When wholesome dwelling turns into repression | Life-style

Shortly after the beginning of the yr, actor Álex González uploaded a video to his social media accounts with an invite: “Beers today? I can’t, I have plans.” He then made it clear that his plans had been none apart from figuring out, maintaining a healthy diet meals, and soaking in bathtubs stuffed with ice cubes. “Discipline is the greatest act of self-love. YOU ONLY HAVE ONE BODY,” he added. At 45, the Spanish actor maintains an athletic and youthful physique—the sort that many individuals present their private trainers and say “I want to look like that.” His social media presence features a succession of recordings of every kind of exercises. He not too long ago posted a video with Jorge Darek, a content material creator and coach, who, throughout a dialog with the actor, asserted that he prefers consuming and exercising to having intercourse.

In April, Darek is organizing the second version of a seven-day retreat in Bali that, he warns, isn’t your normal vacationer retreat. “There are no processed food buffets or filler activities. There’s butter from grass-fed cows, training under the Balinese sun, and an environment designed to elevate your standards.” Also in Bali is Bali Time Chamber, a coaching camp for males solely. “You can’t drink, smoke, or eat junk food. The only things you can do there are train hard, reconnect with nature, eat premium meat, go to the sauna, talk with other like-minded men, take time to reflect, take an ice bath, learn new skills, focus on your goals, and work on your business,” they clarify on the camp’s Instagram profile. In reality, within the new season of the Netflix collection Machos Alfa (Alpha Males), the protagonists attend a masculinity camp the place they eat huge cuts of uncooked meat and practice like true troopers.

Retreats and life adjustments

Xabier Sánchez, a coach and professional in respiratory, posture, and motion, shares his opinion on these camps. “These types of retreats encourage men to identify with a specific masculine profile, and that weakens the relationship between men and women,” he says. “Many people have a biased and polarized view of health. Each person has to figure out what works for them and what doesn’t. My experience tells me that authoritarian or radical positions are not effective in the long run.”

All of that is taking place inside a context of self-improvement: increasingly individuals are embracing a wholesome life-style, or at the least making an attempt to. Mariano Urraco, a sociologist on the Complutense University of Madrid, explains that for Generation Z, which advocates for more and more wholesome habits and showcases its exercises on social media, “the new god is the body.” This is why extra public figures are gaining reputation by sharing how their new habits have remodeled their lives. Such is the case of coach Tyler McManus, who, after making a wholesome change in his personal life, now helps his shoppers do the identical. “I went from partying most weekends and drifting away from my potential to completely locking in on my habits, training, and mindset,” he defined on his Instagram profile. “By cutting out distractions, building discipline, and committing to consistency, I transformed not just my fitness but my life.”

The dependancy to wholesome dwelling

Improvement ceases to be enchancment when it turns into obsessive. Luis Miguel Real, creator of La Mentira de la Fuerza de Voluntad (The Lie of Willpower), talks about individuals who have given up alcohol, tobacco, ultra-processed meals and any substance that minimally alters their pure state. “These are people who eat perfectly (if such a thing exists), train every day, sleep their eight hours as if it were a commandment, and know by heart the list of forbidden ingredients in any product. But they don’t just do it, they preach it. And they preach it loudly. They don’t drink a single glass of wine, they look down on anyone who asks for a slice of cake, and they never miss a gym session. On the surface, they are the epitome of willpower, discipline, and self-care. But in practice, they often behave like addicts who have simply substituted one set of addictions for another. And be careful, because behind all that health, there may be a problem,” he says.

Can you be hooked on wholesome dwelling? He believes so. “If your day revolves around your exercise and eating routines to the point that you can’t afford to skip them without anxiety, there’s a problem. In a society like ours, where many traditional models of masculinity are in crisis, the cult of the body has become a new way to validate personal worth. You’re no longer the alpha male because you have money or power. Now you’re better if you have well-defined abs, if you wake up at 4:30 am to train, and if you don’t eat carbs.” Real emphasizes that, removed from being lived in silence, this life-style is displayed, uploaded to social media, and turns into content material, which just about makes it performative.

Javier Menéndez, coach and CEO of the train app Entrena Virtual, factors out that the secret is to not prohibit or demonize, however to grasp the affect of sure habits when repeated over time and to make extra acutely aware decisions. “The problem arises when the discourse becomes extreme or moralistic. Health shouldn’t be experienced through fear or guilt. You can go out, eat something less healthy, or have a drink now and then, and absolutely nothing will happen if your foundation is well-maintained. For me, a healthy lifestyle is a conscious, flexible, and sustainable choice. It’s not about showing off on social media or being perfect, but about taking care of yourself most of the time so you can allow yourself to live without obsession,” he says.

He factors out {that a} key stage begins between the ages of 30 and 40: the physique not forgives excesses in the identical means, and that’s when coaching and consuming with long-term well being in thoughts, not simply instant efficiency, turns into essential. “I recommend focusing on real, regular food, without obsessing over perfection. The key is to establish sustainable habits that can be maintained for years. And I would add something fundamental: rest and stress management. Sleeping well, slowing down when necessary, and listening to your body are all part of training, even if it’s not visible on social media. Ultimately, taking care of your health isn’t about doing everything perfectly, but about understanding that what you do repeatedly has an impact. If you take care of your body most of the time, you can allow yourself exceptions without a problem. That’s also part of health,” he affirms.

Finally, Luis Miguel Real needs to level out that, in lots of instances, what lies behind these demanding routines and a way of life that leaves no room for sure indulgences past the intense isn’t a love of well being however a concern of dropping management, of others’ judgment, and of feeling insufficient in the event that they don’t meet their very own requirements. “It’s what we call cognitive rigidity in psychology: a black-and-white, all-or-nothing way of thinking, in which any deviation is experienced as a personal failure. We also have to talk about false moral superiority. Many of these people see themselves as superior because they have managed to control their impulses. Because they don’t give in to laziness, hunger, desire, or temptation. But what they don’t see is that they have built their identity on constant repression. They are not freer, but quite the opposite.”

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