Is Being Really Lean Really Worth It?

The "really lean" levels they're discussing aren't even visually preferable for most folks. It's kind of a funky topic. Are you interested in competitive bodybuilding? If yes, go there. If no, don't.

Yes. Just read the first article. I'm not strict, I'm a night owl, have taken a few hiatuses to have kids and started over a few times. I feel my best when I'm working out. I'm also not as lean as I wannabe, but happy and comfortable with my current, slow progress. I find it easy to gain strength/muscle after hiatus. The older I get the more fat I carry and the harder I have to work to burn it. But I fit as much as possible into my family life because I love it. It's a lifestyle choice :drinker:

Eta: I never been below 17% BF. Currently in lower 20's. BMI is normal range. Lean enough to show strength & hard work is good enough for me.

2nd eta: after 2nd article... again, boils down to lifestyle choice. I haven't yet ventured into competition, but have it on a backburner in my brain. It would be worth it to at least do it once and learn from the experience. If you can maintain it, power to you!

For me, yes. I got down to around 9-10% a month or so ago, it was tough for me at that point, cravings got worse etc.. currently going to bulk back up to around 14-15% then cut down to 6-8% with every last bit of energy I have :-D

yea Balance is key...Its worth it to me to be lean and on the lower spectrum of BMI.
I was just talking about this today on my page.
At my age, Health is seriously important.

At my leanest, I had 17% body fat. I did NOT feel any of the horrible things the author did, but I was sporting a 6 pack, ripped arms and legs, and I looked and felt fantastic.

I am currently 22% body fat looking to get down to 16%. In short, YES, it is worth it.

No, I am not interested in body building in the least. I just happened to find these articles and I found them really interesting. What I got out of the article is that being healthy is far more important than physical looks.

I think you're secretly interested well it ain't for everyone, apparently.

In for the excuse making that these articles inevitably inspire. Sure, I agree that you don't need to have super low BF percentage, but if you're currently at 30% then this article doesn't apply to you.

30% is not unhealthy for a woman. It's a reasonable place to stop losing fat. Not everyone is looking for extreme leanness, which is kind of the point here.

I am about 13% and would love to get to 10% ...so for me, yes it is worth it ...

Plus it is good to have goals, they keep you motivated and keep you on tract.

If you do not have goals then it makes it easier to skip a work out or eat like crap for a few days...or so I think ..

I think, once you get within a healthy weight range, goals that are related to performance or fitness are better than goals that are related to physique (personally I suppose). It wouldn't be worth reducing my bf% if it resulted in decreased perfomance (strength, energy, speed etc.). But then again, I play sport and that's my main focus

It's a matter of personal preference. I feel my best at 15-17% body fat, so I plan to stay that way. Yes, some people may run into health concerns, i.e. women losing their period, but nothing of the sort has happened to me.

That's the point, it really comes down to how an individual's body responds to leaning out. If you are happy and feeling good at a lower bf% then great but if you are miserable, stressed, lacking energy trying to get there or maintain it then it obviously isn't where you're meant to be.

5-7% for the win. I was born very lean, and it's physically impossible for me to go past a certain bf% unless I binge 24/7. Even then it would be tough.

Everyone's body has it's individual ideal percentage, so it's hard to call something "unhealthy" or "unmaintainable" in general just because it is for you personally.

Depends on your body type, I have a naturally big frame (8" wrists 11" ankles) , my goal is between 10-12% body fat which will place me right around 215-225lbs. I don't think I'd like my look in sub 10% ranges, I like being a bit more solid looking.

Articles like this are really important to remind us that balance is important in our lives. I think it demonstrates why it's important to have goals that are non-physique related. Also I think this is why I have a problem with figure competitions. I know that some competitors are able to get competition-ready without using unhelthy measures but I think for a lot it isn't a healthy process and wouldn't leave you in peak physical or mental condition

Amen!

Yes! It's an adrenaline rush and TOTALLY worth it! But the problem is... Thinking about the long term pay off of not submitting to temp. urges for munchies! You are stronger than that tub of ice cream! Throw it out of the damn house and do your whole family a favor!

In for the excuse making that these articles inevitably inspire. Sure, I agree that you don't need to have super low BF percentage, but if you're currently at 30% then this article doesn't apply to you.

30% is not unhealthy for a woman. It's a reasonable place to stop losing fat. Not everyone is looking for extreme leanness, which is kind of the point here.

I looked and felt fat as hell at 30% body fat, and I had high cholesterol and elevated BP to boot. At 25%, the medical issues were non-existent, but I still looked mushy and felt awful about how I looked.

Some women are comfortable at that level of body fat, but for the rest of us, it is unreasonable to say that's a reasonable place to stop losing.

... ok. Have fun with your quest for extreme leanness.

20%-30% is not extreme leanness by any stretch of the imagination. [/b]I hope you are not implying that it is.[/b]

Now, please elaborate on what exactly in my statement got even close to implying that 20-30% is "extreme leanness".