Been thinking about this a lot. I don't think I have "the" solution, but here is how I try to support my clients with this – and all I do is fat loss, and the majority of my clients are always women.
I think it comes down to education. A lot of it, really, is letting clients know how awesome they are doing, in the world of real life results. I use bodyfat percentage for the *opposite* reason that most people do – I use it to let clients know how awesome they are doing.
I'm always relating it back to population averages. We have lots of conversations about what the media tells us is average, vs whats average in real life, and what's great according to the media, vs what's great in real life.
Trainers that are telling women that they need to be 15% body fat are part of the problem. And the media tells us the average girl is like 23% bodyfat, and looking great happens under 16% body fat coupled with an unreasonably low scale weight.
Average, in america is over 33% bodyfat.
What most people really feel like in real life is average, is about 26%. This is actually much, much, much better than average. And this is a very very healthy, maintanable, fit, bodyfat percentage.
At 23% body fat you are obviously a woman who works out. You're fit and awesome and great. You can actually stop here and set a performance goal.
If you want to get even leaner, 21% is awesome. Typically when someone tells me that they want to look great in a bikini, this is the goal we set. At 21% bodyfat, you should feel awesome in a bikini. You can stop here and set a performance goal.
If you want to get even leaner, 19% is totally completely rockstar. Stop here. You're perfect. Stop here and set a performance goal.
We constantly reprogram them with what's healthy, what's average, and what's their goal. Some clients stop at 23% bodyfat, some at 21%, and some even at 19%, whatever they want. And, more importantly, I give them permission to be really ecstatically happy there (as they should be).
Sometimes, they don't believe that they are really "done" in the 19-21% range. Now, if they're modeling for something, that's one thing and we can totally go lower, but that's not my average client. For my average client, we'll have several conversations that go like this:
Me: "You look awesome you're perfect"
them "But I still have this little bit of cellulite right here." *points*
Me: "No trust me, you're perfect. That's what perfect looks like in real life. I'm a trainer, you can believe me."
Me: "Ask your friends, ask your husband, ect."
Her: "They all say I got great results and that I look amazing."
Me: "Maybe you should try on believing them."
And we go on to talk more about the media, and body dysmorphia, and how not only can we not trust the media, but we also can't trust our own view of our body. That we should really listen to all the people telling us we look great. That I'm telling them that they look great, and that I'm an objective professional.
And then now that they've hit their goal, they stop playing the fat loss game and start playing a performance game of their choosing.
by Josh Hillis
Find out about my online coaching program here: https://joshhillis.com/articles/2013/06/josh-hillis-online-coaching-program-open-again-2.html
Author of the upcoming Fat Loss Happens on Monday, for On Target Publications (2014)
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