Wanting More Muscle is Ruining Your Mental Health? Response to

In this Podcast Episode, Mark Bell, Nsima Inyang, and Andrew Zaragoza talk respond to a video from Philip DeFranco on men struggling with body dysmorphia caused by fitness influencers and the fitness community.
Watch Philip's video: • Young Men Are Quietly ...
Time Stamps
00:00 Preview
00:48 Episode Start
01:55 Philip Defranco begins, it’s ok to be skinny
02:28 What age when we started “Building Muscle”
04:06 Eating habits of young men
09:46 Men and focus on appearance
13:58 Most men care more about looks than success
19:49 Putting too much stock into influencers
29:20 Philip on mental effects of focusing on the body
30:58 Try something other than LIFTING
34:30 George Foreman Come back
39:16 Strength Dysmorphia?
40:50 Screen time and Muscle Dysmorphia and celebrities/influencers bodies
42:20 Phil’s Transformation
42:38 Mark’s wife Loves Henry Cavill
45:16 Media is also causing Muscle Dysmorphia and protein shakes are dangerous?
49:18 We’re in the age of comparison
51:31 Should you unfollow people to guard your mind?
54:38 Episode End
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[@DanBarbatti]

I am only about half way through the webcast but wanted to drop a comment because I need to get back to work. I think what is being said by this guy isn't that eating protein, etc. is bad that it is a potential red flag. If a parent sees there kid going down the road they need to open a line of communication and make sure there aren't issues behind it. As a teenager I was very skinny and obsessed. I ate everything I could get my hands on drank a gallon and a half of milk a day... trained sometimes 4-6 hours a day 7 days a week. When the first Rocky came out I started drinking raw eggs out of a glass. This was all in the early 70s before there was much info out there or even health food stores to get supps. Hardly gained a pound through all of that. I was darn depressed about it and likely nobody knew. If somebody had handed a bottle of dbal back then I would have eaten it like candy. To this day I can look in the mirror and look skinny, pretty good or fat all in the same day .. which I think is what they mean when they are talking about dysmorphia... I never really know what I look like. A teenager with that state of mind can go down a dark road. Talk to your kids. On the positive side.. I kept lifting and am still lifting relatively heavy at 64 years old.

[@MarkBellsPowerProject]

Dan, thanks for sharing man. Congratulations on keeping healthy through all of that. Yes, you're right, a lot of this stuff can go too far and there is a need to educate young boys and girls about how to progress in a safe and healthy way.

[@DanBarbatti]

@@MarkBellsPowerProject yes and potentially address any emotional issues driving it

[@reallymakesyouthink]

Wanting to put on muscle is a very healthy goal. The issue is the people out there convincing kids they can achieve a great physique overnight then they feel like a failure when it takes time.

[@MarkBellsPowerProject]

I think even if you drill in that it takes time, most want results FAST. There's a responsibility on the influencer for their messaging and ALSO on the consumer to have PATIENCE.

[@Brother_JL]

Imagine thinking the problem with young people today is being too focused on eating healthy or working out. Also imagine thinking cutting out sugar or carbs in your diet is a bad thing. I'm fairly sure that most people who focus on a healthy lifestyle will reap mental health benefits.

[@advantageofthedisadvantage7213]

Exactly, and it’s not ok to be weak, which is what skinny is. We need more strong men.

[@MarkBellsPowerProject]

Very true. We don't want people to cut out all food groups though, or even tithing that carbs are somehow inherently bad. But we do agree with the first part of what you're mentioning.

[@Brother_JL]

@@MarkBellsPowerProject You're right I'm not saying to cut out carbs or sugar but if I were to pick ones to limit I'd say most people could do with cutting down on those.

[@aguuug5139]

Imagine thinking cutting carbs is a good thing🤦‍♂️

[@shellderp]

@@aguuug5139 ok carb addict

[@swoops41]

There is an obsession on social media with being ripped and muscular, and younger guys are bombarded with this image every day. Trying to keep up with that illusion is what this guy is talking about. Being active and eating right is healthy, but that’s not what he’s referring to.

[@danielcartwright8868]

At 11:15 Mark quoted the man in the video as saying 'men are obsessed with their health,' but what he actually said was that men are 'more obsessed with their appearance than their health.' I agree with a lot of what Mark says, though.

[@Arnieth17]

On the talk of comparison, something that I learned along the way is that the only person you should be comparing yourself to is the person who you used to be and use that as motivation; not to return to your old self, but to be better than your old self. Whether that is mental, physical, or spiritual. Take that bathroom selfie, do that meditation session, cook your own foods (with whole ingredients), do that first push up. As long as you start and stay consistent, will you then be able to look back and have a healthy comparison on yourself.

[@motivationalspeech5994]

The main issue is everyone's on the internet so they feel the pressure of being judged on a huge scale. It's no longer just your environment, you feel the world looking at you and very insecure.

[@Msanity101]

There is a fine line of insanity and health. if you want to reach greatness you have to play with those boundaries. This has been a formula for thousands of years. those that want to be better have to keep stepping on that edge to be better than those before them. Mental health is real but we have turned it into a quick easy way to say why we aren't succeeding in life or why my lifts don't match someone else's. let the kids push themselves and hopefully the parents can see this and help guide them the best they can to help them achieve greatness instead of letting feelings dictate their life.

[@thebaneking4787]

I’m 45 and I struggle with my appearance. I’m muscular and I’m thick but I’m never satisfied with it. I look at pictures from just 2yrs ago and I think “wow! Why wasn’t I content?” I’m never content. I’m becoming less dedicated bc of injuries and stress and I’m depressed. I don’t know who I am anymore. I don’t feel necessary anymore. I used to fight. I was MMA before MMA was even cool. I broke my neck 8yrs ago and I have been sinking ever since. Bodybuilding is just not doing it for me anymore. But as much as I would love to train BJJ I’m worried that I will get hurt again. I wrestled a buddy a few months back and I’m still good but I feel like I’m at the end of my rope. I’m never satisfied and fear I’ll die like this instead of being a man worth remembering.

[@geist3591]

Try to be more grateful for your current physique and capabilities. It doesn't mean you have to decide not to push to be even better, but at least try to have a sense of gratitude towards where you are, even if you may not be 100% satisfied. Keep pushing man.

[@TeKnoVKNG23]

I think one of the issues is obviously social media. When I was in high school we wanted to lift and get strong so we could dominate on the sports field, there were no cell phones or facebook, etc. Nowadays I see high school kids wanting to get into lifting and getting strong so they can show off on instagram. They aren't doing it for health/strength, they are doing it for clout and views. Like you see all these kids post on fitness reddit about "feel like I'm stuck/weak/not big" and they have a world class physique and are just fishing for the "Bro you look amazing what are you talking about?" comments. People also get an idea that the "fitfluencers" they see online are a common result, not realizing that in some cases those people are using PEDs or have great genetics, and then they get down about their own progress. You need to workout for yourself and your own goals, we just have issues these days where a lot of people get caught up in social media and care way too much about what other people are going to think about them. I feel like a good bit of this "my mental health" stuff just comes from caring way too much about what other people think about you. That Big George clip never gets old. I remember watching that fight and everything was going Moorer's way and then he's on the floor wondering wtf just happened. George and those steel hands, man had some paws on him, lol.

[@davidjd123]

I always had a decent idea of what I wanted in a body because I grew up looking up to fighters, fighters are lean but not to muscular, I learned to box at 16 years old, and I won all my street fights, but later I got into barbell training and just wanted to hit a 225 bench and have a decent pull-up number, squat and DL was also not that important, have a baseline of strength with fighting skills is KILLER in defending yourself over just being strong af.

[@MarkBellsPowerProject]

man, curious about your life. You won all of your "Street fights"? 😂

[@davidjd123]

@@MarkBellsPowerProject it was luck at first, I just had more scrap in me but then I learned boxing and it was easier . I only got like a handful of street fights, but two big ass bouncers did fuck me up one time lol but thats not a street fight.

[@DieselGlori]

A relevant term here is SELF-EFFICACY The healthy lifestyle, health and physique improvement pursuits, training/movement, intentional nutrition, the daily work…. Improves SELF EFFICACY which bleeds into so many other domains. there’s so much more to say on self-efficacy from a psychological POV. #googleit

[@SloansAbroad]

DBZ influenced me so hard.

[@mirothiel8039]

I hate the “the are the signs” followed by an out of context list of things. Context being the rest of someone’s life. It’s the signs combined with many other factors including knowing the persons stated goals. Are they healthy goals. My goal is losing weight, gaining muscle, moving more, and getting rid of my type 2 diabetes. After going from 366 pounds to 323 I look better. That’s nice. But I woke up with normal blood sugar levels. That’s awesome.

[@MarkBellsPowerProject]

Congrats man, that's awesome

[@readyfuels17]

Totally agree with the cast on this one. Americans could greatly benefit from learning about nutrition, eating whole foods, and having a regimented nutrition plan. We could benefit from this because the present day food environment is a minefield. We do not exist in the same food environment as 50-75 years ago where it was hard to make bad food choices. Now we live in a food environment where making good nutrition choices is relatively harder compared to our past. To maintain health we need more nutrition education and discipline to achieve the same nutritional outcomes that were easy to achieve 50-75 years ago.

[@chakchakswags]

I don’t understand why there is an emphasis on not focusing on the sustenance that you put into your body, like why wouldn’t you want your kid to be curious about what they put into their body to literally stay alive and be healthy as opposed to sugary drinks and nutrient deficient foods?

[@jeremyashcraft2053]

Theres nothing unhealthy about pursuing an ideal. If a young man comes across a photo of a jacked and chiseled man on social media and ADMIRES what he is seeing, he will INSTINCTIVELY want to immitate. Admiration and the human instinct to immitate _are the same thing._ And maybe you should feel a bit self-conscious when you become aware of how far off you are from the ideal, most likely you can't help but to feel self-conscious. The solution is to not destroy your ideal; the solution is to keep giving your best.

[@drip369]

Well if she kept rewinding the movie then she probably might also watch your Instagram posts on repeat

[@budrothefox3666]

The root of the problem is comparing yourself to other people with completely different genetics, lifestyle, environment, background and overall lives. Stop scrolling in fucking trash social media and focus on your own life, goals and dreams, young people of the world.

[@MarkBellsPowerProject]

True, it's not healthy to constantly compare.

[@ec4146]

Pursuing athleticism, fitness, health, and strength should be encouraged by all people. Don’t let the people that don’t have the dedication, self control, and persistence to achieve health stop you from achieving your goals. Don’t let the fat movement fool you.

[@shawnemery4084]

Comparison is the theft of joy.

[@michaelcozzitortoiii5350]

Unfortunately there’s a fine line between health and fitness and eating disorders. Especially with the pressures and unrealistic expectations on social media. A lot of young guys are going to have to learn that through experience, and a lot of them are smart enough to realize what’s going on. Unless you’re a high level bodybuilder you don’t have to be super neurotic about your food, you just have to be generally on point.

[@adriana2567]

Best episode ever🤣

[@munaiverse7662]

Before I watch this I can already see the issue to which I say both parties are right. Philip is likely talking about the stress and mental health damages of worrying about not fitting a societal construct. This is true. You guys are likely talking about the significant health benefits to gaining more muscle. This is true. These two ideas meet when you have a growth or health based approach to strength training, rather than feeling anxiety over it or simply not trying to get it. Thank you for listening :) Edit: after listening some more, I think you guys are actually on the same side too, which I appreciate. This was a reaction based response, and I hope it still provided the reader (You :) some value.

[@heaz32]

What's the evidence that there is increased risk of mental health disorders in young people who pursue health and fitness more so than any other venture?

[@bulklifej3891]

Goku is 5’9 200lbs 😂 I had to look that. I knew that hight and wight had to be wrong.

[@drip369]

Yeah most women aren't interested in the professional bodybuilder body, even so much the mirror-muscles gym bro, and I say most women as in the majority, the athletic build the swimmer's body and the warrior's body are what women find most attractive. Yes they love big arms and some a big chest but oftentimes women do associate that with men being obsessed with themselves. You want that shoulder to waist ratio of 1.6 and that's really enough to attract the majority of women. You also need to have the masculine presence which is a mental state so working on your posture your composure and your mental health will greatly help you, if getting more women is your goal

[@drip369]

I'm sure many people already know that men are more obsessed with your physique than women are just like men care more about what's under the hood of your car versus women

[@rf-uj5sc]

Yeah nah, I'm gonna be feeding my children a ton of eggs, chicken, greens, and rice

[@Blondeguylifts]

I Think this is a very important conversation to have. The vast majority of young kids getting into weightlifting is a posiitve move. However, some young kids like us all at some point are wayyyy to into it. I think the real danger is less about diet for young men and is more on PED's. I'm way more concerned about young men (Teanagers) abusing PED's due to their body dismorphia. SARMS especially are easy to get and there's plenty of young men that are willing to take them due to from their own perspective only getting positive attributes, getting stronger, being the jacked kid at school, and being more attractive to girls their age. Anyways, young men getting into weightlifting is overall positive as long as they aren't taking RAD-140 at 15.

[@heaz32]

Phillip DeFranco is sadly lost. Not even in the context of social media and the online fitness space is masculinity being defined by big muscles and eating lots of protein. Not only that, but wanting to look good, move good, and feel good is most definitely not some kind of disorder either. Women are freaking crushing it right now doing the exact same thing. Getting strong, becoming resilient, and drastically improving their health now and for the future by putting on muscle, prioritizing protein, and actively focusing on recovery and stress reduction. And when you consider the mainstream view on health... well, it's totally opposite. It's health at all sizes, body positivity, and that your health is not your responsibility.

[@MK4vDubbin]

He’s been lost for a long time. Used to watch him probably close to a decade ago and liked his stuff. Not sure if he, I, or we both changed but I can’t really stand him at this point. I’m friends with people across the political spectrum but cant stand dogmatic tribalist leftists types like him. His takes are consistently “I see something my party agrees with so now I’ll bury my head in the sand and ignore any dissenting opinion”

[@DieselGlori]

Criminalize complacency Decriminalize carbs 😜

[@TheEatShizzel]

It’s not ok to be fat or weak. The powers that be want weak men because weak men are easier to control. I’m a gym rat and have been most of my life. Being in good shape gives you confidence in every aspect of your life. Also, your health should always be your number one priority, otherwise you’ll regret not taking care of your health at some point.

[@gordondriggs5520]

What a panzy

[@Amil.C]

Phil was good but about 8 yeats ago he got woke.. bout to go broke.. sad.

[@palidanek74]

i thought it was 3 years ago during CV but interesting, its horrifying and sad what happens to most people who choose to become public figures - basically will do anything for views or whatever sigh - far worse in hollyweirdo obviously

[@MarkBellsPowerProject]

He still makes good content and does put forward information. He adds in his personal views but he's good at separating the two and leaving it to the audience.

[@iMaiIbox]

Gotta disagree, having grown up with Phil as my primary news source and then expanding my sources in my adulthood, Phil will clearly present a left wing spin on both the stories he covers and his choice of wording in his coverage. His most common tactic is to sneak in “assumed premises” on his coverage, ie: referring to people as “far right” or “conspiratorial” without justifying his position. He does a good job at pretending to be more neutral than he is though. It gets pretty blatant around election times when he goes full anti trump and anti republican

[@palidanek74]

also grown up with the left and ya can't stand any of em anymore just part of growing up - left - right then middle i assume most people (city folk) get to eventually