This comment from a friend of mine got me super fired up. It has to do with something I’ve heard throughout my earlier life as a long distance runner who needed to stay thin to keep up with the “skinny girl runners.”
In fact, anytime someone would say this two-word phrase to me, I wanted to slap them silly. Not because I didn’t think their intentions were good, but more because I didn’t feel understood as a human being.
Here’s what I heard from coaches back then: ” Kim you need to lose a few more pounds. When you do this your VO 2 maximum will increase, and it will be easier to run faster.” Now mind you, I was 105 pounds. But this was athletics and the ideal weight for my height to run my fastest was projected at about 98 pounds. But it was not the weight goal of 98 pounds that troubled me so much that I could just soccer punch anyone who mentioned getting thinner, but rather a two word phrase I hate to hear even to this day. What is this two word phrase?
The World’s Worst Advice For Thin or Not So Thin People
Eat Less! That’s right. This is the two word phrase I heard from my coaches way back when, and what I hear from trainers and health coaches dispensing advice to their clients even to this day. Eat less! You’ll lose weight. This is the worst advice one can get nowadays when confronted with aiming to get healthier and leaner. Nowadays we should know better.
The problem with this phrase “eat less” is multifaceted. There are a myriad of reasons eating less is not how we should ultimately get to lean. The following are just a few:
1. Hormones become out of balance causing depression, midsection weight bloat, and increased sugar cravings.
2. Energy levels become depleted making one less likely to be active and happy.
3. Body composition changes as muscles weaken and get smaller, while fat storage throughout the body increases especially in the mid section.
4. Metabolism slows, making healthy living and health numbers worse than in previous years.