Some thoughts and discussions from me.

Good morning! I hope you’re all having a great week so far. Despite being cold and snowy and the first week after the holidays, life’s good. The sun’s out, work’s going well, and the gyms are a little more packed than usual Winking smile

I actually love those who are known as the January Joiners. I root for them, hope they last longer than January, and love the new energy that comes along with it in the gym. Hey, I’m working off a few holiday pounds too this January, and that has to do with today’s blog topic.

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Warning: it’s about to get real up in here!
Nine times out of ten, when I sit down with my new clients to discuss their goals, one of those said goals has to do with appearance. And nine times out of ten, that appearance goal has to do with losing fat, or, getting lean. I have no problem taking fat off of my clients through fat loss programming with training and diet. That said, after several months of successful assessments, I check in with my client.

You’re pretty lean now. You’re fitting into those jeans that you couldn’t before. Do you really want to make it a goal to become more lean?

The plan from there stems from a combination of their answer and my best judgment. How lean is too lean?

The answer is there’s absolutely not one right answer for this question, as MY too lean might look completely different from YOUR too lean.

In fact, my too lean isn’t at a necessarily low body fat, as my body doesn’t really like to get below 21%. Unfortunately, when I was 16, I, like many unfortunate other high school girls, decided not to eat for a few months, and became anorexic. I lost close to 40 pounds, and was extremely skinny, and I’m sure something like that has to have lasting health effects.

Actually, I believe because of my previous eating disorder, regardless that it was more than 10 years ago, my body simply won’t allow myself to get as lean as some others are able to.

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Yep, I was too lean here. I didn’t even know it! It was when I had after a couple months of working full time at the gym back in Illinois. I was on my feet and active much more, worked out more, and probably ate less due to my busy schedule.

Think about supermodels. The 1% of the world that are naturally thin (well, most are naturally thin, some unfortunately are unhealthy.) I grew up wanting my body to look like theirs – wanting to be a size zero, instead of a size 8 or 10 – just as so many other girls did. But what we need to understand is that every body’s definition of lean is different.

So I suppose that technically, my body will allow it, but then everything shuts down and gets out of whack. But, when I was as lean as I was in the picture above (and I am leaving out weight, body fat, etc. to negate from any comparison traps) I had low blood sugar issues, I couldn’t handle carbohydrates correctly, I didn’t sleep right, and my hormones got out of whack and my cycle screeched to a halt.

No one would have known it though! I never was told I was “too skinny” by anyone! Basically, I was a mess, and it was too late before I realized what was going on. My body just works best when it’s got a little junk in the trunk –  literallyand meat on my bones.

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This is also a major reason (among many others) of why I’d never compete in anything like a figure competition, ever. However, some people are  – and I think it’s a very select few – able to train for a bikini or body building competition without wreaking havoc on their bodies. Some can train for these competitions, or just get super lean, and don’t have any adverse side effects going on, like loss of cycle, tiredness, irritability,extreme need for coffee etc. But I’d wager to say they’re not in the majority.

Everyone’s body is different, and some of us can maintain leaner body fat levels than others, thanks to genetics. But the bottom line is, well, there’s 2:

1. Pushing yourself to extreme leanness, whatever that may be for you, is NOT good for the body. It’s stressful on the body, it wreaks havoc on the metabolism, and it has long, lasting effects.

2. We need to STOP comparing ourselves to others who may be leaner or “more ripped.”  Either that person’s body might just be able to handle it, or, they’re simply lean to the point of unhealthiness.

For me, it all comes back to my goals aligning with my actions. Why do I train? To feel good, to be healthy, to be strong and able, and yes, to look good. I go into much more detail on the answer to that question in this post. But my point is, looking good does NOT come before being healthy. And if I’m my healthiest, and feel my best 10 pounds more than what I think looks ripped and lean in a bikini? Cool. No big deal.

Have you ever gotten caught in the comparison trap in regards to leanness?