Alix Lynx, 37, has candidly spoken about the dangerous reality behind trying to look "perfect" online, admitting that her obsessive pursuit of the "perfect body" led to unhealthy habits and significant health impacts. The Instagram star, who has over one million followers, confessed she once wanted to be "as skinny as possible" to "look good from every angle," but her goal became so obsessive that it eventually had a massive impact on her health.
A Six-Pack and a Dark Side
Alix, from New York, achieved a six-pack at one point, but she admitted there was a dark side to her reality. Talking about why she wanted a six-pack, she said: "It was a couple of things. The first was that I felt this need to look perfect."
"I’ve always been a very all-in or nothing type of person. I felt like, if I was going to spend all this time at the gym and go all in on this career, I wanted to make myself as perfect as possible, which was insane."
Honestly, I also had body dysmorphia, and I would get very, very finicky looking at myself. When I started at 25, I put a lot of pressure on myself to look a certain way."
She added: "I would see photos of myself and get really hypercritical. I’d think, 'Oh my God, I look really fat. I’ll fix this. I’ll fix that'. I felt like being really skinny took away a lot of the criticism I was giving myself."
Strict Diet and Intense Workouts
In a bid to achieve the look, Alix would endure 20 minutes of high-intensity interval training six days a week and lift weights three or four days a week. Plus, she also had a super strict diet, examining every bit of sugar, every carbohydrate, and every macronutrient she consumed.
Looking back, she confessed it was a "very unhealthy" way to live, and it caused her to lose a lot of weight. She noted: "Also, the camera really does add 10 pounds. I don’t know what it is, but it does. In real life, I was so skinny but, if you look at the old photos of me, I was skinny, but I looked fit."
"I don’t think I looked like a toothpick. When I look at those photos now, though, I know myself and I know my body, and I can just tell I was not healthy."
When Periods Stopped
Alix came to learn something was wrong when her periods stopped. It dawned on her that all the changes were really impacting her health. When asked if she was worried when this happened, she added: "Yes and no. For a minute, I thought maybe it was problematic, but I was young and I was kind of like, 'whatever, I’ll just let it ride for a little bit', and a little bit turned into a year."
"It’s insanity to me now because I can’t even picture myself being in that position at this point in my life. I could never do that now, but back then I was just like 'whatever. It stopped. Oh well. I’m skinny, I’m hot, it’s ok.'"
"Eventually, I realised it was because I wasn’t eating enough. It wasn’t even really the workouts. They were consistent, but they weren’t anything crazy. I literally was not eating enough, and my body stopped giving me a period."
Learning to Love Herself
In time, she realised she wasn't acting in a healthy way. Looking back, she thinks there were reasons why things spiralled out of control. She added: "It made me feel like I had some semblance of control over one part of my life. It’s interesting thinking about it now after all the therapy, life experience and self-work I’ve done."
"I look back and realise I was at such a transitional point in my life. I started doing this when I was around 24 and continued for about three years."
"It made me feel super disciplined and super in control, and honestly, it made me feel confident. I’m not going to lie. I never looked at myself and thought 'oh my God, I look too skinny'. Not until years later."
"At the time, I was like, 'I’m awesome because I look this way', which is crazy to think about now." Luckily, she has now come out the other side, as she added: "I really like my body now. I’ve learned to love myself the way I am."
Periods can stop or become very light after significant weight loss, restrictive dieting or excessive exercise, a condition commonly known as hypothalamic amenorrhea. This may indicate that the body is under physical stress. Anyone worried about their period or health should contact their GP for advice.
