It’s a little-discussed fact that few competitors
maintain the physiques we see in photos
and on stage year round. In effect, many
competitors are professional yo-yo dieters.
“Comp season body fat is next to
impossible to maintain for a long period of
time without it causing negative side effects,”
says competitor Alicia Coulthard.
According to NSW Institute of Sport
accredited sports dietitian and exercise
physiologist Sally Walker, the healthy range
of body fat for women is 20 to 25 per cent
while the minimum level considered safe is 10
per cent.
Ultra-low body fat can compromise
metabolism and future weight management.
“Any increase in intake can disrupt energy
balance to be in a positive energy balance,
even with a low daily kilojoule intake,”
Walker says.
The extreme shredding regimes practised
by some competitors and coaches are
responsible for the notorious rebound effect
after competition, when competitors’ bodiescan force them to act on the hunger they’ve
denied, starting an involuntary series of
binges anchored by sugary carbohydrates.
It’s not uncommon for competitors who
worked for months to get super lean to gain
five kilos – much of it fluid and glycogen – in a
week or two.
“Every time I gave in and had something
sugary, I couldn’t stop. I was binging three
days on, three days off,” says competitor
Hollie Attwood. “At first I thought I could get
away with it, then it became uncontrollable.
It was compulsive. I developed a really bad
relationship with food..”
“It is a survival mechanism; the body
eventually resists such extreme aesthetic
goals,” says Dr Helen O’Connor, a senior
lecturer in nutrition at The University
of Sydney.
Dipping below a body fat threshold
can also compromise cognitive function
according to John Baranoff, a senior
psychologist with the Australian Institute
of Sport.“High-level brain functions such as
the regulation of attention, planning,
problem solving and comprehension are
particularly affected during extreme dieting,”
Baranoff says.
Low energy availability and pre-
occupation with food and weight are not
uncommon and research shows that dieters
(anyone who restricts their food intake) often
develop OCD-like symptoms that can spiral
into an eating disorder. Commencing any
diet increases eating disorder risk, says Dr
O’Connor.
Bodybuilding industry experts concede
that there is a small but definite contingent
of amateur competitors using the goal
to legitimise eating disorders and body
dysmorphic thoughts and behaviours.
Conversely, the culture of competing can
validate and sanction unhealthy practices.
“Because of the culture of the sport,
controlled eating is normalised,” O’Connor
says. “It can have detrimental psychological
effects that are hard to break.”THE VERDICT
By the end of my eight weeks, I
was leaner, fitter, more focused
and feeling happier in myself.
Over six kilograms lighter, I still
felt nourished and strong – rather
than lethargic and wasting away
as I had on previous ‘diets’. Against
logic, exercising less but at strategic
intensities with correct technique
helped me to achieve my leanest
body yet.
Would I recommend it? Let’s call
a spade a spade – it is hard, it does
require dedication and time and
no matter how you want to sugar
coat it, the sacrifices and limitations
on freedom to eat as you choose
are not completely at odds witheating disorders. I can see how this
could kick-start a slippery slope
for people with a predisposition- if not to anorexia or bulimia,
then to orthorexia. Dieting is the
single biggest risk factor for eating
disorder onset.
Aside from the control you could
variously describe as self-discipline
or self-punishment depending on
perspective, this sort of extreme
transformation costs considerable
coin. Assuming you don’t have an
eating disorder or OCD tendencies, I
think most of us can learn a lot about
ourselves, our beliefs, values and
goals, priorities, bodies and minds by
experiencing how the other half live.
IS THERE SUCH THING
AS TOO SLIM? WE ASKED
THE EXPERTS TO DRAW
THE LINE.EXTREME
LEAN
DEVIL’S ADVOCATE