Are having Abs really worth it?

Dropping your body fat percentage so low that your muscles appear more defined (6 Pack Abs) is not a goal I think is that sustainable or very healthy for that fact.

For years magazines would spread the front cover with females with extremely low body fat and clearly defined abs in a bid for consumers to buy into the next quick fix diet that will have you shredded and your leanest self in 6 Weeks! Is this possible, absolutely not, is it sustainable, absolutely not, and is it even healthy, absolutely not.

A quick ride to 6 pack abs would entail dropping calories significantly low and being in a very large deficit while completing very intense gym sessions.

As we should know by now it is impossible to spot reduce fat from a specific area on the body, so if you are completing sit ups for days you simply would not have abs peeping through at the end of it, this is mainly due to the layer of subcutaneous fat covering the abdominal muscles

Of course, genetics will play a major role in how bodies store fat and where and some women will have naturally more defined abs as they do not tend to store fat around their abdominals, However for the majority of us this is not the case.

There are a lot of negative side affects that go hand in hand with having an extremely low body fat percentage especially in females which include:

Loss of menstrual cycle (If you’re trying to significantly drop to a low BF % then the body panics and goes into fight or flight mode. If your body is in this stressed state it takes it as the wrong time to re-produce therefore you will not have a period

Low energy & Mood: Not fueling your body correctly and for function will lead to an array of problems such as (effected metabolic rate/ harder time recovering from workouts/lowered immune system/possible micronutrient deficiency/ affect on mental health

It is said that a healthy body fat percentage in women lies anywhere between 15-31 %. Always strive for health instead of solely trying to change your aesthetics. It is an exhausting and often unhealthy relationship to have with health and fitness, and at the end will the result (defined abs) be really worth it?

Michele

L.I.T