Monday 4 May 2015

Why The Only People Who Should Aspire To Be Like Bikini Competitors Are Bikini Competitors


If you have Instagram you will have stalked Bikini Competitors. You might not have been searching for them, but when a girl with a toned physique pops up onn your feed you can't help click on it. You've been distracted by the body, but then you see the food and suddenly the body isn't so desirable after all.

You're likely to come across the following; lots of Tupperware, chicken, veg, rice, more veg, gym selfies and muscle pumps. All of which are essential to a Bikini Competitor lifestyle, but are they necessary to yours?

The summer is approaching fast and we are looking for ways to tighten up, so when we come across  a girl who has abs and isn't afraid of posting absolutely everything they eat, it seems like the logical place to turn. They may post the numbers behind what they eat, the exercise regime that they carry out at the gym or something 'unhealthy', which they will quickly label as a 'cheat', making it easy to try to match your life to theirs. If it's worked for them it will work for you, right?

I'd love to say wrong, but in all honesty it probably will work. Providing you follow the same principles, but match the numbers to your individual needs there's a strong chance that you will see results, which is a good thing isn't it?

Don't get me wrong I seriously admire these girls. Not only are they breaking the stereotypes about what a girl is 'supposed to look like', but their dedication is ridiculously impressive. They certainly are a more favourable role model to have with the promotion of 'strong' being a desirable image, and the importance of eating enough to get results, but there's a whole other element to being a Bikini Competitor that isn't suitable for the everyday girl, and here's why...

The most striking aspect that concerns me is the level of pressure. If you have ever competed in a sport you will know that a few weeks before the competition starts you place pressure on yourself, and push yourself as hard as possible, which for the competitors is fine, but what are you pushing yourself for? To look good on the beach? That's fine, but it shouldn't be the same kind of pressure that is placed before a competition and this is where the lines get blurred. A cheat meal to you should not be the same as a cheat meal to a competitor, because what exactly are you cheating?

Adopting this sort of lifestyle is fine for a short period of time, but the competitors themselves are the first to admit that it can not and should not be maintained. A competition has a date, and once it's over the competitors diets change, but what's the end date when you are not a competitor? The trouble is that the lifestyle is addictive, and once you learn exactly what it is that your body needs to maintain a certain standard it can be impossible to stop. You start off thinking that chocolate is a cheat, but before long anything that doesn't consist of chicken and veg starts to become something that is seen as a treat, and as a result something that you are fearful of.

This is when the real problem arises, as it starts to interfere with other parts of your life. A Bikini Competitor is prepping for a competition and won't deny that they are strict on themselves, but it's for a cause. You don't want to go out for dinner, or have someone prepare your meal for you, you fancy chocolate but it doesn't fit with your diet. Without even realising you've become fearful of events that were once so normal, to the point that even going for a meal with your friends can be something you dread. What can you say? You don't have a competition that you are preparing for to use as an excuse, and it's reached the point where you're not even sure why you don't want to eat 'unhealthy' anymore.

Summers over, but your Bikini diets still there. The problem is the dedication that is required to be a Bikini Competitor is not required in everyday life. What started out as just trying to look like the girl you stalked on Instagram, or getting that summer body, or even trying to build some muscle quickly turned to an obsession. An obsession to fulfil a lifestyle that you do not actually lead. You are training for a competition that is never going to come, and if the competition never comes does the training ever end?

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