Run-Down Forums

[xcountrychick]

ok i know everyone is sick of this topic but i am trying to recover from an Eating disorder and could really use some help/encouragemnet. I'm 15, Im running cross country for highschool, but currently just training cuz my doctor wont let me race. I trained too many miles this summer while eating about 1500-1600 calories and lost too much weight and unfortunately lots of muscle and speed. i am actually slower now. a lot slower. So now I weigh 95 pounds and im 5' 6". I am trying to gain weight- to atleast 100 but i just cant do it. i keep thinking i am going to get even slower. Will gaining weight bring back the muscle and speed i have lost? Can anyone prove that? or has anyone had any experience like this that can assure me that gaining weight will make me faster? my parents are giving me 2 more weeks to gain the weight so any responses that would motivate me would be helpful. thanks so much.

[Dan]

What happens in 2 weeks?

There aren't many certainties or guarantees that can be given with any nutrition-related topic such as this, but here is one: Gaining weight will not guarantee you will get stronger or faster. It gives you the potential to, but all weight is not equal... The key is how healthy you are and can become, and I'm not sure I can be of much help in that area.

I would think your best bet is to follow the general principles of good nutrition. Trying to make up for previous under-eating might just create bad habits and cause you to overshoot the target.

Dan

[Distance_Guru]

Let me start by saying this is not a guide on how to recover from an eating disorder. But it is a true story that you might find encouraging. My best friend in high school was an awsome runner, she was 11th at the Footlocker National Cross Country Championships as a Jr. And was just a training machine, she was pretty tall about 5'8" so she wieghed about 110 pounds give or take. Anyway early in her Sr. year she got an eating disorder and got all the way down to to 85 pounds. By the end of cross season she was over a minute slower in the 5k than the year before. Anyway she had to sit out Footlocker to try and gain wieght, but she was at a point where she hated food. The only thing she liked to eat was ice cream, so her parents bought a ton of ice cream and filled the freezer. She'd eat a little at normal meals but at night she'd wake up and eat like a half gallon of ice cream almost every night. By track season she was back rolling (wieghing around 105) and ended up running the fastest 3200 in the nation that year (10:1.

Like I said, this isn't a guide but it is a true story and I hope you find it encouraging. Good luck
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[guest]

eating disorders are scary things. think more about the rest of your life than an extra few pounds that you might not (but probably WILL) like on your body. you need calories for energy AND muscle. you need everything else that comes with eating so you don't spend a lifetime fighting injuries like stress fractures (which I am right now) because of the damage that you are doing to your bones. the only right I have to preach, is having been there before. love yourself a lot, choose what is most important to you, and find passion and pride in who you are and what your body can do. every runner knows how to "toughen up" when the training gets tough, this isn't that much different. you can do it.

[Micah Ward]

Excellent advice.
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