Colby, my experience 20 years ago in ballet was that when I dropped my calorie intake too low given how many classes a week I was taking, my body seized any calories it could get and clung to them like a boa constrictor. I'd eat an apple and I swear the scale would go up. It seems to go better if I eat in moderation and don't starve.
I have been pondering the Athena thing as well. I just switched out of age group into Athena for my next sprint triathlon, so we'll see how it works for me.
"My predominant feeling is one of gratitude. I have loved and been loved;I have been given much and I have given something in return...Above all, I have been a sentient being, a thinking animal, on this beautiful planet, and that in itself has been an enormous privilege and an adventure." O. Sacks