Is Being Really Lean Worth it? - The True Cost Of Having Abs.

Completely off topic - but this is a terrible squat and this PT need’s arrested!

Six-pack abs.

Tight butts.

Lean, vibrant, flawless health.

That’s the image the fitness industry is selling.

But have you ever wondered what it costs to achieve that “look”?

What you have to do more of?

And what you really have to give up?

Is getting really lean really worth it?

Here’s me, shredded as I could possibly be, sitting around 7% body fat.

I loved it. I was so lean my abs had abs, veins everywhere, I looked the vision of “health”.

Well, every minute I saw myself half naked in the mirror. 

How often do you do that? 

Once, maybe twice a day. I loved seeing myself in the mirror…..but only in the mirror.

The rest of the time was hell.

I looked like shit in clothes, I was freezing cold and my face looked like death.

I really didn’t look healthy or feel healthy, In fact I was miserable.

The fitness industry gets by on selling 6-pack abs secrets, 12 week transformations, fat loss challenges etc.

A lot of people make good money preying on your pain and desire to look a certain way .

Health and fitness is so much more than how you look.

So Is getting really lean really worth it?

Well, Here is what getting super lean did for me:

• I didn’t sleep very well

• I was constantly hungry

• I couldn’t stop thinking about food

• I measured my food at every meal

• I was constantly constipated

• I lost strength

• I lost muscle mass

• I couldn’t perform as well in the gym and fatigued quickly

• My social life became a distant memory, some people even though I was unwell

• I trained pretty much every day for 2-3 hours

• I cycled and walked everywhere to help me burn more calories

• I had to keep this up for months and months to get as lean as I was.

You may think its worth it.

For me, at that time it was too as I was competing in bodybuilding but not anymore.

I’ve moved on and I have other goals and priorities.

Some of you out there may strive for the lean look so here are some the things to consider when trying to get there.

1. Being Super Lean Is Hard On Your Body 🥵

When you are fit and healthy, you usually don’t have a laundry list of issues and complications like I listed above…… how can any of those be healthy?

You know what your body loves? - homeostasis.

Your body wants everything nice, even and balanced.

When you are trying to get lean or stay lean your body will fight you stay at a level it feels os comfortable and normal….usually that is not super shredded.

When you feel tired and your limbs feel heavy, that is your body’s way of slowing you down to help you burn fewer calories and get more rest.

If you are a women, it can get even worse.

Amenorrhea (fancy for losing your period) may occur because your body is afraid that you unprepared for the rigours of pregnancy - essentially you body feels so deprived that getting pregnant is simply not seen as a survivable option.

Sure, you may look amazing, but inside you are crumbling.

2. We Are All Unique 😁

We all have that friend who can eat what ever they like, do what ever they like and always look amazing.

Yeah, we all secretly kinda hate them too.

These people are the fitness models of the world, the IG influencers 🤮, but they are also the 1%.

The rest of us are somewhere in between .

The people that no matter how hard they train, diet, sleep or exercise they still won’t look as lean as they want.

We can’t control our genetics, we simply have to work with them and be the best we can.

I’m not saying you can’t be lean but you may find it is a lot harder than you think it is. 

It’s even harder for women than men too, which isn’t fair, but it is what it is.

You don’t need to be super lean to be an awesome person.

So you can’t control what life gave you, but the one thing that you have full control over is how hard you work with what you’ve got and do the best you can.

That’s all you can do.

No one is perfect anyway.

3. Staying Lean Is Really Fucking Hard 🤯

Media sells you the idea that everyone with a six pack and a lean physique is the vision of health.

Unfortunately, this isn’t always true.

Social media os constantly bombarding our eyes with perfect, lean bodies, they have us believe that being this lean all the time is normal for everyone.

They trick you into thinking fitness models look like this all the time, 24/7, 365.

The truth is the people in the photos often don’t even look like the photos they post.

Professional lighting, angles, a tan and photo editing software make an amazing difference to how good you can look in a picture, even just for us normal folk, let alone the top 1%.

These people work hard for weeks and months leading up to a photo shoot, peaking on the day ready for that perfect shot.

They are often dehydrated, tired, hungry, weak and pissed off.

The ripped look may only last a few hours or days, get some food and water back in them and it fades fast.

Most of the time they look much more normal, still lean, but not photoshoot or stage lean.

Question everything you see, think about angles and filters and the hundreds of shots that don’t make the final cut.

4. It Becomes Your Whole Life 😭

I trained every day. for 3 hours, Tough weight workouts, mind numbing stair master marathons.

I walked everywhere I could.

Most days I trained twice - cardio in the morning, weights in the evening, with a 30 minute drive to the gym every time, I was spending on average 5 hours a day going to and from the gym to workout.

I was in bed early most nights to get up for the 6.30am cardio.

My diet was miserable, restrictive and boring. Low calorie, little variety in my meals. Eggs, chicken, rice, veg etc…. I may never face asparagus or turkey again (thanks coach).

Social life? What’s that….

Meals out, nights out, trips away, holidays? Forget it, sure you can go but it’s not fun when you can’t eat anything nice or have a drink when everyone else is.

You think about food and exercise 24/7.

Get ready to say NO to a lot of things.

If you feel all this is ok, great, go for it. But think really hard, is it the life for you. 

In the end it’s your choice.

5. Being Lean Still Might Not Make You Happy 🤬

See that picture of me above, I was proud of my achievement but I wasn’t happy.

I felt tiny and wanted more muscle,

I don’t like the shape of my abs or pecs, the asymmetry pisses me off even though I can never change it,

And Yeah, I could have been even leaner.

After all the effort I still wanted more. Even now, years later, I still want more.

Striving for excellence and perfection in everything you do is awesome but you’ll never get there.

You can’t be perfect at everything you do, the perfect body doesn’t exist and you’ll always want more.

Instead focus on trying to be happy in the moment, gather perspective on your life and I guarantee you’ll be happier.

I feel everyone should take pride in their appearance but you don’t have to go to extremes to get your best body.

Aim to be the best version of you and not what you think will do will on Instagram.

For now I’ve chosen to life that fluff life and have a little more body fat on me.

Sure, I’m still pretty slim and athletic but I’m not the same leanness as when I competed.

Would I like to look that lean again? Maybe one day when I’m older to prove I can still do it, but honestly the chances are very low.

Being lean just isn’t worth it for me.

If you are looking to make that change, work with a coach who understands and respects individuality and is trained to work with women then you should

apply for ONLINE COACHING HERE

Hi, I’m Aaron Schiavone, owner of Mind Muscle Personal Training. Over the past 5+ years I have helped women increase their self confidence, improve their relationship with food, improve their health, become stronger, fitter and happier.