Extreme Fitness Part II: A Diet of Deficiency

Extreme Fitness Part II: A Diet of Deficiency

extreme fitness II

In the early ’90s, a woman I respected and loved told me that I would be a great contender in bodybuilding/ fitness competitions. By this time, I was already obsessed with my body.

It was easy to see that my genetics coupled with my propensity to enjoy a hard and intense workout gave way to a body that obediently responded to my demands. It didn’t take much effort for me to be lean and muscular. Not only was my body my slave, but it was also my calling card. My body was the thing I used to attract and command respect. It was a shallow attempt to be known and to be loved.

I didn’t really want to do fitness competitions. Something pure and real deep down inside of me knew it was a trap.

Why would I want to publicly compare myself to other women?

It was bad enough to compete in my own private daily competition. But because someone I respected and loved told me I would be good at it, I thought why pass up a chance to be good at something? 

So I trained and trained and trained. Though I actually disliked it, the possibility of physical perfection kept me going. I was never known for quitting anything once I had started something and I wasn’t about to start.

Trying to Live on a Diet of Deficiency

Two weeks prior to a show day, things get really hairy. This is the time when your diet starts to get EXTREME. It is known as carbohydrate/ glycogen depletion time. Carbohydrates are the body’s primary source of energy and require water to be stored. The water retention creates a more swollen (normal) look on muscle as opposed to a defined and dehydrated (show ready) look. 

Depleting carbohydrates/glycogen storage is like trying to keep a fire going (your metabolism for daily living; thinking, feeling, and doing) by burning cotton instead of wood.

I had to continue to work out fairly hard, for 2-3 hours a day, while also trying to perfect a 3-minute high-intensity fitness routine, all the while my energy levels were diminishing day by day. I was exhausted, tired, and felt like I had the flu all the time. 

But, my body responded as it was supposed to. I was starting to look really good, even if I was tired of eating dry cans of tuna and wanted to punch someone in the face.

It was shortly after this competition in the early 90s that carbohydrates, in general, became labeled the devil of the American diet. Women started scooping out their bagels, banning pasta from their meals, and shunning bananas.

However, this extreme, show-ready diet I consumed in the 90s is now pretty much the mainstay diet of most women today desiring to lose weight and/or stay lean. These guidelines are the rules by which one lives if they want to see their six-pack. Again, let me be clear, there is nothing wrong with having a six-pack, but when that is what defines and drives you, I hope you can smell the smoke – the danger is lurking.

Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life (Romans 8:6).

The True Markers of Fitness

We must remember that real fitness and health starts on the inside, in the hidden places of the heart. These true markers of health don’t show up on our Instagram feeds and magazines.

Things like; How well do you sleep at night? How much energy do you have during the day? How’s your blood pressure? Blood sugar levels? Resting heart rate? Cholesterol? Your ability to perform daily activities with strength and stamina? These friends are the true markers of fitness.

“Knowing what is right is like deep water in the heart; a wise person draws from the well within.” -Proverbs 20:5

We can no longer plug our ears and pretend we don’t hear our hearts telling us we should back off from drinking so much wine, or eating so much sugar, etc. And we must no longer follow the herd that is restricting and reflecting. Restricting calories, labeling it self-control, then continually reflecting on its own beauty in the mirror.

Enough is enough.

Stay free from the extremes.

Are you being ruled by food fears?
What formed habit is now forming you?
Are you listening to the Spirit?
What is He saying?


Comment below and let’s walk the narrow road together.

Alisa is the founder of Revelation Wellness and the author of The Wellness Revelation. She was born for the battle of freedom! She is an ordinary woman who spends time with Jesus who empowers her to rise up and do extraordinary things. 

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