In our modern society, we have an incredibly large population of people who are overweight/obese – roughly 60% of Americans. Conversely, a small percentage of us in the fitness community and likely the reader, are the exact opposite – lean. And possibly too lean. Two polar extreme opposites. We all enter the fitness world with the mentality of self-improvement, tenacity and sheer ambition to achieve a goal. Some just want to feel good. Some want to be stronger. And a LOT just want to have abs, a bigger butt and be ripped to the bone. However, during the process I believe the one commonality we all have is to be healthy. Unfortunately, for many it seems what once started out as a positive, awesome goal, ended up shifting gears and became the opposite of what they intended either out of ignorance, misguided direction from peers, insecurity or that they just have a strong fastidious personality. When you take your goal to the extreme, things have a tendency to go awry. We tend to ignore it or worse, deny it. And our life outside of health crumbles. So, how do you know when you’ve taken your fitness goals too far? Here are some signs: - Trying to reach ultimate leanness for no apparent reason (morning ab check anyone?) - Obsessive, incessant thoughts about food from severe caloric restriction (stomach is a bottomless pit) - Development of orthorexic behaviors (afraid to “unhealthy” foods) - Physical and mental burnout from too much gym time (don’t know what a rest day is) - Heavy reliance on stimulants and pre-workouts multiple times per day to function (need that daily caffeine IV) - Social seclusion (afraid/lose desire to meet with family/friends) - Displacement of hobbies, work and school productivity by food and workouts And the most controversial one… Counting calories, macros and weighing food. Outside of contest prep, recovering from eating disorders or having a hard time subconsciously meeting their caloric needs, there is hardly any other justifiable, logical reason I can garner in my mind to use MyFitnessPal. Unless there’s a clear purpose and tracking is used momentarily, I would call this disordered eating. If one’s mind is constantly preoccupied with math on a daily basis, how can one honestly believe that is “being healthy”? Do you ever go out to eat and try to estimate the caloric and macro value of food every single day? And do you have extreme anxiety over being inaccurate? If so, I think there’s a clear problem… This would include practicing IIFYM, since that's what you're doing - counting. I will say one personal thought about IIFYM. It's a great strategy and I have no problem with it when utilized in the short-term. But just like counting calories daily, IIFYM used year round, long-term doesn't seem appropriate as a lifestyle. I believe if IIFYM is used chronically, it lays the ground work for the onset of disordered eating. There I said it. And I'm saying it because it's probably very hard to accept that as a possible reality for many people. If you don't know any way other than the IIFYM way, then it comes down to education; learning and responding to coherent, inborn hunger signals. And learning the distinction between physical hunger and mental hunger. I also believe the two most popular reasons people count calories and macros are out of fear of fat gain or to reach super lean status. Achieving the latter for a brief stint of period is perfectly fine, but when that’s all you think about, it will inevitably encompass all the previously mentioned signs that you’ve taken your goal too far. What once was a healthy goal became an addiction to lose more fat and really pushes your body’s limit to the point where it’s literally hating you. No one wants to be average. We all want to look awesome, feel awesome and exude awesomeness to everyone (even if you say it’s “for myself”) and I applaud that. Been there, done that. I encourage you to resist being average, create your own individual identity, leverage your assets and crush the world in an impactful, notable and respectable way. But do you think when it comes to body image, being average might not be so bad after all? I do. A lot of people in the fitness community are stuck to the far left side of the body image spectrum that portrays figures beaming vascularity, striations and dryness. It’s done for a purpose, but what it isn’t done for… is a lifestyle. People who revere their idols strive for this look. The media and fitness industry entice you to purchase sketchy, unproven and ineffective products to help you acquire the “exemplary” body type you desire. People are falsely deluded into thinking that it’s a body type that is sustainable or even necessary to begin with in order to be respected or happy. Even more importantly, many strive for this without understanding or knowing the consequences and potentially damaging effects on your health. While there is much diversity in results and symptoms among individuals, I am merely speaking about men and women who are in the ballpark numbers of
