A personal trainer publicly shamed a client for eating a burger, then posted a video online to 'send a message.' His peers are not impressed.

• Personal trainer Jovan Jackson shamed a client for eating a burger that wasn't on her meal plan.
• The post has been widely condemned, with fitness experts saying coaches should empathize with clients.
• Jackson told Insider his anger wasn't about that one burger, and the post has been taken out of context.

A personal trainer has been criticized on Instagram after sharing an angry post shaming an anonymous client for eating a burger that wasn't on her meal plan.

Jovan Jackson, owner of PR Fitness Camp, took a screen-record of the Instagram story posted by one of his clients.

In the caption, he wrote: "THIS IS NOT ON HER MEAL PLAN! Then when I asked her about she made a joke, made an excuse, and acted like it wasn't that big of a deal. Y'all do s--- like this then at the end of the month y'all complain that you're not losing weight or reaching your body goal. I speak for all trainers, WE'RE TIRED OF THIS S---!"

The post has prompted a debate on social media and within the fitness industry, with many trainers condemning Jackson's approach.

However, he told Insider the post was taken out of context.

Personal trainers say empathy is a more effective approach than shaming

Nutrition consultant and personal trainer Emilia Thompson BSc MSc PhD RNutr told Insider the main problem with Jackson's approach is that it's focused on shame, which is a potentially harmful way to change health behaviors.

"On an individual level, the prevalence of shame exacerbates the likelihood of disordered eating habits," she said.

Instead, Thompson believes trainers should show empathy to their clients.

"Not only does this post lack empathy and directly shame an individual, but it spreads a wider message shaming others who may relate to those types of food choices," she said. "Not to mention, food exclusion and dichotomous thinking are actually associated with poorer health outcomes and long term diet success compared with inclusive approaches, thus suggesting the consumption of a burger as a 'bad' food and failure in some way actually opposes what we know about successful and healthful fat loss as a whole."

Many other health professionals agreed with Thompson and commented on Jackson's post, and personal trainer Sohee Lee posted a video to show how she thinks coaches should respond when a client says they've eaten a burger.

Jackson told Insider he's received death threats in his direct messages, but also had people privately saying they would like a trainer with his approach.

"It's been crazy, I had no idea that it was going to blow up to this point," he added.

Jackson said his post wasn't really about one burger, but the 'disrespect' it represented

Although this specific post went viral, Jackson said he's been posting similar things for years. "The majority of people that are commenting on the video are simply there for the hype, just to hop on the trending topic," he said.

Jackson told Insider the post was taken "completely out of context," and the message he was trying to get across has been lost - his anger was less about the fact that the client had eaten a burger, and more about the fact that she wasn't taking his plan and his work seriously.

As a business owner and personal trainer, Jackson said his job is not just 9-5, he offers free services, and works on his days off to suit his clients' schedules: "I do go above and beyond for my clients, and when they don't appreciate that, it hurts."

He said: "For me to cut my price or value in half or completely cut it off at all, and then have you take it as a joke, after what I did for you ... and you're not even taking advantage of the situation, so why should I continue to train you? This spot could be taken up by someone who actually wants this spot and wants to give it their complete full effort."

It's the "lack of effort" that Jackson was angry about, not the burger in itself.

"If you mess up, you're human, I understand, it's the effort behind it," Jackson said, adding that every single day one of his clients goes off-track with their diet, he's not against cheat meals, and he too "messes up" sometimes.

"It was not about one burger, it was an accumulation of things," he said. "This person had just gotten off a vacation, so they didn't work out for seven days, they ate bad and drank bad for seven days, and then you come back into a burger? Come on now, I gave you seven days of cheat meals, let's get back on track."

Jackson made the post after responding privately to the client's Instagram story of the burger, and her joking that it was OK because it had spinach and tomato on, instead of accepting responsibility and vowing to try harder the next day.

"You're disrespecting me at this point, you're taking my career as a joke," he said. So he posted his reaction not aiming to shame that specific client, but to send a message.

"She was the client that broke the camel's back," he added. "I made the post about clients that do things that are against their meal plan, and then complain about their bodies. You can't have it both ways. You don't have to be perfect, but you have to change your ways and make an effort."

'Biggie' is a term of endearment, Jackson said

Many people commenting on Jackson's post criticized him for calling his client "biggie," but he said the name is meant positively.

The terms "biggie" and "big joint" are regularly used in his community, he said, and they're meant with a sense of camaraderie, as terms of endearment, not fat-phobic.

"The outside world may look at it as disrespectful but literally no one in here feels that way," Jackson said.