Why You Don’t Need Fitness & Nutrition Advice from Athletes
Reposted from inmyskinnygenes.com.
A few days ago, I was excited to see my friends in the ancestral health space passing around an article in a mainstream publication about an athlete who had successfully transitioned to a Paleo-ish lifestyle.
It’s always nice to see a little validation of ancestral health principles in the mainstream media—but as I read the article, I realized that it wouldn’t be one that I’d be sharing with my followers.
Why not?
Well, as I read it, I realized just how triggering it could be. Because not only is he following a Paleo style diet, but it’s a pretty rigid, very low carbohydrate one—and he then talks about all of the exercise he does, which includes fasted cardio, hour long gym sessions, and sports-specific practice.
So, yeah, he got his body by following a Paleo diet. And exercising like crazy. Because that’s what he gets paid to do.
And people who have never heard of Paleo, or who have heard of it but weren’t convinced, may choose to give it a shot—based on what worked for this athlete (and his abs and his ridiculous athletic ability).
This is not to call out Paleo as the main offender–the same thing happens with vegan diets. And bodybuilding/clean eating. And basically any kind of diet in the world:
As soon as an athlete or a celebrity gets their hands on it, people start reading the magazine articles and blog posts, following the meal plans, searching for exercise routines…
Which can be okay if it gets you in the door, encourages you to move a little more, and helps you cut out processed foods…but that’s rarely where it stops.
Because you don’t just want to feel better in your body, get rid of a little brain fog, and lift a little heavier—you want the six pack, the extreme weight loss, the optimal athletic performance too.
But here’s the thing:
Athletes and celebrities are paid to look and perform a certain way. Their livelihoods are predicated on a lifestyle that is centered around the kitchen and the gym.
Unless you are an athlete or a celebrity, you don’t need to live this way.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with wanting to be healthy. With cooking your meals at home and enjoying yourself in the gym or on the field. But I do think there’s something seriously messed up with how we prefer to get our advice from people for whose lives we’d have to sacrifice a whole lot in order to emulate. (see: Maria Kang & the What’s Your Excuse debacle)
When I was going through my figure competitor phase, I clung to the advice of Tosca Reno, Jamie Eason, and Nicole Wilkins Lee. At the time, I was in school for a masters in theatre, so I had to choose between getting good grades and two-a-day cardio. I had to choose between going to rehearsal and being home to cook my clean meals. So I quit and got certified as a personal trainer. I wanted my lifestyle and my aesthetic/athletic goals to align. And because I got my advice from figure competitors, that meant I wanted to spend all day as close to the gym and the kitchen as I could be, lifting heavy, doing cardio, and cooking my egg white and oatmeal omelets.
How is this any different from the people who wish they could quit their jobs so they could fit in a 10 am hot yoga/pilates session and have time to go home to make fresh green juice so they can reap the health benefits before they dissipate in a kale-colored puff of smoke? Or the people who stop hanging out with their friends because those friends don’t “get it” like their new friends at the Crossfit box do? Or the people who will try any diet or pill or cleanse or fitness protocol they see in a magazine, but then beat themselves up and “fall off of the wagon” because their results don’t get them anywhere near Cameron Diaz’s body?
Etc.
My point is: when are we going to stop asking our athletes for their “beach body workouts” or their “30-days-to-ripped” meal plans?
When are we going to start entrusting our bodies, our meals, our exercise, and our lifestyles to…ourselves?
I’m glad that the big name people are coming around to an ancestrally-inspired lifestyle. (Maybe the next Olympics will be dedicated to the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund instead of sponsored by McDonalds?)
But I just urge you caution when you share the “success stories” of people who are getting paid to look awesome. Especially if those stories contain a blueprint for a lifestyle change that is unmanageable or even unnecessary for the average Jane or Joe who would see plenty of good come into their lives if they would only ditch the pasta and packaged food and start walking a few times a week.
We all have different lives, different situations, and different needs. So if your Paleo looks different from some athlete’s Paleo, cool. Grok on, sister. Do you—and not the cover model, even if she’s got a killer recipe for grass-fed beef.
Stay hungry,
