WANT GOOD ANSWERS? ASK BETTER QUESTIONS

By Annette Zapp

There are no stupid questions, right?  Maybe not. 

These wispy ethereal questions lead to frustration on the part of both parties and are not constructive in the least.  Unless you’re asking a guru (who ALWAYS knows EVERYTHING regardless of ANYTHING), the answer to most questions pertaining to health and wellness will include the phrases “tell me more”, “can you clarify” or “it depends”.  But a properly worded initial question will send the conversation further down the path of enlightenment while creating far less frustration for both parties.

Would you ask your mechanic: “is diesel good?”

How about your financial planner: “should I start a business?”

And your doctor: “should someone take Synthroid?”

None of these questions can be properly answered without background and perspective.  Yes.  Diesel is good if you have a vehicle with a diesel engine, but not if you have one with a gasoline engine!  Fuel efficiency may be marginally better with a diesel engine, but with current gas vs diesel prices, it’s a wash.  What does good even mean in this question?

Should you start a business?  Do you have time?  A plan?  Investors?  A skill set?

And Synthroid can be a life saving drug for someone lacking a thyroid gland or adequate output of thyroid hormones but isn’t appropriate in most other cases!  And by the way, who is someone?  You, your mom, your kid, the neighbor?

If I had just a fraction of a cent for every time someone has posed a poorly worded question to me on the topic of health and wellness and expected a simply stated line-in-the sand answer, I would no longer be working and I’d be enjoying my property in the Bahamas.  Pass the sunscreen, please.

Here are some examples of health and wellness questions that are impossible to answer without much more detail when asked to a competent party:

• Is whey protein good?
• Are bananas fattening?
• What’s the BEST exercise program?
• Is HIIT (high intensity interval training) or LISS (low intensity steady state) better?

Any competent professional would not answer any of those questions without much more background and clarification.  For fun, let’s go through a few points regarding the banana question.

• First off, the word “fattening”. What does that even mean? Does the person asking the question want to know if bananas directly contribute to gaining body fat? Or does fattening to them mean that the number on the scale goes up?
• An average banana has around 100 calories. How many bananas are going to be consumed? Five? Ten? In theory, all things being equal—exercise, sleep, daily movement and caloric consumption—if someone added 5 bananas to their daily intake, they might potentially see a slow uptick on the scale over time.
• “Fattening” as compared to what? A banana instead of a triple dip chocolate cone and a side of fries? The banana is definitely a better choice. It contains some dietary fiber along with crucial vitamins and minerals as well as only a fraction of the calories.

I could go on and on, but I believe you understand the point.  Ask better questions!  How?

• Put a face on the question. “My mother (or son or friend) is feeling tired and lethargic. I’ve read online that might be a thyroid issue. Would Synthroid be a treatment if they were diagnosed with low thyroid hormone levels?”
• Ask the REAL question: “I’m nearing retirement and I’m afraid I will be short on living money and potentially bored. What would it look like for me to start a home business fixing small engines in my garage?”
• Be prepared for follow up questions and don’t get frustrated: “You’re asking about bananas, but I don’t know an awful lot about your overall dietary intake. Can you tell me what you’re thinking in terms of bananas and their effect on your body?”
• Avoid going into the conversation wanting an answer to reinforce your current bias. If you’ve already convinced yourself that the cabbage soup diet is the answer to all your problems, don’t waste an expert’s time. Go ahead and just saunter over to google and click on all those articles that will tell you what you want to hear.

Want better information?  Ask better questions.

Annette Zap is a 16-year veteran of the fire service, Zapp holds the rank of Lieutenant and owns FireSQFitness, a coaching business dedicated to the physical and mental health and wellness of fire fighters worldwide.  She earned a master’s degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of South Dakota School of Medicine and is also credentialed as a NSCA CSCS and TSAC-F, Precision Nutrition Level 1 Coach, a CSNS through the Society of Neurosports and a CISSN through the International Society of Sports Nutrition. She was recently named to an Illinois Senate task force focused on mitigating first responder suicide.

Zapp is an adjunct faculty at the University of Denver in the graduate program for Sport Coaching and is a proud member of the panel of experts that recently reviewed and revised the TSAC Practitioner Course for the NSCA.   She is also a highly sought-after public speaker and has appeared on a dozen podcasts in the last year. 

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