I am so excited to write about this article because at one point I was doing Chloe’s videos basically everyday, and my experience was not the traditional story that ends in someone loosing weight and getting abs. So I’m going to share my story along with some facts about the challenge, how realistic it is and how to get real results.
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The summer going into high school I had set out to accomplish a major goal of mine; I was going to get abs in 2 weeks time. All I had to do was follow the workouts, because it does say get abs in 2 weeks. So I did the same video every single day, and in about a week in I realized it wasn’t working, there were no signs of my abs coming in, at all.
I became very frustrated, with her, my body and my capabilities along with fitness as a whole. After that 1 week I was pretty obsessed with getting these abs so I would do the same video multiple times a day. Still no results, 3 weeks in nothing, a whole month goes by and nothing happened. After that month I was done, done with fitness all together. I gave up exercising outside besides going on hikes with my family and eventually I gave that up too.
I started to have a negative relationship with fitness and what the whole point was. It seemed more transactional. You workout and you get abs or whatever body you desire.
Yes, it gives you some appearance upgrades but mostly it reshapes your whole internal systems. Your body needs exercise consistently in order to function fully and properly. This was something I failed to realize.
Mentally I was also affected because I saw those video reviews of people saying that their whole life was changed by these workout. They had pictures and videos so I didn’t believe the videos by Chloe were clickbait, I believed that there was something wrong with me. I went down that rabbit hole and I was stuck there for awhile until I came back a year later and restarted my fitness journey. (Not as easy as it sounds.) Unfortunately, you can’t just turn a key and start your body up and shift into the proper fitness zone. I had to start over and I’m still building myself back up.
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Let’s Look at the Facts
You can’t spot reduce, meaning if your stomach isn’t already flat then these workouts will do nothing for you. Essentially you are just working your core muscles which is great for posture and for everyday life, but not for getting visible abs. According to Healthline, a woman has to have a body fat percentage of 5-9 percent for your abs to be showcased in fully 6 pack glory. This percentage is seriously unhealthy and dangerous. If you’re lucky and very active you could sit at around 10-14 percent body fat and still see your abs. For men it’s the same statistics, except 5-9 percent is extremely dangerous for them as well. You’re leaving your body with just enough to survive, so what happenes if you have the flu and you are throwing up for a whole week, what state will your body be in? Genetics also play a huge role in abs and body fat percentages but this is simply the baseline.
I want us to stop thinking that having abs or a 6 pack means healthy, because it doesn’t. If you’re body is dangerously low on body fat, that’s not always a good thing for your body internally. You have to work with your body and not for the eyes of media.
It is extremely unrealistic to get visible abs in 2 weeks if you have even the tiniest bit of a stomach. Unfortunately these clickbait videos tend to only work on a select population of women and men who are already extremely thin. It didn’t work for me and I know for a fact that it doesn’t work on everyone.
I want you to love your body and to work with your genetics and your natural body state. Talk with your doctor before making drastic changes to your weight, don’t just throw everything in to get down to that body fat percentage. You have to be healthy, and healthy doesn’t mean thin with visible abs. Remember that.
How to Get Results
I will not lie to you, it will be a struggle to get to a point where you can see you abs so I am going to explain to you how get healthier and stay healthier, and the abs can catch up on their own.
The first thing that you need to do is to start eating healthier, have a balanced diet that has a lot of fruits, vegetables, protein and whole grains. Prioritize bigger, more substantial meals opposed to smaller meals with loads of snacks. This balance allows you to focus on eating healthy while avoiding unhealthy snack binges throughout the day.
Diet is so important in your journey through fitness and an overall healthy lifestyle. Make sure to fuel your body, pay attention to what your body needs. Avoid excessive sugar and soda, opt for water and fruits which taste sweeter and satisfies your brains craving for sugar.
Create goals. I love a good goal because it keeps you motivated and it keeps you focused. If you have a goal that you are working towards, you have a reason to do it.
That is your constant motivation which is great on days where you want to mope around in bed. Keep creating goals and make sure that they are attainable. You don’t want to be striving for something that is actually impossible. A goal like: I want to run a mile without stopping. Choose goals that you can keep working towards and edit later to make it harder to reach.
Next up is to get moving, this is so important in weight loss and just getting healthier or more athletic. I know that it is hard to find the perfect work, school, and life balance, but even a 15-minute workout every day will make a difference over time. Preferably cardio if you want to lose weight at a faster pace. 20 minutes is the perfect sweet spot if you have time for it, and I want you to make time for it.
Your future self will thank you for prioritizing your health now. Just start. Start today and keep working towards your goals, and always create new ones.
Very Important
Be kind to yourself, take time to understand your body and what it likes and doesn’t like. Choose to take rest days, and remember that just because it says it will take 2 weeks doesn’t mean that it will. Keep pushing, I believe in you, now you just have to believe in you too. You are not defined by how you look, do not let society define you.
