Playing Diet Police
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Playing Diet Police
| Thu, 07-10-2003 - 10:11am |
Okay, I said I try not to play diet police, but would you say something about this? My husband's niece is 14 and plays intense tennis every day for 4 hours. She has a tendency to gain weight though she's fine now. However, she doesn't eat anything at all until after tennis is over--at 5pm. She played her clinic yesterday, followed by a tournament and didn't eat until late yesterday. I did mention that you need fuel for exercise and you do better if you eat. Her mother doesn't see this as a problem. I don't think this is an eating disorder, but it's an unhealthy lifestyle and I worry about the future and the being thin at all cost. Should I butt out?
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~shesminetoo
Mom to 3yr old *E* and stepmom to 10 yr old *M*
I'm in a similar situation with my 14-year-old niece. She's not very active, weighs 176 pounds, and suffers from asthma. She doesn't eat breakfast. She only eats an order of french fries for lunch. And then comes home from school and eats everything she can put her hands on because she's starving. I'm not her parent so, there's not a whole lot that I can do. I suggested that she ask her mother to help her prepare her own lunch each day, but her mother isn't exactly the picture of health either. The only thing I can do is be a positive role model for her, and that's really the only thing you can be for your niece.
The parents are the ones who have to ensure that their child is eating properly. Now, like I said, you suspect an eating disorder, then it is your obligation to step in. Most kids will eat when they get hungry enough. I wouldn't worry too much at this point. I know it's hard to watch people tax their bodies that way, but what more can you do?
I played tennis in HS and ate like crap too; I play recreationally now, and since my diet did a 180 I find I have much more energy and stamina. Plus I look better in those short skirts, but that's not why I began eating healthfully :)
~K~
~Kiervin~
Co-author of: MONSTER'S INK HORROR ANTHOLOGY By Cyber-Pulp Press
But, I'd show her easily understood and concise medical/nutritional/sports articles that explain how fat is burned as a fuel during exercise, how she's got to eat in order keep her metabolism burning at a high level, and how she needs lean muscle mass to keep her metabolism high...and overall, how she can't optimally perform in tennis without eating.
Now....telling someone when/how/what....that's bound to fail. But explaining to them how the body stores fat, how you change your metabolism, that the "scale weight" isn't relevant compared to the stored fat/muscle mass % ratio's...with intelligent people it'll all sink in, although not necessarily all at once.
If you're close to her...find out if she's playing tennis because "it's something to do that she has access to so that she can control her weight" - or is she playing tennis becuase she likes the sport, the interaction with her friends, and has competitive drive.
Which is it would determine which tactic I'd use to approach how to tell her about "fueling her body for optimal performance" vs. "fueling her body for optimal metabolic burn/muscle mass building/stored fat reduction".
Erin
quickblade14@hotmail.com