, what works for you. If a massively ripped dude is giving out advice, citing actual evidence, and people of all stripes who take that advice are getting stronger, fitter, and faster, then there’s probably something to it. A scrawny old guy with the same support and the same results? You gotta listen to him, too. Fitness and nutrition coaches who can point to hordes of successful trainees and supportive science deserve a listen, even if their personal appearance leaves something to be desired.
I’ve witnessed people discount or dismiss folks like Greg Glassman’s (of CrossFit) or Mark Rippetoe’s (of Starting Strength) training advice simply because they don’t “look the part.” They don’t have a six-pack, they may have a bit of a belly, or they may even be totally out of the game (injuries largely prevent Glassman, a former gymnast, from working out). They may not even practice what they preach (watch Rip squat and deadlift, for you doubters) as much as they once did. They may even be outlifted and outperformed by some random lunkhead at your local globo-gym flexing in the mirror or commenting on YouTube videos – but who should you take advice from? Glassman has presided over an entire fitness movement that produces scores upon scores of strong, fast, powerful, well-balanced athletes. Rip is recognized as perhaps the premier barbell coach in the game. You want to learn how to squat and deadlift, you read his stuff. Yet, your average untrained person would be more than a bit skeptical if either one tried to school them on fitness matters, simply because of their appearance. A coach is a coach. You don’t see people rag on overweight football or swim coaches for not physically measuring up to their players. Basketball coaches are often as diminutive as they come, and they’re still successful. Knowledge is knowledge, whether it’s knowledge of sport, fitness, or nutrition.
If what a health expert is proposing and living has any merit whatsoever, I don’t think it’s too much to ask for them to at least approach the results they’re touting. But we have to keep in mind the complexities of physical fitness, statistical outliers, and other external factors. As for me, I attribute in large part my health, fitness, and physique to the Primal Blueprint. When I backed way off training I was concerned my body composition would suffer, but with the PB I’ve been able to maintain virtually the same body fat percentage while putting muscle on. That said, it would disingenuous to overlook the years of antithetical lifestyle behaviors I practiced previously. I did just about everything wrong – Chronic Cardio, endless grain and refined carb consumption, almost no weight training – and I looked pretty fit and healthy. I wasn’t, of course, but there are probably underlying genetic factors in my favor preventing obesity – no matter how many grains or sugars I eat. At the same time, you can look to the MDA forums and our many success stories to get a sense that the PB isn’t just for the genetically blessed or the elite; it works pretty well for just about everyone who gives it a fair shot. It better work, seeing as how it’s based on human evolutionary biology!
All the variables that determine one’s appearance and fitness levels – genetics, training history, supplementation, training frequency, training intensity, methodology – make deciding who to trust incredibly confusing. At the end of it all, though, you’ve got to follow the science and the results objectively and rationally, because that human instinctual tendency to dole out or withhold trust based on appearance is always going to be a factor. We’re always going to react to appearance, but we should never base our ultimate appraisal on appearance alone.
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Posted By: Mark Sisson
To me, a good health and fitness regime has to fulfill three criteria:
1) It has to work, and by work, show on your physique (I don’t mean some kind of beefed up mental body, just low body fat and good muscle tone).
2) It has to work, and be HEALTHY. Not CW healthy, but the kind of healthy that results in such an unparalleled sense of wellbeing – energy, vitality, happiness – that you can’t bear to lose that feeling.
3) It has to work, be healthy, and be achievable in your lifestyle within today’s modern world. It is no good telling me to get 5 hours of sun based exercise when I have to be at my desk for a while.
Fat / unhealthy people with a lifestyle approach will never sell it to me. Because, it must come down to the fact that either:
1)It doesn’t work.
2)It works, but doesn’t make you feel all-around great enough to bother to stick with.
3)It works, makes you feel great, but is too difficult to follow.
I don’t want any of those options.
The PB lifestyle however:
1) WORKS (and boy does it work, people do double takes at my physique)
2) Motivates me to keep at it because I have boundless energy, hardly ever get sick, and literally glow with health
3)Fits into my lifestyle – I can eat out, hold down my job, maintain a social life and have ‘sensible vices’. Sticking to PB means keeping yourself happy, which means (to me) red wine a couple of times a week and the odd bit of dark chocolate (the only thing i can’t give up is tofu – I just LOVE it too much…).
So no, I will never be swayed by someone whose body I don’t aspire to, because they don’t have a holistic, achievable plan.
Just my 2c.
Lekki
anyone in the health industry should portray a healthy image along with their advice or else they are just hypocrites in my opinion.
Funny, I was just searching a few days ago for a yoga instructor because I’m not at all comfortable taking diet/health/fitness advice from the one (yes, one…it’s a small town) local yoga instructor who is overweight. Call me crazy…
At age 68, I’m continuing to explore fitness and nutrition. Purchased Primal Blueprint and Primal Body, Primal Mind recently. Halfway through Mark’s book and finding it helpful. Three weeks into an 80% Primal effort nutritionally and physically. It’s been a very positive exploration so far. Interesting for me as my fitness efforts date back 50 years……physical education minor in college, college athlete, nine marathons, basketball into my 50′s, and still playing competitive carry the bag golf. I was often in the chronic fatigue arena during my working and parenting years. WHAT I PARTICULARLY LIKE ABOUT THE PRIMAL BLUEPRINT IS THE UNSPOKEN PURSUIT OF LiFE BALANCE through reasonable, focused exercise and dramatic but simple changes in diet. No question, after one month I’m feeling and seeing the difference.
Have also been exploring CrossFit for the last 2+ years, and like the synergies of Primal and CrossFit. It was a CrossFit305 (Miami) owner who had a copy of Primal Blueprint who suggested it to me.
ANOTHER SUBJECT:
I have a nine year old grandson who consumes bad stuff every day. MOST of his diet is bad stuff. Significant sugar highs and lows. Runs around the house like crazy for 30+ minutes in the evening and then has a rough time getting to sleep. Craves sugar, and strongly balks at eating good food put in front of him. I’m in the middle of a six week visit his family right now. It’s hard to watch him make poor diet decisions. We spend about an hour a day together at an athletic field messing around with a soccer ball and kicking field goals with a football. He’s good. Very strong kicker. He kicks 50-60 field goal attempts each day and regularly nails them through the uprights on a high school football field from 25+ yards. It’s internally frustrating to me to see him willing to work hard at kicking endeavors, then to go home, eat crap, and melt down 30 minutes later. I can tell he’s confused and upset with himself, but his antics indicate he doesn’t know how to act or behave appropriately. SURE WOULD LIKE SOME SUGGESTIONS FROM PRIMAL PARENTS WHO HAVE WORKED THROUGH STUFF LIKE THIS WITH THEIR KIDS OR GRANDKIDS.
Wisc Tom,
Perhaps you ought to post this again, as a separate stand alone query. It’s so far down in the replies, I think it might be a bit lost. That I can see, nobody has yet replied & surely there are Primal relatives & parents here dealing/dealt w/ this concern of yours.
Dear Jessica,
I was reading the comments and I saw yours. I can understand your frustration and admire your dedication to helping your grandson without trying to impose your opinion too much. My oldest(she is 10) has similiar tendencies to your grandson. If she eats foods with a lot of sugar, colors she goes as I call it “to the moon.” However, it is a lot better now as I don’t let her imbibe too much on those foods. I think his parents need to learn to say “NO!” to those foods and “YES!” to other healthier options. In the evening only water with meals, a nice balanced dinner with good balance of protein, fats and carbohydrate. Maybe a 5-10 minute walk outside after dinner too. I don’t agree with parents allowing their kids to have whatever they want, especially a child like your grandchild who needs less sugars, colors and simple carbohydrates in their diet. By being strict it will only help him out in the long run. Good Luck, Mary Brighton
Great Post Mark!
Most of my clients look way more fit and toned than I do…and each one suffers from years of eating disorders. I help them regain their lives beyond their body image.
You cannot judge a book by its cover, and we are much more complex than our outer appearance…even the surgeon General. Even if she were sporting a size 2 she could be spouting bad info.
Would you believe her more if she were a size 2…come on!
Elaine Magee’s dietary advice sucks. Fat or thin she doesn’t know what she’s talking about.
I can distinguish between good or bad dietary advice but the majority is clueless so they will go by the look of the person giving the advice.
Knowing the right thing to do dietary-wise is one thing but putting it into practice is another.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
I loved the “healthy snack option video”…
My favourite part is: “Let’s put some cheese and beans on this massive plate of low-fat nachos and now it’s totally healthy because it has carbs and proteins… ooooh”
I can do that too.
Look at my McDonald’s Burger
it has lettuce in it, it is now a healthy snack because it has the following food groups: protein (melted processed gum-like fake cheese), lettuce and a rotten tomato (practically a salad!), and carbs (unfortunately this toasted bun isn’t as the healthy as the low-fat nachos… but, you can’t have everything…)
Let’s making it healthier by getting rid of the only thing that tastes good, the burger, and now you’re both healthy and a martyr for not eating helpless cows.
Look ma, no medical degree!
So if I’ve lost the genetic lottery and still remain hefty even after following Primal for years and years does that mean that I’m not allowed to talk about it? Or does that mean it doesn’t work and all of you are just crazy?
Glad to see everyone just ignored Mike’s point. Maybe Primal eating makes you an idiot.
Ummm… Anyone remember Susan Powter? She was fat. Then she was skinny. So… fat makes you fat, right? We should be eating pasta with chickpeas, right?
Oh that name rings a bell! Susan Powter certainly had her way with us. Bowls of air-popped corn! I wonder if she ever suffered the ill effects of her very bad dietary advice.
I think, with all due respect to any obese bloggers here (and I genuinely don’t mean to sound terse) that, no, thin doesn’t always equal healthy, but fat NEVER does. Yes, many people who we encounter that are obese (according to the CDC obesity equals at least 30 lbs overweight) may be on the path to fitness, but that just makes them HEALTHIER, not actually HEALTHY. Your blood vessels are still struggling to supply nutrients to your body, which elevates your blood pressure. The weight of your body is still reeking havoc on your knees and ankles and that’s just for starters, let’s not even mention what’s happening to your heart. Now, 1) if a so-called “fitness expert” is aware of the afore mentioned biological effects and still doesn’t practice what he/she purports to know, he’s a fool and you can’t be both a fool and an expert. And 2) If the said “expert” isn’t aware of these effects, well again, “fool”.
Just a comment, a good way to look at obesity is using the BMI. If someone has a BMI greater than 30 kg/m2 they are considered obese. Tall males could be just overweight with the 30 lbs. calculation, where as short women would be obese using the 30 lbs. mark. I like using BMI to assess obesity-it is more of a clue also exactly how obese someone is (there are different stages).
BMI? riiight, so a powerlifter with some visible muscle-hiding fat is unhealthier than someone else weighing a bit less with no muscles or a concentration camp survivor…
Mark said it perfectly in the last sentence -
“We’re always going to react to appearance, but we should never base our ultimate appraisal on appearance alone.”
Amen.
Great perspective on this Mark. I have to admit, when I hear someone touting fitness, nutrition, etc. I look them over good to see if they practice what they preach and it always bothers me when their appearance says otherwise but you have given me another perspective to consider. Thank you!
I mildly disagree…
You wouldn’t take real estate advice from someone who doesn’t own/sell/invest in real estate. You wouldn’t take parenting advice from someone who isn’t a damn good parent. You wouldn’t take advice on opening a small business from a person who deosn’t own a successful one.
So why would you take fitness advice from someone who isn’t fit?
And before someone/everyone points this out: yes, I know sport coaches can’t do the things that their athletes do. My counterpoint to that, is 1) sport coaches are a notable exception to my stance for many specific reasons, and 2) sport coaches and fitness coaches are two diffrent animals.
Just one opinion, DaveR
It should be about the information. I know a lot of golf instructors who can ‘naturally’ strike a ball better than anyone but have no frigin idea whatthey do or how to teach it correctly. I know others the no everything but aren’t ‘gifted’ players but they students improve every time.
Not necessarily a fan, but Jillian Michaels use to be overweight. As a teen and later, I think. So, it’s not her genes, its her hard work.
And other than her part in that stupid TV show, I haven’t heard her say anything wrong. And she’s one of the very few who recognize the diet and acne connection.
I want to correct the above to say that her genes do probably affect her ability to have such a muscular body unlike most women.
But she doesn’t look fit and healthy despite poor lifestyle habits, but because of them.
My operating theory is this: never, never, ever, never trust anyone in the government. Or anyone associated with someone in the government. The government is always wrong until proven, without a shadow of a doubt, to be correct.
We are the government. It works best in participation not from idleness. Quitters are plentiful under your flag.
I’m not sure what you mean by “quitters under your flag” but we would be far better off if 80% (to pick a number) of the government and it’s associates would “quit.” Just think of the damage that was NOT done by Congress when it was shut down for those four or five days of heavy snow.
Devil’s Advocate: not 100% true. Even the paranoid homocidal maniac Stalin knew better than to let Party politics and ideological purges affect the productivity of his nuclear scientists and military researchers.
A lot of us follow the Primal Blueprint. but are still overweight, including me. According to many of you, my advice is worth little, because I’m overweight, but Mark’s advice is worth a lot, because he’s in fantastic shape.
Yet it would be the same advice.
I wish I had been blessed with good health my whole life. I’m grateful for every day I feel good. I am, however, dealing with many health challenges, including hypothyroid, adrenal fatigue, candida, and Lyme disease. A Paleo lifestyle has enabled me to get out of bed in the morning without thinking twice, which is a HUGE improvement from just a year ago. I’ve been able to lower my thyroid meds significantly just from the change in diet.
I teach and coach about lifestyle change in an effort to give back what I’ve received.
If people judge my by the shape of my body, I doubt they’ll want to work with me. They’d have no idea of the 20 pounds I’ve lost, and the fact that I struggled to get out of bed only a year ago. They’d only see the generous hips I still carry. They’d probably miss the fact that my skin glows, that I can easily walk up flights of stairs when a year ago my knees were so swollen and painful I had to pull myself up any kind of incline.
I’m grateful to be able to help those that are open to change.
Iwould not take my car to a mechanic whose car did not run well, go to a hair stylist whose haircut looked terrible, hire a yoga teacher who could not hit the poses, ect. ect. I can’t stand people who preach do as I say not as I do. I do not think it is shallow to expect nutrition and fitness “experts” to look healthy and fit. They should instill confidence in their clients by their example. Come on Mark, that is what you do.
While I agree that I would prefer some one who can talk the talk and walk the walk, it is not necessary, merely a preference. Luckily for the New England Patriot’s & New York Jets football teams, who have arguably the best offensive & defensive football coaches in the NFL, the players do not follow the logic of many of the posters here. Rex Ryan weighs 350 lbs and Bill Belichick doesn’t look particularly fit — neither one of them ever played in the NFL. Great coaches learn and get better by experimenting and observation — there is no advantage to applying their knowledge to themselves, in fact, it may muddy the process.
Bravo! Well said Jim.
Too much more of the cookie cutter mentality and my business will be even busier…we cannot judge someones total health by how they look.
I hope we don’t start having body requirements to give Nobel Prizes.
Interesting discussion. I have to disagree though. Sports performance and knowledge are different from nutrition. Only a few outliers can compete physically. More can coach. But nutrition and eating well is not based on one being a genetic outlier. Everyone eats everyday.
Um.. what happened to getting references? Any professional worth his weight in grass fed beef should be able to show their past successes, be it personal or client based.
$.02
When you are in the business of making people fitter, you “walk the talk” by MAKING PEOPLE FITTER. I don’t care how fat you get, if you claim to know how to make me fit and you can show that you’ve made others fit, then what else do I need from you? That is your service and you have evidence that it is effective.
That said, a trainer who looks too good is probably too focused on himself to be a great trainer; a trainer who is too slovenly probably doesn’t care about himself enough to be a good trainer. I choose a professional who cares about his health and appearance, but cares about others just as much or more. That’s why great football coaches are at least a little fat. If they spent too much time concerned with working out and looking nice it would take away from their coaching. That’s why Belichick wears the same sweatshirt everyday and why Coach Glassman wears jeans and hiking boots with neck ties.
As far as the Surgeon General goes, there’s a lot more to the position than looking the part. I like that Regina Benjamin has first-hand experience with the impact of poverty on public health in this country, not to mention first-hand experience with the challenges of building a primary care practice in an economically depressed area. I’m sure I’m not the first to make this observation, but there’s a real problem in this country with people making public-health proclamations that would work great if everyone was just an upper-middle-class white collar professional; I don’t see much danger of her doing this.
Which reminds me, one of the more helpful professionals I’ve consulted was an obese dietician. She was the first to acknowledge she didn’t look the part, but what she had was the wealth of experience that came from working with thousands of clients before me, of varying body type, background, and goals. The meat of her advice was much more sensible than the dietician in the video (quite paleo-compatible, actually), but what was valuable about working with her was her varied professional experience.
Yes, I, too, am more inclinded to believe or seek info from those who walk the talk. But, I also know life can throw you curve balls. Mourning, trauma, thyroid problems, divorce, etc., can cause a person’s lifestyle (eating & exercise habits) to change.
Thank you Debra! We would all do well to count our blessings and I am grateful to be living long enough to *know* the problems you mentioned cause not only your eating and exercise to change but your constitution, hormones,life force (chi)…we change and we adjust and sometimes the adjustment takes a long time.
I pray I never begin to judge health care promoters or anyone by their body size/condition. Like I said earlier this kind of body image pressure has done more harm than good AND I am saddened to see the men now jumping on the band wagon…it is reflected in the rapidly increasing numbers of men with full blown eating disorders.
I have really learned new things from a blog post. Yet another thing to I have observed is that generally, FSBO sellers may reject you. Remember, they might prefer to not use your companies. But if you maintain a steady, professional romance, offering aid and staying in contact for about four to five weeks, you will usually have the ability to win interviews. From there, a house listing follows. Thank you