My PT won't let me cancel!

[Fatnangry]

I've had a PT online for 8wks. I've done absolutely everything asked of me and have lost 2lbs. I'm absolutely knackered and stressed and overwhelmed with tracking, steps, calorie counting and so little progress.

I want to stop. Ive made an initial payment for first 3mths but apparently I signed a contract for 24wks so need to pay him for Jan, Feb and March.

He said I've signed contract so I HAVE to pay regardless of if I do the programme or not.

He said my progress is so slow because it just is and it will come off eventually!?

I'm not sure there's anything I can do is there? I'm so mad and upset. Feel like I'm getting robbed!

Thats good news as you've already paid that.

Good Luck with your onward journey and hope you find a way to loose the weight you want to - in a way that suits you better.

1600 calories a day is quite a lot for a diet without much cardio. Doing 10K steps a day isn’t enough for a diet, and the weight sessions are great for your body but not weight loss. You need cardio. You need fewer calories and to up your cardio. You can do that yourself without the PT so it’s good you got out of that.

You’d probably be better off doing it yourself or joining weight watchers .

It is quite simple.

Did you sign a contract?
Do you have a copy of the contract?

Did you agree by email a clearly stated agreement to 6 months?

What proof has he you agreed to this.

Email him that you you want a copy of your agreement to this in 24 hours.

Cancel payments if you have not received proof.

Surely you know if you signed/agreed something 8 weeks ago?

Where is YOUR contract?

Push back.
It is absolutely in their interest to say you are fully committed.

Thank you.

I'm not looking for weight loss advice thank you.

I'm thinking maybe I need to work on accepting myself for who I am and not what I look like.

Cancel everything, today.
Direct debits or whatever.

If the OP is paying by Direct Debit, the PT could take his case to the OP’s bank under the Direct Debit Guarantee - especially if he does have a signed contract.

If, however, the OP has paid in cash, by cheque or by transfer and is yet to pay the next instalment, the PT would have to go to Small Claims if she didn’t pay up. He might, but it seems like a lot of bother for very little return. We’re less than six weeks away from the highest demand period for such services - time he spends chasing the OP is time he’s not working with other potential clients.

I think I just wouldn't pay for any additional sessions- tell him it's due to the lack of results you've seen.

It's unlikely he'll do anything legal about it or anything.

Having said that, if he put you on a number of calories significantly less than what you burn, and if you stuck to that, you would've lost more weight than that (I am a qualified PT.) So maybe you're accidentally not tracking something.

He might send you a legally threatening letter but that'd probably be as far as it went.

Yes, obviously you need to see a copy of what you signed, and if it confirms what he’s said, then you have to pay him, whether you use the sessions or not.

It’s a shame you’re not enjoying it and are disappointed with the results so far. Were you specific when you discussed your goals with him? ie, did you specifically say you wanted to lose weight? If not, he might be assuming your goals are getting fitter/stronger/losing body fat/building muscle mass, none if which are necessarily the same thing as ‘lose weight’.

If you did tell him your primary goal was to lose weight, then I’d think he isn’t a great PT if he offered you any sort of guarantee that this would definitely happen.

When I used to have some PT clients, I would get them to fill in a questionnaire to begin with and I required them to be quite specific about their goals. If their only goal was ‘lose weight’, I’d be reluctant to work with them because I see the goals of PT more as: improving fitness/getting stronger/losing body fat/reducing stress/improving self esteem/ being able to run up the stairs etc. As far as possible, we would record baselines so we then had something to compare to to measure progress. (Eg body fat %, fitness tests, how much weight they can lift etc…)

Did your PT take a body fat % measurement before you started the programme? Is he monitoring this? Is he really clear that he is supposed to be helping you lose weight?

To be fair, I was trying to just point out that what he has offered you isn’t actually what you seem to have asked for. He seems to have offered fitness training with an emphasis on muscle tone, but not weight loss as he wasn’t giving you anything targeted for that. So, he took advantage of you looking for help to make some money despite not tailoring to your needs. You needed something structure differently.

Don’t lose hope if you do want to make a change; it’s just that this guy wasn’t the right fit.

Glad you have sorted this out but re small claims court - he cannot do this without having first sent you a letter before action setting out his claim with the relevant contract details and giving you a deadline to pay so there is still time to sort it out without being taken to court - people cannot just take someone to the small claims court without first going through certain steps so it doesn't just happen if you don't pay.

That’s a low number of calories for your weight. Are you active too? As in walk 10,000 step a day or just 500. If it’s more like the later you should see your GP to rule out thyroid issues.

In terms of calories I would work out what calories you need to maintain your current weight (height is important!)

im 5’5 and my base metabolic rate is between 1500-1800 depending upon my activity and the time of year. if you’re shorter then you might not be in a deficit even with the exercise.

I aim for 1600 myself but give myself a little leeway above or below. I’m hangry before my period for example but benefit daily from pushing breakfast back until 10am ish.

a good PT will adjust your regimen to fit these specific needs and it sounds like yours doesn’t.

I really benefit from zero snacks, main meals only and lots of salad veg or steamed veg with every meal.

if you’re doing weight training daily then you might need to cut a session to allow for proper rest and recovery and refuel properly too. Nutrient dense and proper protein (ways to work out your protein requirements based on weight)

it does sound like your PT isn’t the right one for you and doesn’t understand you and your body/needs and he’s probably one of those who has a copy/paste diet that isn’t tailored to you and exercise plan that isn’t working for you. And sounds like his plan he sends to everyone.

check your contract and his website T&Cs. Get screen shots of the website T&Cs.

You don’t have to pay for a service that is making you unwell or risking injury.

This whole post is absolute nonsense.

3 months notice means 3 months from NOW - so you still need to (or he can chase you for Dec/jan/feb)

you have already paid dec it seems to just Jan/Feb to be chased for it seems.

Also meant to ask OP- did you mean 3-4 weight sessions a day? Or should that say week? Doing weights multiples times a day would be excessive and unrealistic.

I'm glad you got out of this. Clearly this PT was a bad fit for you.

However, you have to accept that getting fit will take way longer than a couple of months. It requires perseverance, commitment and a fair bit of hard graft. The payoff is that, in time, you will get healthier and feel better, which in turn is a powerful motivator to eat healthily and cut out dead calories.

So you need to find a way of exercising that doesn't make you feel miserable. I'd suggest starting off with Lucy Wyndham Read as she is very calm and gentle - perfect for beginners. But also look at working out with weights/dumbbells - try Caroline Girvan who is excellent. Both free on YouTube.

Wonder how many times the OP has to say that she's not asking for weight loss advice before people actually read that ..

Glad you got it sorted OP

This must be a typo, surely. I assume she meant per week...

As I said im not looking for weight loss advice on here but thank you

They're not going to stop so I'd suggest hiding the thread.

Ask for a copy of this contract which you don't seem to remember signing. Maybe you didn't.

@Fatnangry this wasn't the Francis diet was it?

Ha! How did he react when he discovered the ‘error’?

does he mean 3 months course you have to pay or 3 months notice

he might well have a case for another 3 months of payments