The "Somatic Paradox": Why Regulating Instagram Won’t Fix the Fitness Industry (But Better Coaching Will)

In Norway and across the Nordic region, the debate on "body pressure" (known as kroppspress in Norway) has reached a boiling point. In 2022, the Norwegian government took a historic step by enforcing a law requiring influencers to clearly label retouched images in advertisements. The hypothesis was simple: if we label the "fake," the pursuit of impossible beauty standards will diminish.

It didn't work.

Instead, we are witnessing a phenomenon that can be called the "Somatic Paradox."

When digital image manipulation was stigmatized, the pressure didn't disappear—it simply moved from the screen to the skeleton and muscles. Influencers are shifting from digital retouching to "physiological retouching": modifying the body through extreme means so that the "unretouched" photo looks exactly like the filter used to.

For Personal Trainers, this changes the game completely. It is no longer just about body image; it is an acute physiological health risk. The industry is facing a reckoning, and the evidence-based approach represented by the IFBB Nordic Academy is the only ethically sustainable path forward.

When "Healthy" Becomes Sick: Low Energy Availability

When filters are banned, "natural" appearance becomes the new currency. The problem is that achieving a waist-to-hip ratio comparable to a filter often requires physiological extremes. We are seeing more and more clients attempting to maintain "stage-lean" conditioning year-round—a state that research confirms is biologically unsustainable.

This leads to a condition known in sports medicine as Low Energy Availability (LEA). This results in a syndrome called Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S).

It is not always a clinical eating disorder, but rather a state where an athlete eats too little relative to their energy expenditure. The body begins to conserve energy by shutting down "less essential" functions to maintain vital ones.

In the IFBB Personal Trainer Course, we teach you to recognize these warning signs early. RED-S is not always immediately visible, but the symptoms are extensive:

1. Physical Symptoms – The Body Adapts

A coach must know how to ask the right questions, as clients may not link these symptoms to under-eating:

• Hormonal Disturbances: In women, menstrual irregularities or amenorrhea (loss of periods). In men, reduced morning erections and low libido (a sign of crashing testosterone levels).

• Metabolic Adaptation: The body fights fat loss. Research by Isola et al. (2023) shows that metabolism slows down disproportionately to weight loss. This phenomenon is called "adaptive thermogenesis."

• Cold Intolerance: Constant feeling of cold, especially in hands and feet, indicates a slowed metabolism.

• Digestive Issues: Bloating, constipation, and slow digestion are typical when the body cannot process food normally due to energy deficiency.

• Skin and Hair: Dry skin and hair loss.

• Recurrent Illness: Weakened immunity and frequent colds.

2. Psychological Symptoms – The Mind Reacts to Hunger

Energy deficiency directly affects brain function. Recognize these changes in your client's behavior:

• Psychological Strain: Mathisen et al. (2019) found that 35% of female fitness athletes had a history of eating disorders, compared to only 12% in the control group.

• Mood Swings: Increased irritability, anxiety, or depression.

• Cognitive Challenges: Difficulty concentrating and lack of initiative.

• Obsessiveness: Thoughts constantly revolve around food, weight, and eating. The client may begin to avoid social situations where food is present.

3. Performance – "Training Hard, But Results Are Dropping"

This is often the moment a coach wakes up. The paradox of RED-S is that the athlete may be training harder than ever, but progress stalls or reverses.

• Decline in strength levels and loss of muscle mass.

• Slowed recovery.

• Decreased bone density, significantly increasing the risk of stress fractures.

The Male Struggle: Muscle Dysmorphia

The discussion on body pressure often overlooks men, even though the pressure is equally intense. Men face a contradictory demand: be massively muscular and simultaneously extremely lean. Physiologically, these goals are often in conflict.

This paradox fuels Muscle Dysmorphia (also known as "Bigorexia"). Mitchell et al. (2017) showed that bodybuilders score significantly higher on the drive for muscularity and dietary restraint compared to recreational lifters. Without expert coaching, this mindset can lead to the use of Performance-Enhancing Drugs (PEDs)—not for athletic success, but to meet social media standards.

Practical Coaching: How We Fix the Situation

The old coaching model—"eat less, train harder"—is a mistake in this context. At the IFBB Nordic Academy, we teach practical coaching. Here are three evidence-based methods you can use to manage these challenges in your daily work:

1. Implement "Recovery Dieting" Protocols

Most coaches know how to diet a client into shape. Few know how to bring them out of it.

• The Problem: Uncontrolled eating post-diet and rapid fat gain (adipocyte hyperplasia) are common when a client stops a strict diet without a plan.

• The Solution: We teach you to structure Reverse Dieting and Recovery Phases. Following recommendations from Helms et al. (2019), you learn to increase caloric intake gradually to restore hormonal balance and metabolic rate, while minimizing unnecessary fat gain.

2. Monitor Energy Availability, Not Just Calories

The scale does not tell the truth about metabolic status. Weight can remain stable even if metabolism is still adapted.

• The Problem: A client can lose weight "successfully" while simultaneously crashing their hormonal balance.

• The Solution: We train you to recognize RED-S warning signs: constant fatigue, sleep disturbances, stagnating strength despite hard training, and decreased libido. You learn to calculate Energy Availability (EA) to ensure your client stays above the critical threshold of 30 kcal/kg of Fat-Free Mass (Fagerberg, 2018).

3. Psychological Periodization

No one can "go hard" 365 days a year.

• The Problem: Clients obsessed with "clean eating" often develop rigid control mechanisms that predict binge eating.

• The Solution: We advocate for Flexible Dietary Control. Research (Ismaeel et al., 2017) suggests that rigid dieting increases the risk of eating disorders, whereas flexible control (focusing on macronutrients rather than "good/bad" foods) improves adherence and mental health. We teach you how to implement diet breaks and refeed days (Peos et al., 2019) to reduce psychological load.

Conclusion: Be an Expert, Not an Influencer

Legislation cannot regulate the squat rack. That responsibility falls on us—the coaches.

The industry is full of "fitness-disturbed" behavior—disordered eating symptoms disguised as self-discipline. To coach in 2026, you need more than a weekend certification. You need a deep understanding of endocrinology, metabolism, and psychology.

You must know why the body fights back, and how to work with it, not against it.

Are you ready to raise your coaching standard?

Discover the IFBB Personal Trainer Course