All-Star Cheer ?

[Keep_Believing]

@Kris what is overweight my Princess Hotmess is 9 and wears a youth med/large bottoms and a youth med tops and was recently called overweight.

I am sorry that happened. Your daughter does not sound overweight to me. And even if she was overweight, nobody should ever call her names or make fun of her.

 

[GiaBellaMom]

I think **healthy** should definitely be the operative word here as well....in my old gym the vending machine had soda as well as gatorade but the snacks were chips and candy etc. I cannot tell you how many times my cp's would see kids walking into practice eating McDonalds or grabbing chips, candy bars, and soda from the machine. ALL size kids. My cp would see a larger cp in her gym drinking a jumbo coke, eating an entire jumbo size of doritos (the cp's mom was "overweight" as well) and my daughter would be like She could get diabetes! That's unhealthy! And then she would see a young, tall, very thin flyer eating worse and say, mom how come that girl can eat that all the time and not gain any weight? I would then have to go into the metabolism discussion but more important the "healthy" discussion about how important it is to be healthy INSIDE where people cannot see. I understand people are busy, commute and need to eat on the road sometimes. BUT there are better fast food choices than burgers and fries like grilled chicken and apple slices. And I would bring snacks so my cp's would not be tempted by the candy and cookies in the vending machines. Especially watching their teammates eat that way...So I think it DOES depend on the individual "larger" CP since some eat junk and do not make healthy choices and are that way, but some who work out the same amount of time are healthy inside, eat right and are that way genetically.

 

[Keep_Believing]

Agreed, being healthy, long term health is what matters.

 

[XtremeWpg]

I think it comes down to diet for a lot of people. I work out for 2 hours 3 times a week. Still have a layer of squish (as my fiance so nicely calls it). Its because I refuse to give up having cereal at 10pm and chinese food.

Our team has a huge camp coming up the first weekend of November and we've suggested they try cutting out all soft drinks, alcohol and fast food until then. Not even changing their main diet. They've struggled with the alcohol portion (they're all over 18) but most of them have commented how much better they feel just not having the extra sugar.

Ultimately, if an athlete can perform the skills and conditioning, then they're "healthy". People come in all kinds of sizes and shapes. Some of my girls will never be any smaller than they are now, but they run 5kms and half marathons. They are how they are.

 

[retiredl5cheer]

We can all throw butterflies and rainbows all over this topic and say that every size is beautiful, but that ignores the fact that nutrition is mostly ignored in our sport. I don't think that teenage athletes should be on diets, but their ability to get through a routine doesn't matter if they cram down fast food after practice. Just because they are physically fit doesn't mean they are healthy. It's not just about size either-- there are plenty of skinny "fat" people in cheerleading that have horrible eating habits but a metabolism that offsets them. I'd love for nutrition to be focused on more in our sport. It's important for cheerleaders to understand how to fuel their bodies with healthy foods.

 

[bestbackspot]

Just because somebody is skinny doesn't mean they're healthy and just because someone doesn't appear to have a model body doesn't mean they're fat.

Sadly, we are in a sport where half tops and sports bras are the norm, and it is much easier for girls to feel bad about themselves when they are surrounded by that. Being a taller girl with hips, I have watched my itty bitty friends eat pizza, fries, and chips constantly and think to myself "Well at least when everybody is older and our metabolisms have slowed down, I will understand healthy eating habits and being active, where they will not".

I think it is more important to teach healthy eating habits and being healthy now, then being perfectly skinny. Healthy eating habits will stick with us for the rest of our lives.

 

[JessikaLOVE]

If you can keep up with your team and your doctor isn't worried does it really matter what size or shape you are?

 

[catlady]

We can all throw butterflies and rainbows all over this topic and say that every size is beautiful, but that ignores the fact that nutrition is mostly ignored in our sport. I don't think that teenage athletes should be on diets, but their ability to get through a routine doesn't matter if they cram down fast food after practice. Just because they are physically fit doesn't mean they are healthy. It's not just about size either-- there are plenty of skinny "fat" people in cheerleading that have horrible eating habits but a metabolism that offsets them. I'd love for nutrition to be focused on more in our sport. It's important for cheerleaders to understand how to fuel their bodies with healthy foods.

I agree with this 100%. I, also believe, many of us parents and kids have just fallen into the trap of over scheduling ourselves which has translated into extremely poor eating habits. When things are calm, my family is sitting at the dinner table with a healthy meal. When things are crazy, we are tossing the fast food, or even healthy snacks, into the backseat yelling, "You have 5 minutes to snarf that down and get changed for practice." It isn't always necessarily all about fast food choices, but the brain does not recognize eating while multi-tasking, either.