Geschatte leestijd: 4 minuten
The day before yesterday in the Volkskrant an article about a new type of eating disorder that many Fitgirls might suffer from: Orthorexia Nervosa. However, we recognize a very specific type of fitgirl in this: “The oatmeal girl”.
The many faces of the fitgirl
I would almost say “A fitgirl has no name”. Maybe because it just takes too long for the next Game Of Thrones season. But especially because I think “the fitgirl” cannot be described with one name.
A fitgirl has many names.
For example, you have the R
un Chicks and the S
quat Babes. An evolution of the last decade is that more and more
Run Chicks are transitioning to the Squat Babes (which just sounds better than
hip thrust girls). These ladies can have a big difference in their ideal image. The running girl is often afraid of becoming too masculine by looking at weights. The Squat Babe understands that shaping your body is not just about taking away from it.
There is also a big difference between, for example, the
Bikini Beauty Queens on one hand and the
Cross-chick on the other. The Bikini Beauty Queens are women who like to show on Instagram how hard they train with videos from the gym and then show the result in a bikini and heels during a (bikini) fitness competition. The Cross-chick would wake up sweating at the thought of standing on a stage in heels and a bikini. The Cross-chick prefers to show the result during a competition where her appearance is not relevant. The only photos the Cross-chick posts on Instagram are of personal records skipping and of the calloused blisters as proof of a good workout.
There are several types of
Fit Girls to mention. Regarding the article in the Volkskrant, however, I was mainly annoyed by the fact that the author apparently is not aware of the difference between the “IIFYM-puzzler” and the “oatmeal girl”.
IIFYM-puzzler
As a Fit Girl, you can be a combination of several of the types mentioned above. One distinction mainly says something about what you want to achieve, the other about how you want to achieve it. The typical Squat Babe, for example, wants less fat on the stomach and more muscle mass on the buttocks, legs, and arms than the Run Chick. Many Squat Babes are also Bikini Beauty Queens because they often share the same ideal image, have the same approach to training, and especially like to show the visual result. This is in contrast to the Run Chick who prefers to show better results of a half marathon or the Cross Chick who wants to tilt increasingly larger tractor tires.
When it comes to nutrition, the Squat Babe/Bikini Beauty is often the best informed about how to achieve the ideal figure. After all, she doesn’t hide the fact that appearance is the most important goal. She also uses the knowledge of hundreds of athletes who have made a sport of this over the past decades.
The modern Squat Babes and Bikini Beauties understand that it is important to get the right amounts of carbohydrates, fats, and protein first and foremost. According to this method, no food source is inherently bad or good; it’s all related to your carefully calculated needs based on formulas. Only when this is correct can you see if you can get these from better sources. You approach your diet and nutrition like a puzzle. “Does it fit or not”. Now well known as the
If It Fits Your Macros (IIFYM) method. Contrary to what the article in the Volkskrant suggests, there are indeed large numbers of Fitgirls who count calories as part of their IIFYM principle.
In contrast, there is the type of Fitgirl who does not start from her own needs but from the (presumed) characteristics of different food sources. It’s not about whether something fits in your diet, but whether the product itself is “good or bad”. Sugar is a good example in this discussion.
“Orthorexia Nervosa”
The article in the Volkskrant refers to the term coined by the American physician Steven Bratman for a certain type of eating disorder: Orthorexia Nervosa. I quote the Volkskrant:
Unlike anorectics, orthorexics do eat, but they increasingly exclude certain food groups, often to the extreme.
Although this indeed occurs, I mainly recognize this danger under a certain type of Fitgirl.
Oatmeal girls
However, there already existed a name for women who avoid certain types of food like the plague while attributing almost magical powers to others. The women whose Instagram account smells of linseed and wheatgrass. The so-called “oatmeal girls”.
This type is much more common in my experience among the Run-chick than in the Squat Girl and Bikini Queens. Also among Cross Chicks, such a diet of magical foods is often found, but then it is called a “Zone diet”.
Granted: I found the term “oatmeal girls” rather derogatory when I first heard it. But this was from the mouth of a Squat Babe. Besides, I found it better than “Brinta Bitch”, partly because this is my standard breakfast.
More or fewer Fitgirls?
I think that in the article in the Volkskrant, all Fitgirls are lumped together.
The ultimate Fitgirl does not exist.
That doesn’t mean that other types of Fitgirls are not at
risk of an eating disorder. We recently wrote an article about this, in which we also critically examine our own role as bloggers, coaches, and (in my case) fitness photographers. The risk exists but depends on several factors.
If you want to label someone, make sure you know who you’re labeling.
