How lean is too lean for a woman?

Nikkiey's own story is the clearest marker. While preparing for her first bodybuilding competition, she lost her period for eight months and thought it was normal. She explains that her body fat was extremely low and she wasn't eating enough to support basic functions, so her body stopped prioritizing reproduction and put its energy toward survival. She describes undernourishment suppressing the hypothalamus, the part of the brain that regulates the menstrual cycle. Maggie Topham tells a similar story from her 30s: near-daily cardio, eating as little as she could, a lost period she took as proof she was working hard enough. Looking back, she sees it as slowly draining her body of what it needed long term. If your cycle has stopped or changed, bring that to your doctor.

On a bodybuilding episode, former competitor Ida Bergfoth and a WarriorBabe coach agree that stage-level body fat isn't healthy to hold, especially for women. It's so extreme it can't be maintained, and Ida says her body took years to feel normal after competing. Maggie offers a useful gut check: could you live this way for the next 20 to 30 years? If not, you're borrowing from your future.

The point underneath all of it: Nikkiey says the goal was never to get as skinny as possible. It's to build lean muscle so you get stronger, lose fat and change how your body looks and feels, on a plan you can keep.