Have you been a victim of Babe Science?
In today's post we cover:
What babe science is and what it is not (spoiler alert: it's NOT science)
How Babe Science might appear to the untrained eye & how to spot a Babe
How to cure someone you love (or yourself) from being a Babe
Your role in putting pseudo-science to an end
Are you familiar with the term "Bro Science"? A term used to describe the way workout advice is passed from generation to generation of recreational exercisers in a gym environment. Not familiar? Check out an excellent explanation by the king himself, Dom Mazetti, of BroScienceLife by clicking here.
According to UrbanDictionary.com: "Bro Science is the predominant brand of reasoning in bodybuilding circles where the anecdotal reports of jacked dudes are considered more credible than scientific research". We have all either shared, listened to, or been victim of bro science at some point in our exercise journey. Whether you listened to a friend tell you about her latest juice detox and how she dropped 10lbs in a week or made the fatal mistake of asking the guy in the locker room what he uses for supplements..... 20 minutes and a full demonstration of pre, peri, and post-workout powder mixing later....I bet you wished you minded your own business. This is how quickly you can become a victim of Bro Science.
Today's post is about another slightly less well known but equally dangerous form of pseudo-science......BABE SCIENCE.
WHAT?!
Yup, I said it, Babe Science. This is the parallel brand of misinformed reasoning that circulates in communities of women and their (usually well-meaning) significant others. So even if you aren't a babe or know a babe, you may be married to or in love with a babe.....or know/love someone who could become victim of a babe....so please, for all our sakes...read on.
Babe Science looks like this
Babe Science sounds like this:
Let's not forget these encouraging products...
Oh...you didn't know drinking tea makes you skinny?
Finally! Shoes that tone your arse! I am so relieved.
Hooray! We can relive the torture of the Victorian era by wearing a modern corset! Simply squeeze yourself skinny!
Popular Babe Science is based on the following
10 commandments...
Good looking women know how to be good looking and thus are fountains of information
There is definitely a secret to weight loss
Men might call them "muscles" but women just want to be "toned" and that's not the same thing.
A workout doesn't count if a selfie wasn't taken.
There is no need to wait for results, if a program doesn't promise you abs quick/today/now it can't be a good program and something better will definitely come along
Getting results from a product, supplement, or tea is always Plan A....working hard in the gym and being thoughtful about your nutrition is like....plan F.
Women's weights are pink - that's how we know they are for women.
The thigh gap is a metaphor for personal worth. The bigger the gap the more value you have on this earth. What? You don't get it? Ughhh it's like important to not have your thighs touch okayyyy? It just IS.
It doesn't matter what experts say, Babes only subscribe to Bey & Kim K
The gym is a great place to meet people. This is important as it dictates what you will wear, how much sweat you will feel comfortable producing, and how that will affect your makeup and hair.
How to spot a babe:
Babes can be found cruising the internet, women's fitness magazines, YouTube, and Instagram for the latest and greatest workout advice. They can also be found texting, snapping, gramming, and otherwise being entirely distracted by their phones at the gym. The only thing a babe loves more than a 15 second clip of a fat-blasting core workout posted by their favourite Instagram model, is spreading misinformation to other babes. Not unlike pack animals, babes will attract a distinct following. Babes will often start a conversation with, "Did you hear about...?" or, "I have to tell you something....", or even, "You have to see this...." followed by what is surely to be pearls of wisdom. Now don't be fooled, babes are not necessarily always the perky blonde in the pink tights.....babes can be disguised as anyone sharing misleading and unverified workout advice. You have to be on the lookout 24/7. Even Grandma, as kindly as she appears, could be telling you that all she did at your age to stay trim was lift soup cans. What Grandma left out was that she lifted soup cans while living off rations during the Great Depression. Could Grandma be a babe? Yep she certainly could.
Secretly there is a babe lurking inside all of us. It is human nature to want to share something we are passionate about with those around us. The problem is....when it comes to exercise and nutrition, one size does not necessarily fit all and likely what worked for you won't work for someone else. There is actually only one universal rule about exercise and nutrition. It is a simple phrase used by wise people who know that each individual is unique and many factors influence the likelihood that an individual will achieve a particular outcome or result. This phrase is "It depends...". The reason that phrase is so powerful is that it is TRUE. The answer to whether the cabbage soup diet works or whether you will lose fat from trying high intensity interval training is always "it depends". High quality randomized controlled trials allow us to rule out the possibility that a diet or exercise regime doesn't work. What the evidence cannot tell us is that "x" program or "y" diet will work for all individuals all the time. It is impossible to truly isolate all of the variables human beings bring to the table. Even if we control for gender, age, ethnicity, education, BMI, household income, geography, heredity (you get the idea)....people will never be carbon copies of one another and thus there are many factors that could influence our results in ways we might not yet understand as a scientific community. That is why we look to the best evidence for guidance and then tailor it to the individual taking into account what makes a person unique. This is what qualified, trained, and experienced fitness professionals do for their clients. Any coach worth their salt should be able to explain to their client the rationale behind their exercise programming and nutrition recommendations based on solid (and real) science. I know what you're thinking, "Can a coach be a babe?". Yep, absolutely. Babe coaches say things like NEVER and ALWAYS when explaining their approach. They also usually subscribe to a very limited philosophy of training or eating and recommend the same blanket approach to all their clients. Watch out for babe coaches...once someone has a personal training certification noone is really looking into what they are doing or how they are doing it....which is a recipe for a babe coach to breed an army of babes. Yikes.
If you or someone you love is a babe:
Don't worry, it's not a permanent condition. The cure for being a babe is simple:
Admit you are a babe or have been influenced by a babe in the past.
Put the phone down.
Don't believe everything you see/read/hear
Be skeptical, ask questions and probe for more information when you don't understand how/why something works
Be especially skeptical when a product/program costs a lot of money or is endorsed by a famous person
Verify the information from one more than source. Go beyond the girl who looks good in skinny jeans and look up the information/product for yourself
Hire a qualified coach or trainer who can explain the rationale behind your exercise and nutrition program (see Step 2....and also Step 3).
Experiment with what works for YOU. Coolest part of being you? You're not like anyone else, so don't expect the same results as someone else.
Consistency is king. Commit to the change you made and see it through before claiming it doesn't work or moving on to the next best thing.
Go back to the basics: drink water, eat real foods, and move the body every day.
In summary, Babe Science is not science. Good science is reproducible, meaning someone else can follow the same recipe and expect the same results. Babes spread misinformation, skewed facts, and circular reasoning - don't be a babe. Protect yourself from Babe Science by sharing quality information, having thoughtful discussions, and keeping a healthy amount of skepticism at all times. Together, we can put an end to the relentless quest for instantly "toned, lean, flat, sleek(?!)" bodies and instead focus on the journey towards lifelong wellness.
For further reading:
Two great resources you should check out today are: Precision Nutrition and Girls Gone Strong. These sites are always packed with high quality information based on actual science.
Ps....Have you or someone you know been the victim of Babe Science? Have you heard any ridiculous Babe Science lately? Please feel free to share your experience or what you have seen/heard/witnessed a Babe doing in the comments section below.
Cheers,
Coach P.