Alix Lynx, 37, who has over one million Instagram followers, has spoken candidly about spending years chasing the "perfect body" and the dark reality she later discovered. She admitted she once wanted to be "as skinny as possible" as she strived to "look good from every angle". Yet, there came a point when her ambitions grew so all-consuming that they began to take a serious toll on her health.
Pressure to Look Perfect
Reflecting on why she wanted a six-pack, Alix, from New York, 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. 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."
Extreme Routine and Its Consequences
In her pursuit of that appearance, Alix would push through 20 minutes of high-intensity interval training six days a week, while also lifting weights three or four days a week. On top of that, she followed an incredibly strict diet. She scrutinised every gram of sugar, every carbohydrate and every macronutrient she put into her body. Looking back, she acknowledged it was a "very unhealthy" way to live, and it led to significant weight loss.
It was only when Alix's periods stopped that she realised something wasn't right, as it became apparent that all these changes were seriously affecting her wellbeing. When asked whether she was concerned at the time, she said: "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."
Finding Control and Recovery
In time, she came to recognise that her behaviour was far from healthy. Looking back, she believes there were underlying reasons why things began to spiral. "It made me feel like I had some semblance of control over one part of my life," she added. "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."
Thankfully, she has now come through the other side, adding: "I really like my body now. I've learned to love myself the way I am." Periods can cease or become extremely light following substantial weight loss, restrictive eating patterns or excessive physical activity. This condition is commonly referred to as hypothalamic amenorrhea. This is not a positive sign, as it may suggest that your body is experiencing physical strain.
