Connect with us

Fitness

Is your mirror talking back to you?

Gay men more susceptible to muscle dysmorphia

Published

on

Researchers claim that gay men are more likely to suffer from poor body image, even if they have fit physiques.

Are you happy with the way you look in the mirror?  Does your body image match your physique? If not, chances are you are not alone.

“Bigorexia,” muscle dysmorphia or Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) is predominantly a male phenomena and arguably more prevalent in the gay community. The impact of media stressing the muscular ideal among men much more these days, cultural norms for men and masculinity, and the cultural devaluing of homosexuality all have a negative impact on gay men, according to research.

Michael Chaney’s article “Muscle Dysmorphia, Self-esteem, and Loneliness Among Gay and Bisexual Men” in the June 22, 2008 International Journal of Men’s Health asserts these factors lead more gay men to be unhappy with their bodies.

According to freelibrary.com, Chaney’s study shows that gay men with higher degrees of muscle dysmorphia have lower self-esteem than those without the disorder. This lower self-esteem in turn fuels the need to work out more. Since those with muscle dysmorphia can’t perceive their own improvement, their self-esteem lowers further, compelling them to try harder. This becomes a vicious, digressive cycle over time. Chaney concludes that his findings support the idea that gay and bisexual men are more susceptible than other men to muscle dysmorphia.

Other studies show that those with muscle dysmorphia are more likely to have eating disorders and more varieties of eating disorders. One example is  Robert Olivardia’s study published in the article “Muscle Dysmorphia in Male Weightlifters: A Case-Control Study” in the American Journal of Psychiatry, August 2000. Once gay men have acquired muscle dysmorphia, further complications are likely, whether from eating disorders, social isolation, or other sources.

Our obsession with how we look to others can reach an unhealthy level and for some can be debilitating. Bigorexia often describes someone who is obsessed with the idea that he or she is not muscular enough. It’s more than a common insecurity and can lead to unhappiness and disruption in quality of life.

This disorder is often referred to as Reverse Aneroxia Nervosa or the Adonis Complex and those that actually suffer from this very real disorder become hyper-vigilant. They will spend countless hours in the gym trying to counteract what they see, but regardless of the results, never really attain a healthy perspective.

I am fairly certain the way I view or perceive myself in the mirror is different from the way others view me. About.com and many other sources state that BDD is affecting hundreds of thousands of men and presents in a very real and life altering manner. Bodybuilders and gay men lead the statistics.

It was not until 1997 that muscle dysmorphia was coined and categorized as a new form of body dysmorphic disorder. The DSMV Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, the diagnostic gold standard for clinicians states that Muscle Dysmorphia is defined by “a preoccupation with an IMAGINED defect in appearance that causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.” Further, while there may indeed be some defect, the sufferer as an extreme, obsesses over this, however minor and insignificant.

So what can be done to prevent or counteract this obsession?

According to Askmen.com: “Learning to identify and change your style of thinking is central to therapy in this area and, provided you can accept you have a problem, is highly effective. The trick is to catch it early. If you leave it until you have full on bigorexia, you have probably left it far too late.”

Weightlosshypnoishub.com gives six helpful tools for overcoming a distorted body image:

Understanding imperfection. Everyone is imperfect so change what you can;

Talk less about the perceived imperfections and think and express positive thoughts;

Focus on the good. Spend more time on what you like and what you can do;

Set attainable goals.

Study the problem and gain awareness through knowledge.

Know when to get help.

Most importantly learn to accept yourself for who you are and believe in yourself. And if you can’t get the mirror to shut up, throw it out.

Advertisement
FUND LGBTQ JOURNALISM
SIGN UP FOR E-BLAST

Fitness

NEW YEAR NEW YOU 2020: Local VIDA master trainer on trends, tips and technology at the gym

Get good technique down first; you can always add weight later

Published

on

fitness, gay news, Washington Blade
Fitness experts say the best results from a new program start to appear 12-16 weeks into so tenacity is important. (Photo courtesy Beth Caldwell/VIDA Fitness)

Jesse Johnson makes his living working as a master trainer at VIDA Fitness (U Street location) but he agreed to share some of his tips and advice with us for free.

The U Street location is one of five of the gay-owned chain’s D.C. locations. A sixth is slated to open this spring in Ballston (Arlington, Va.). Johnson is 33, gay and left a career in corporate staffing to join the VIDA team in 2011. He averages between 50-60 clients in mostly 30-minute sessions per week. Find out more at vidafitness.com. Free introductory classes are available this month. The offerings are listed at vidafitness.com/uniqueclasses. 

Johnson’s comments have been slightly edited for length.

WASHINGTON BLADE: How much does the coaching you give your clients vary from year to year as new studies and findings are made available? And how do you know if something is just another fitness fad vs. something we should really heed?

JESSE JOHNSON: There are always going to be fitness trends, that’s a given. However  before we alter what we tell our clients, we look to peer-reviewed literature. One or two studies doesn’t give much evidence — that’s not enough proof. We definitely pay attention to what is trending and we try to stay as current as possible, but we don’t incorporate it until it’s been through a more rigorous review process.

BLADE: What trends have you seen of late?

JOHNSON: In the collective big picture, there’s been a big uptick in group training. The term that’s thrown around is fitness cocktails where somebody may do a couple classes back to back, some cardio, maybe some core body work, different muscle groups — there’s been an uptick in that. And also more of what we call functional training. People want to be pain free and strong. Sure, there’s always the aesthetic benefit of lifting weights, but what people really want is to be functionally strong into their 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s.

BLADE: Anything else?

JOHNSON: I think workouts are becoming more mindful as people use technology — apps and wearable tech to be more aware of what they’re doing. From a metric-tracking standpoint, it’s easy now to tell your heart rate, number of calories burned, number of steps taken in the course of a day with Fitbit, Myzone, the Apple watch, to the apps themselves like the Peloton apps are pretty innovative and help people be more aware of what they’re doing, how frequently. There’s more mindfulness in working out. Also people see going to the gym as more of a club or social space among millennials and Gen Z. They work out with friends, it’s seen as more social, not punishment after a weekend of drinking. 

BLADE: How much does the industry really change? For instance, would you say there’s anything significantly different you’re telling your clients today vs. what you might have said when you started at VIDA nine years ago?

JOHNSON: Well, knowledge has increased dramatically and a lot of it is due to the fact that this industry didn’t even exist 40-50 years ago. People didn’t have the same needs then they do now. But a lot of the basic fundamentals are the same — keep moving, stay active, eat purposeful and do things you enjoy doing. If you enjoy doing it, it’s easier to make it a habit. I’d say we take more the sniper approach today vs. the machine gun approach. We target more instead of just spraying a bunch of bullets hoping something hits.

BLADE: So often with nutrition it seems you’ll hear one thing, then five years later the exact opposite is what experts are saying: don’t eat eggs, no eggs are good. Stuff like that. Does fitness advice change that drastically as well?

JOHNSON: Not as much. A lot of it has to do with whether people are already moving or not. We don’t take them right out of the gate to a high level of intensity. We let them work up to it. But no, I can’t think of any particular exercise we were advising a few years ago we’re saying, “No, don’t do that one anymore” or anything like that.

BLADE: What do you do if you see people working out on their own using improper technique? Can you really hurt yourself with bad form, like lifting with your back and that kind of thing?

JOHNSON: Well we try to be as polite as possible. We’ll only approach someone if we thinkg they’re about to injure themselves. But knock on wood, I haven’t seen very many injuries at VIDA and I like to credit that to the large staff of personal trainers we have on the floor. There is an inherent risk to working out — you can hurt yourself, but it doesn’t happen very often.

BLADE: Is it better to stay at a weight level at which you can maintain excellent form or push yourself out of your comfort zone with heavier weight even if your form suffers a little? 

JOHNSON: Numerous studies have found if you take a lighter weight and do more reps but push yourself to your failure threshold vs. doing fewer reps of a heavier weight to failure, the outcome is the same. And there’s a higher risk of injury with heavier weights. We like to focus on form and technique before we progress, especially if somebody is just joining the gym and they may not know much about resistance training. You can always add weight later. 

BLADE: How many of the New Years resolution folks really stick with it? Do you see many of those same faces by March or April? 

JOHNSON: Almost all my new clients stay with me for months, sometimes years. However statistically within the industry, the number is very low. The honeymoon period on average is about six weeks and it’s a shame because often you see your best results 12-16 weeks into a program. You’ll see more immediate results sooner but that’s when it starts to get really spectacular.

BLADE: How bad are the wait times for machines at VIDA? Is it pretty crazy at peak time? 

JOHNSON: I’m not gonna lie, the gym is very busy and there are peak times. But the U Street location is more residential and we have between 50,000-60,000 square feet of space so there’s not a lot of wait time for many of the machines. And people tend to be pretty aware. They’ll let you work in with them.

BLADE: How gay is it?

JOHNSON: I’d say 50-60 percent of our clientele is gay.

BLADE: Some lesbians and trans folks as well?

JOHNSON: There are lesbians. I don’t personally have any trans clients but we have 30 trainers on staff so there may be some but yeah, it’s mostly gay men. Obviously everybody is welcome. 

BLADE: Has that ebbed or flowed much over your years there?

JOHNSON: No, D.C. is a pretty good city to be a gay person in. I haven’t seen any major change. 

Jesse Johnson (Photo courtesy of VIDA)
Continue Reading

Fitness

Why a personalized diet can help you achieve better results

One size fits all is not the best approach when it comes to eating and fitness

Published

on

diets, gay news, Washington Blade
Research has found that not all diets and bodies work together the same way. (Photo courtesy Rawpixel/iStock via Getty Images Plus)

From custom-designed sneakers to tailor-made sunglasses, the trend of personalization is going head to toe, and for good reason, making its way to the world of weight loss and wellness.

Specifically, researchers have been studying two converging topics in recent years. One is the importance of body type in determining the combination of fats, carbohydrates and protein that will provide the best results for a given individual. The other is the variability of results associated with a single diet — the idea that if two people start the same diet at the same time, their results could be drastically different.

On top of that, consumer research shows that people overwhelmingly prefer personalized experiences. Sixty percent of consumers agree that personalization is essential to weight loss and overall wellness.

Here’s what to know about why personalized diets are becoming so popular and how to find the right diet for you:

The importance of body type

The places your body stores excess fat may be the single greatest predictor of health outcomes. This is the concept behind Nutrisystem’s assessment of the four most common body types: “Apple,” “Pear,” “Hourglass” and “Rectangle.”

“We’re going a bit old school here, because these categories have stood the test of time for a reason. They provide crucial information on how you respond to food intake and can help you to adjust what you eat based on your goals,” says Courtney McCormick, corporate dietitian at Nutrisystem. 

Body type can also influence how macronutrients like fat, protein and carbs are processed. To fulfill your individual needs, first determine your body type, food preferences and goals, then look for a weight loss plan that takes these important factors into consideration, such as Nutrisystem.

One size does not fit all

The DIETFITS study, a large, randomized research study comparing low-fat versus low-carb dietary patterns found no difference in weight loss between them. But drilling down into the data, one can see great variability. Some dieters gained weight while others lost a lot. But it’s not always about weight outcomes, as recent research has shown that factors such as body shape may play a bigger role in the determinants of health risks than body weight alone.

For instance, a woman who is apple-shaped tends to carry her extra weight in the mid-section. She would see best results on a lower-glycemic nutrition plan that is lower in refined carbs and higher in healthy fats and protein.

“Research shows that one size does not fit all when it comes to weight loss and disease prevention,” McCormick says. “That’s why we’ve created a unique, personalized approach that’s easy to follow and designed to help participants lose weight and get healthy.”

For more insights on how to personalize your diet and maximize results, visit leaf.nutrisystem.com.

While it’s no secret that achieving one’s weight loss goals is challenging, personalizing your plan can help make things easier, ultimately providing you a greater chance of success.

Continue Reading

Fitness

Al Roker blasts Jillian Michaels for criticizing Keto diet

The fitness trainer says the ‘personal attacks’ were ‘bizarre’

Published

on

Jillian Michaels, gay news, Washington Blade
Jillian Michaels, gay news, Washington Blade
Jillian Michaels (Photo by Don Flood; courtesy True PR)

Jillian Michaels revealed she “hates” the increasingly popular Keto diet but “Today” show weatherman Al Roker slammed the fitness trainer for dissing the high-fat, low-carb diet.

Speaking with Prevention, Michaels says she doesn’t like the diet because “There’s no calorie restriction;” “You may miss out on important nutrients;” and “It could shave years off your life.”

In response, Roker, who is a fan of the diet, called out Michaels for her aggressive reputation as a fitness trainer on “The Biggest Loser” on Twitter.

“So @JillianMichaels says #Keto is a bad idea. This from a woman who promoted on camera bullying , deprivation, manipulation and more weekly in the name of weight loss. Now those sound like bad ideas,” Roker tweeted.

Roker further defended the Keto diet, which he says he has been on since Sept. 1, on “The Today Show.”

“My point is, what works for you, works for you,” Roker explains. “There’s science on both sides that says it’s not a great idea and science that says it is a good idea.”

Michaels responded by posting a video on Twitter saying she didn’t appreciate Roker’s “personal attacks”

“It’s bizarre, it’s unnecessary, it’s beneath both of us,” Michaels said. “Read my book, ‘The 6 Keys.’ I’ve extensively researched everything in that, and nutrition is about way more than weight loss.”

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Advertisement

Sign Up for Weekly E-Blast

Follow Us @washblade

Advertisement

Popular