NO direct correlation between weight loss and performance....

KThe topic of women and body image really hit close to home for me. I mentioned in class that I was on the Women's Water Polo team at CSULB for the past three years. I love and care for the girls on the team as if they were blood relatives. It's a group of loving girls and AMAZING athletes, in and out of the water. On the team we did all sorts of cross training, in the weight room, on the track, drills in the pool, and we even did a day of working out in Coronado with the Navy Seals. (YES, thats right!) Working out together is something we all have/had a passion for, however love for the sport was lost by many of us because of they way we were treated.

I have always been confident with the way my body looks because I have never had a reason to doubt myself. One thing that I liked about this particular group of girls is that they all felt the same. It's not fun listening to our friends insecurities when we know that they have nothing to be insecure about. Every girl on my team (X-team) had a beautiful body, some bigger than others, but when you work out on average 6 hours a day it's IMPOSSIBLE to be "UNHEALTHY??"

The atmosphere of the team changed about a year ago when we were told that we all needed to loose weight. Our coach told us "You all are overweight and need to be eating lettuce for dinner and grain for dessert." This is also when we were told we would be doing regular weigh-in's in front out our teammates and coaches that would be recorded. It was almost overnight that I noticed specific girls on our team centering their life's around loosing weight and dieting. As a team we talked about diet tips, complimented each other on looks rather than skill and almost all conversations were centered on body image.

It was no longer a "healthy" atmosphere to be around. Like I said I have never been the girl to question my body or be insecure but in the past year I have become aware of my body image and now have trouble enjoying treats the way i used to. I also know of many girls on my team that have admitted to having newly discovered eating disorders. It's sad to see girls that i love and care about feel insecure about their body, and i would do anything to get rid of my own insecurities. I am writing so openly because i feel this existing issue needs to be brought to the attention of someone who WILL make a change. I have had first hand experience with abuse by coaches at this school and I do not want any more young girls to be affected by this unrelated correlation between weight loss and performance.

In class on tuesday it became very aware that this is a bigger issue than is being expressed. I found an article that i feel would be interesting to any other female athlete who is questioning weigh loss to enhance their performance in the pool or on the court.

http://www.sportsmd.com/SportsMD_Articles/id/407.aspx

Katie R.

Kinn338i