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!

Did you pay by debit card or direct debit?

I would cancel the direct debit with your bank. If a debit card, consider reporting it lost, because I wouldn't be surprised if he takes the money out anyway.

I've asked him for my contract where it says 6mths.

In future I would just check the contract and tell the person that the contract states 3 months.

If you're looking for legal advice ask for your thread to be moved to Legal Matters.

@Fatnangry I know you are not looking for weight loss advice (& I am no expert at all on that).

I'm just wondering what you wanted the PT for and what goals you gave him? I have a PT and my goal is strength, I have definitely built muscle but my weight is the same which is exactly what I wanted. His lessons should be tailored to your goal.

Not sure of your age but on 1600 calories a day plus strictly following a PT regime and 10,000 steps etc you should be dropping weight. Perhaps you should see the GPas we age we need different levels of proteins and fibre to regulate our weight and not all calories are equal.

2lbs? I'd ask for a refund. You can lose that much just by dropping Carbs from your diet for a week.

I had an online PT and agreed to a 6 month plan. Although I didn’t sign any paperwork or contract, but was set up with a direct debit. I then had to go in for an emergency operation after 1 month of the plan which involved no exercise or heavy lifting for weeks afterwards.

I contacted the PT to cancel several times but they never replied. So I phoned the bank and blocked any further payments from going through.

Athlete here. ☺️

Gently, in response to this reply of yours:
I hear your frustration. We're in a world of quick fixes, so it interferes with what is possible in a healthy and sustainable way for you. Please look at your accomplishments! Well done you for what you've done and learned! 👍
I advocate for slow and steady and evaluate strength , body comp and habits every three months. Follow your plan throughout the week and at 80% on weekends.
Alcohol is a killer of any diet and exercise plan, so choose that carefully. I would definitely encourage you to take at least a week of healthy brekkie and lunch, morning workout and doing whatever you want in the evening ie parties, drinks, no restrictions. Christmas Eve and day, Boxing Day, NYE and NY day are free. Just a few quick tips. Don't be discouraged. ☺️
I'm not training you, but I think you could likely move up to 1800cal p/d and I'd guess your macros are in the wrong proportion for you. You do need to experiment with these ratios and focus on high quality, nutritionally dense foods. ie all carbs/proteins/fats are not alike and significantly impact progress and health.
As for exercise, 10,000 steps per day ... it's not working for you. There are much more efficient ways to exercise and change your body comp.

8 weeks is barely any time at all to see any visible difference from diet and exercise, unless you are on an extremely restrictive diet. It sounds like you are on a sensible, sustainable regime food wise. If you carry on losing a pound a month by the end of a year you will have lost a stone and probably in a sustainable way. You are probably fitter than you were even if you can't see anything.

That said if you are not enjoying it there's no point continuing and sounds like you should just stop paying, he's unlikely to take you to court over it.

But what is he ACTUALLY going to do if you don’t pay?

I seriously doubt he is going to go to the hassle of taking you to small claims.

I would just cancel the direct debits, block his number and call it a day.

A restrictive weight loss / PT plan that makes you miserable and freak out if you digress etc is not going to help you. That’s not how the mind and body feel and work their best 🙏💖 Losen the grip a little and take some time to do what you think will make you feel your best OP. Glad you’re out of that contract 👏

Not a PT, but know a bit about motivation and realistic goals, when it comes to fitness. So I am guessing whether you can cancel or not comes down to what you signed. Did you get a reduced rate for an extended period maybe?

Quite a few people yo yo fitness and it comes down largely to a balance between what their goals are and what someone is prepared realistically to do to achieve them. Is it the whole weights, chicken and broccoli routine or something that can be fitted more into normal life.

One might take a steeper journey and be absolutely miserable to achieve. It’s also very tricky and disheartening if achievement is gauged solely on weight loss. One might be woven more easily into everyday life, be more enjoyable and create good results like flexibility and strength, be more sustainable, but won’t “show” the results so dramatically in outward appearance or in the scales.

It sounds like you have the worst of all worlds here and you need to properly chat to your PT about goals, diet, methods and be realistic in your expectations about them. If the PT cannot relate to that then, they may not be the motivator for you.

My best tip is try and build something you enjoy into the mix to keep you motivated and that looks really different for different people. Be realistic with your goals too. One size does not fit all in exercise, even if the fitness influencers would have us all believe this. Dance fitness makes my heart sing, it’s others’ idea of hell.

Good luck

You want to give up. The contract is strongly encouraging you not to. Thank the contract!

is is RIchie or something like that off facebook? they are notorious for being super hard sell

i had a PT and did boot camp and had 9 years of sciatica and surgeries lol

snot for me

If you signed a contract he took you on in good faith. He didn’t take on someone else. You are obliged to pay him.

It’s up to you about whether you stick to the programme. Losing weight and getting fit takes time. 24 weeks is no time in terms of this sort of process.

Have you checked his professional qualification and that he is currently registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) Is treatment for weight loss within his scope of practice? It is not a common reason for seeking physiotherapy.

If you join your local council run gym they usually have packages, usually discounted in the New Year, to meet your needs. The staff tend to be friendly and are pleased to offer any advice you may need. Basically the PT service without the price. ( The trsining and qualufications are the same.) Depending on where you are, there's usually a bunch of locations under a combined ticket.

Failing that, YouTube's free.

I was going to say this too.

Diet is more important than exercise when it comes to weight loss. Are you counting your calories and macros?

so you’re going to quit after just 8 weeks?

rubbish!

I'm glad they allegedly screwed up. If you'd only paid for three months then I'm not surprised this was what was in your contract.

This isn't personal advice but doing weights and eating 1600 calories will not create the right state for what you wanted to achieve so I'm not surprised you weren't seeing the results you wanted. If it were me, I'd be working on exercise that got my heart rate between 80-120 and a calorie deficit of about 500 calories a day. Doing weights can often add bulk too. I think any PT should've been helping you achieve a 1-2 lb a week loss - you certainly sound like you were putting the effort in. Hope you can find a solution to achieve that.

All of this is completely the wrong advice !!! 🙃

Doing weights can often add bulk too.

Also v bad advice. Unless women overdose on synthetic testosterone, it's actually quite hard to build bulky muscle. But building some muscle will help your metabolism burn off more calories, and as muscle takes up less space kilo for kilo you will also "tone" up. So you can actually measure or look slimmer, without actually weighing less.

The problem with relying on cardio exercise - particularly "steady state" cardio, such as treadmill running or cross-trainer etc - is that as you get fitter, your body adjusts and becomes more efficient (ie fitter!) so uses fewer calories for the effort.

If you want to use cardio as part of a weight loss & exercise plan, then high intensity interval training (eg tabata, intervals, bootcamp, HIIT) can be far more effective. It feels tougher, but it's quicker and much more effective, IMO.

That doesn't sounds right to me, I am currently with a online pt and I'm on my 3rd week and by the end of my 2nd week I had lost 5lbs and 33 cm from all over my body I'm on 1460 cals and started off at 14st 10. Also I have taken photos and from the first photos to the 2nd there is a visible difference in my rolls getting smaller. I would be cancelling him.

Thank you all but as I said several times I am not looking for weight loss advice and I am now out of the contract.

Sorry OP I know you said you’re not looking for weight loss advice but I’m telling you you’re never going to lose weight eating so little. You should be consuming at least 2000 calories a day. You’re starving yourself and therefore your metabolism has slowed right down, that’s egg you’ve not losing weight. Go into Facebook and join low carb and keto for life. Good luck and glad you’re out your contract.

I know you said you don't want advice but I'll just give it you again!

People are just trying to be helpful.

You don’t need to take the advice and you don’t need to reply being defensive.