Why Someone Is Leaner Than You

Have you ever seen someone who is leaner than you and thought “how come I dont look like that?”

If so, you are not alone, and you probably are more like most people than not. 

I bring this up because I know you have or will see someone on the internet or in person that you want to look like. 

And next thing you know the self-criticism begins. Sometimes it can get so bad you question everything you do and then change way too many things. 

Or it can lead to you not taking care of the thing you need to take care of to see results. 

Whatever it may be, you need to stop. 

So in this blog, I think it’s important to go over what might be happening when you see someone who is lean or leaner than you are so you can continue to work on YOURSELF rather than worrying about others.

➡️Genetics, lifestyle, environment. 

Have you ever seen that person who no matter what they do is just lean?

Im sure you have. We see them all of the time time. They eat and drink anything and everything and they might not even really work out. 

But no matter what they are always lean. 

Some people can just stay leaner than others naturally. 

This can be because of their:

• Particular body type- some people are built to where they can just look leaner. Or they store fat in place that make them appear leaner at certain body fat percentages. Usually having genetics that either spread out your body fat, OR have you leaner in your midsection are the culprit (or in the case of the person who has these genetics, the plus sides) here. 
•  Lifestyle- They may have a lifestyle that promotes being leaner. Some things I can think of here are active lifestyles where the person is just super active all of the time. Or they just dont have a lifestyle where food plays an important role. 
• Environment- This person may just have grown up in an environment that makes staying leaner easier. Whether that be from not having access to food or family that doesnt consume much food. The environment that most of us live in who can read this is geared towards fat gain. Highly processed tasty foods that are easy to get combined with sedentary behaviors. A recipe for fat gain. 
• Genetics- Lastly, some people just have metabolisms that make gaining fat tough and staying lean easy. 

There are also people who can just stay lean without seeing a lot of the potential downsides that others might see like thyroid downregulation, lower sex hormones, higher hunger/cravings etc.  

Whereas the moment someone gets lean or loses body fat these adaptations kick in. 

Read HERE about metabolic adaptation. 

Some people can maintain weight on a calorie amount that would cause another person to gain fat easily. There is a massive inter-individual difference in regards to calorie intake and weight loss/maintenance/gain. 

For example, one person who is the same size may be able to maintain on 3,200 calories, whereas the other person gains weight eating 2,600 calories. 

On the other end, you have someone who can lose weight on 2,300 calories, but then the other person struggles to lose with 1,600. 

The takeaway here is that each person is different and all of these things play a massive role in terms of why some people are leaner than others. 

➡️They make a lot of sacrifices: 

Sometimes this person who is leaner than you makes a lot of sacrifices that to you, wouldn’t be worth it or something you don’t want to do. 

And there is nothing wrong with this. 

You dont know these sacrifices until you try. 

I had to make this decision in my previous fat loss phase. 

I decided that the sacrifices I needed to make to get to a leaner physique just simply were not worth the sacrifices I had to make. 

Read HERE about my most recent fat loss phase. 

Too many people think that they can just get as lean as someone they see on the internet but forget to take into consideration the sacrifices they have to make. 

There is a reason not many people walk around with abs. 

➡️Temporarily be that way: 

You might be seeing someone when they got lean and they currently aren’t doing it or are leaner than they normally are. 

 For example, about once a year I run a fat loss phase, during those times I am leaner than I normally am. 

Or when I did bodybuilding comps or photoshoots, you may have seen me around those events and I would have been much leaner than I normally am. 

Or certain pics from that photoshoot are from a temporary time when I was that lean. 

A lot of times when you see pics of people that are lean, it was because they got that way for a short period of time, they took pics, and now they can reuse them. 

As I mentioned earlier, some people are able to stay leaner easier than others, but a lot of times you are looking at a temporary time in their life. 

➡️Look good on the outside but everything else is out of whack: 

Someone you see may look good on the outside but everything else is out of whack like hormones, low energy, extreme hunger, mental health, etc. 

You only see what they look like on the outside. 

I can tell you from experience that getting lean (and I probably wasnt even lean enough to do well in bodybuilding shows) that there are some nasty consequences to this. 

Low energy levels, libido is crap, hunger all day and every day, you can’t stop thinking about food etc. 

My main point here is that just because you see someone leaner, that doesnt mean they feel amazing. 

You dont know unless you actually go through it.  

➡️They have developed their diet and training skill much more than you. 

A lot of times new online clients want to have a physique that they see on the internet but they also haven’t run an optimal fat loss phase yet OR they are new to the entire process. 

In each case, you need to develop your dieting skill. 

Just like you cant turn on the TV and watch Connor Mcdavid (or fine Lebron James) and then be as good as them. You have to PRACTICE and put in the reps (oh and you still probably wont be as good as them, also refer back to point one from this blog, genetics play a massive role). 

The same is true for fat loss dieting. 

The person who is lean has probably gone through multiple fat loss phases and has developed good dieting skills. 

Why do you think you can be where they are at right away?

People dont realize that fat loss dieting and dieting, in general, is a skill. 

But because it is a skill, the good news is that you can too develop your diet and training skill with time and practice. 

My main takeaway from this is not to judge yourself or someone solely based on their level of body fat. There is a lot that can be going on that you dont realize. 

With online clients we have them focus on doing the best YOU can based on what YOUR goals are and try to not worry about how others look, they probably have completely different circumstances than you.

If you need to help with this process, then my 1:1 coaching program is perfect for you. 

You can fill out the application HERE.