Eating disorders?

[redrhodie]

The comments here have been extremely helpful to me already. Thank you all!

The reminder that people will comment on my weight, no matter what, is something I really needed to hear, I think. It's not right, and, really, people should mind their own business, but it happens. It's something I'll have to deal with whether I am racing my bike, or just going about my everyday life. There's bound to be comments, and it's probably not possible for me to avoid them completely. But, it is possible for me to change how I react to them, and, in particular, how much I let them affect my life.

After reading the responses here, I am considering writing a letter to the camp director, or possibly the organizing body that runs these camps. I don't think I'm courageous enough to include my own story, but I think the way that the weigh-ins were run could be potentially damaging to others at camp too. I don't think that weighing a bunch of teenage cyclists in front of each other, posting the list of weights publicly, and commenting on weight of specific athletes is helpful for anybody, really, but I know that they needed to get that information. I think I'd suggest that they weigh each of us individually, don't post the list of weights, don't comment about weight, and/or provide individuals the option to opt-out of weighing in. I might just be over-sensitive to this issue though. What do you all think?

This brings back memories! My ballet teacher got the brilliant idea to weigh each of us in front of the class. How awful is that!? In my case, no one from my dance class went to school with me, so even though it (getting on a the scale) caused huge anxiety, I got on, thinking, at least it would be contained to this place. Wrong! One of the girls was the cousin of a girl in my class. I went to school the next day, and she announced my weight (I was over 100 lbs. Everyone else was under 100) to everyone. It was humiliating. I never told my mother that was the reason I wanted to (and did) quit ballet. In hindsight, it was a great decision, since even trying to get back into it for fun as an adult was harmful to my body image. I can't imagine what I'd feel like if I kept at it through puberty (did you see "the Black Swan"!).

I think writing the letter would be cathartic. Probably if this guy knew what you've gone through from what was probably an off the cuff remark would be an eye opener to him, and may help some other women. I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt that he didn't know he was in dangerous territory, and had not meant you needed to lose 30 lbs.

[OakLeaf]

I think eating disorders are extremely common among women athletes, and because of that, the coach's comments and methods are simply inexcusable.

"Weight" per se is nearly irrelevant in a sport that isn't divided into weight classes, anyway. Did they measure your body composition? Do any measurements of power-to-weight ratio or upper vs. lower body strength?

I think it would be great for you to write the camp, with or without personal information. I don't think you're being over-sensitive in the slightest.

[redrhodie]

I think eating disorders are extremely common among women athletes, and because of that, the coach's comments and methods are simply inexcusable.

Yeah, you're right. He should have known better.

[Triskeliongirl]

I just picked up on something in your last post, which is that you are a teenager. A teenager, battling an eating disorder. I believe the way the camp acted is inexcusable, and that not only should you write a letter, but your parents should as well. At this age, we should be encouraging a positive body image in our youth, and not promoting eating disorders. You might also suggest that what they should really be measuring is performance. So, if this camp is about helping young athletes improve their performance, you need both halves of the equation, weight, but also power, to know what to be recommending that needs to be improved. I would also think that body composition analysis is important (percentage of body fat) if recommendations concerning weight (i.e. fat) loss are going to be made. Furthermore, within cycling there are certain specializations such as climbing that require a light body, but then others such as sprinting for which a heavier body can be an advantange (and which you noted you are good at), so it seems they should also be working with you to identify what specialization suits your natural body type best. And lastly, this should all be done in PRIVATE.

[Dogmama]

"Weight" per se is nearly irrelevant in a sport that isn't divided into weight classes, anyway. Did they measure your body composition? Do any measurements of power-to-weight ratio or upper vs. lower body strength?

+++1. Body composition is important. Muscle weighs more than fat. Weighing athletes is stupid, IMO (especially young women prone to eating disorders.) You can have "skinny fat" people who come in at a whisper of weight & don't have the muscle mass, or energy, to make it up a 1 mile 2% grade. Honestly, the women who routinely kick my butt are bigger than me. They have larger gluteal and quadriceps muscles that makes them power up hills like a rocket. In a "weigh in" I imagine they're a good 30 pounds more than me.

Check out Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition books. I thought I knew everything about fueling for peak performance but I learned quite a bit. She talks about eating disorders, how to eat to lose weight yet still have energy to exercise. I was glad that she addressed the myth about not eating before cardio to lose weight. You can pick up her book at Amazon & it is available on kindle.

[jelee1311]

Sunrise. Welcome to TE I'm sorry I missed this post until now. I've had eating disorders most of my life(started when ii was 9 & I'm 40 now)so I understand the siren song of people complimenting on weightloss.I'm in recovery now but I really have to work on not falling into old routines. The positive side to cycling is that it makes me healthy and strong I have a good support system and as hard as it may be to believe weight and food don't rule my life. Weight can be an issue to anyone with eating disorders no matter what sport,but I have seen the weight thing with my husband who is a stage racer and its kind of scary. You can never be too skinny for some people but I think its that way in a lot of elite level athletics. Its all about your life and making healthy choices for you. I hope you continue to get counseling and support because its important. Be good to yourself.

[NbyNW]

Just wanted to chime in with some support and say that I admire your courage in starting this thread.

The relationship of sports psychology, eating disorders and sports nutrition is one that needs to get more attention.

If you are a teenager, your body is still developing. That means your ideal weight and other stats related to your performance is also still developing. No coach and no amount of sports science can say for sure where you will perform the best, especially if you intend to compete in this sport for a long time. Yes, there are guidelines, but you also need to trust your own intuition.

I've been through the experience of unintentially losing muscle -- due to extreme stress -- and it can definitely take a lot of time and deliberate work to regain that muscle and be in a good place.

Be strong, and be good to yourself!

[shootingstar]

Sunrise, go for some great rides on your own to enjoy. Not sure if you ride alone much, but it can be a great soother. Choose your favourite route and do it over and over. Until you get naturally at your own pace, better.

Keep a cycling diary or blog.

To heck with the rest of the world.

[sunrise]

I'm sorry it's taken me so long to reply to this thread here. I really appreciate the support and had previously typed up a long reply, but ended up accidentally deleting it. Argh!

I haven't been on my bike in over a week. It was really strange at first, and this Saturday was very hard for me because I skipped a race I had been looking forward to all winter. I did well there last year, and I honestly think I could have done really well if I would have taken better care of my body this winter. But, I didn't. I stayed at home, instead, and tried to stay busy. I ended up cooking (and freezing!) at least 5-6 different meals, so I should be set for a long time now.

I am finally about ready to head out for a ride here soon, I think. I'm actually looking forward to it now, and I think it will be a good warm-up for my soccer game tonight. I love the idea of a cycling diary (or a blog!) and hope that I can get back to riding for fun again, without any pressure to go faster, be lighter, etc.

I also really appreciate the help in reframing my disappointments about last weekend's race. Thank you so much for helping me to see that I really can trust my body to settle at the weight it's healthiest at -- I certainly didn't seem to improve things much by losing the weight in the manner I did. Lesson learned for good this time, I hope!