If you are one who pays attention to social media influencers for health and fitness advice, just stop it. Looking at Instagram fitness models and others like them for inspiration is akin to girls of past decades looking at their Barbie dolls with envy of their figures. You are not going to become like them without extreme dieting, drugs, surgical procedures, or a combination of each. It just is not going to happen naturally.
Some Social Media Influencers are Not What They Appear to Be.
Some of the super hot fitness models you see on sites such as Instagram are not what you think. In fact, some of the biggest name models you can find there are actually male to female transsexuals. I have no problem with that, except for the fact if you are a biological female, you are not going to achieve the same results as these ladies.
Drugs, Surgical Procedures, and Extreme Dieting
No matter their gender, performance enhancing drugs are common with fitness influencers on social media. What you have to understand is many of them are not just taking diet pills, in order to get lean. Trenbolone is the drug of choice for a lot of them.
Trenbolone is an Anabolic Androgenic Steroid that was first created by German Lifesciences brand ‘Hoechst-Roussel’ as a veterinary product. Trenbolone is designed to build muscle while simultaneously ridding the body of fat. This drug is very efficient at what it does. However, Trenbolone is a powerful drug, and any conversion in the body is going to bring serious consequences to your health. Many of these fit and trim looking models are going to actually die young from the use of anabolics.
Surgical procedures are quite common with these social media influencers. One popular, transgender female on Instagram has not only had breast and glute implants. She has also had ribs removed in order to give her a curvier, more female like appearance. The removal of ribs is a permanent procedure. Ribs do not grow back and cannot be replaced. Even under the care of a certified and experienced surgeon, it is a dangerous procedure and the risks of complications are high.
When you see pictures of a social media influencer with a very low body fat percentage, this is often accomplished not only with drugs, but through extreme dieting. These practices are actually not good for your body. Some of those extremely lean models have also lost too much essential body fat which we actually need for good health.
Essential fat is exactly that. This fat is essential for your life and a healthy body. This fat is found in your:
- brain
- bone marrow
- nerves
- membranes that protect your organs
Essential fat plays a major role in hormone regulation, including the hormones that control fertility, vitamin absorption, and temperature regulation.
According to the American Council on Exercise, women need at least 10 to 13 percent of their body composition to come from essential fat to be in good health, while men require at least 2 to 5 percent.
While you might think that extremely lean and muscular bodies look great, many of these people are not actually healthy. Additionally, if you are losing enough fat to have an effect on your essential body fat, you are going to feel very poorly. Getting that lean is not sustainable and you should never consider trying to get there.
Lastly, you have to keep in mind that social media influencers do what they do as their full time job. You will find that some of them are promoting their images in order to sell you worthless diet and fitness plans for hundreds of dollars per plan. They will sell you a plan that is difficult to follow, and when you do not get the promised results, you are simply poorer for their scam. Save your time and money my friends.
The Flip Side to The Extra Lean Social Media Influencers
First, I have to say that I cannot, nor will I tolerate bullying behavior out of anyone for any reason. I do not want anyone to ever feel shame about their body, but there is something that must be said about “Self Lovely”, “Fat Acceptance” or any other means of promoting obesity as being a healthy choice. It’s not a healthy choice no matter how you feel.
There is now a trend with social media influencers who are promoting obesity as being a healthy thing when nothing could be further from the truth. There are influencers now who claim to be nutritionists that are saying it is perfectly okay to eat not only what you want, but also how much of it you desire. For example here are a few excerpts from one of these social media influencers:
“Stop telling healthy people they are unhealthy due to the size of their body.”
“But listening to your body, and eating whatever, whenever you are hungry will start to heal the trust of your body”
“Did you gain weight in the last year? Cool, me too.”
“So if you’ve gained weight, thank your body for protecting you, instead of shaming it.”
I will never tolerate anyone fat shaming anyone in my presence. Because we truly care, our mission at David’s Way to Health and Fitness is to help people with weight loss and weight management. People who have obesity, compared to those with a normal or healthy weight, are at increased risk for many serious diseases and health conditions, including the following:
- All-causes of death (mortality)
- High blood pressure (Hypertension)
- High LDL cholesterol, low HDL cholesterol, or high levels of triglycerides (Dyslipidemia)
- Type 2 diabetes
- Coronary heart disease
- Stroke
- Gallbladder disease
- Osteoarthritis (a breakdown of cartilage and bone within a joint)
- Sleep apnea and breathing problems
- Many types of cancer
- Low quality of life
- Mental illness such as clinical depression, anxiety, and other mental disorders
- Body pain and difficulty with physical functioning
What these social media influencers who promote obesity as being healthy do not tell you is they are only trying to feel better about themselves instead of doing what is right for themselves. Their health is at risk, and while there are medical therapies that can address most of the cardiac risk factors associated with obesity (such as medications for diabetes, hypertension, and cholesterol), losing weight will move all of your associated risk factors in the right direction.
If you are overweight or obese, losing weight is the key to living a longer, healthier life.
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Disclaimer: Before beginning any new diet or fitness plan, always consult with your doctor.