All-Star Cheerleaders With Eating Disorders?

I also just want to point out that there IS a difference between extreme dieting and an eating disorder. An ED is a complicated mental disease that stays with someone for their entire life, and is usually caused by more than just one or a few people calling a girl "fat".

People like to judge flyers based on their size a lot I've seen. I'm lucky to have had a stunt group that told me I was the lightest not because of my size, but because I held my weight up in the air. I didn't know this until we did a drill where we all switched flyers and one other girl is around my size and they said she didn't hold herself up so she felt heavier. I haven't seen anyone with an eating disorder in cheer itself, but I've definitely seen factors that would make people start to have one.

NJcheerleading4ever said:

I also just want to point out that there IS a difference between extreme dieting and an eating disorder. An ED is a complicated mental disease that stays with someone for their entire life, and is usually caused by more than just one or a few people calling a girl "fat".

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I agree with this. In my experience some are predisposed to an ED and you never know what might trigger it. It could be a base making a comment, it could be a commercial on TV, etc. It's always best to be sensitive and not make unsolicited comments about someone's weight, and some sports create an environment for unsolicited comments easier than others, but I wouldn't paint an entire sport with a broad brush.

NJcheerleading4ever said:

On the contrary, someone that I knew had been struggling with her body image and an eating disorder on and off for years...cheerleading was the only thing that HELPED her. It helped her realize that withering away into a stick-person wouldn't get her anywhere, and it promoted healthy exercise in her daily routine so that she was able to develop the muscle she needed to actually get through practices or a whole routine. It was the only thing that drove home to her the beauty of muscles and strength and being okay with herself as a healthy person, and that starving herself would only RUIN her cheer skills. I know it isn't like that for everyone, but I wish it could be.

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For the CP I know with a history of anorexia this is her case too. She eats so she can go to the gym and cheer. Her parents and doctors managed her recovery with increasing/decreasing floor time. It's been 5 years and while she still has to stay cognizant of it, she isn't in constant danger of relapsing.

Most EDs are mental, not weight driven (although weight can be a trigger), and I think the perfectionist and intense skill aspect of the sport might drive some of the more critical kids to extremes. With all the talk about mental blocks and worlds teams and whether it's a failure not to progress … I just want to grab every cheerleader and give them a hug. What we do is so intense and crazy, with HS and college and work and life on top of it all, it's amazing that cheerleaders still smile on the mat.

As a recovering/ed anorexic, cheer has helped me to keep from relapsing because I know I need to eat to fight for those stunts that don't hit, or just get the stunts up in the first place. It's a safety matter for me as well as the team. The reality is that you can't get through training or comp season without a healthy body and sound mind. If you suspect anyone is suffering from early stages, speak up! Talk to coaches or family and make sure they take your concerns seriously. This is a life-long mental disease and sometimes it's so frustrating having to fight it every day, I would not wish it on my enemies. For anyone with college or HS age girls, do preventative work and explain what EDs are, how they can hurt you and the importance of looking out for each other. There are workshops and motivational speakers, it can be a good bonding as well as educational experience. It won't be a failsafe, but if it helps just one girl on the edge then it's worth it.

CEAlover08 said:

My friends main base did the same thing to her, and that's why she became anorexic.

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yeah i mean i know its silly why these girls diet because obviously if your a flyer you are no where near fat, but when girls put their self esteems down like that, that's when the problem starts.

I just feel bad for all these girls, becasue they are going to be in recovery forever. It's just so sad

I think its crazy that some schools weigh their flyers. Ive seen some amazinggg cheerleaders who dont weigh 100 pounds and look like a twig. If you can perform the skills and stunts are hitting, then why should weight matter.

INeverStopCheering said:

I think gymnastics is a little different because to be a gymnast you NEED to be small because otherwise you can't do those skills.

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People always say this, but I don't understand. How can size affect you so much that you can't do a skill?

ive always had issues with my weight. as long as i can remember.

for me, its always hardest seeing beautiful girls on tv and in magazines and other media. The thought that i will never look that perfect breaks my heart everytime.
Cheer does help, just because its a time that i can think about something other than food.

cheerchick795 said:

People always say this, but I don't understand. How can size affect you so much that you can't do a skill?

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Umm I'm not going to give a very good explanation of this because my gymnastics career was super short lived. But from those I've talked to the bigger you are the more you have to flip around. Like maybe you're able to do a X with 1 twist, but your opponent, who's 20 lbs lighter can do a X with 2 twists because she can do more in the equal amount of airtime because she's smaller (rotates and twists faster.)

INeverStopCheering said:

Umm I'm not going to give a very good explanation of this because my gymnastics career was super short lived. But from those I've talked to the bigger you are the more you have to flip around. Like maybe you're able to do a X with 1 twist, but your opponent, who's 20 lbs lighter can do a X with 2 twists because she can do more in the equal amount of airtime because she's smaller (rotates and twists faster.)

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Oh. Ok gotcha. But, then wouldn't that apply for cheer too? Because I can do a full but when I was 20 lbs lighter I could do a double, but not anymore. So i think it somewhat applies to cheer too, except we are spinning and flipping less than gymnasts.

AllstarObsession said:

ive always had issues with my weight. as long as i can remember.

for me, its always hardest seeing beautiful girls on tv and in magazines and other media. The thought that i will never look that perfect breaks my heart everytime.
Cheer does help, just because its a time that i can think about something other than food.

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Oh sweetie, this breaks my heart! I wish I could reach out and hug you. I will give you a little tidbit of advice here-those "perfect" girls you see on magazines and on tv are actually the ones who are the genetic "freaks". They're not freaks, but you know what I mean. Most women are on average from 5'5"-5'7", not 5'8"-5'"10+, and there is a greatly higher percentage of woman with Normal BMI's (around 22) than those with a BMI that would put them in the underweight catagory (less than 17). At times, it seems like everyone else is the ideal BUT you-I swear to you right now, and I don't even know you-THIS IS NOT THE CASE. Everyone struggles in one way or another. I measured myself against others for years, and it took me a long time to realize that what I have to give, makes me an ideal-just like everyone else. If I'm weak, brain-dead, and dumb from starvation, I can't be myself-my crazy, silly, wacky, fun-loving self. Food is nothing but the gasoline for your body to do the things you love to do. It's not evil, it's not the enemy, it's not central. If you want to fight something, fight those wretched voices that have the nerve to tell you you're not perfect. Tell them to shove it. If you ever need to talk, I'm just an inbox away

my cp had a hard time the past two years due to "growth spurt" became more full figured and the bigggest flyer. Talented as she was,it still became an issue when the stunt didn't work it was because she was too heavy,too big blah blah. I started to get worried when I had to take her to the dr(for something else) and she wouldn't get on the scale. She went hysterical. In the end she was taken out of the air and it killed her for she thought the coaches thought she was too big.

The bow lady said:

my cp had a hard time the past two years due to "growth spurt" became more full figured and the bigggest flyer. Talented as she was,it still became an issue when the stunt didn't work it was because she was too heavy,too big blah blah. I started to get worried when I had to take her to the dr(for something else) and she wouldn't get on the scale. She went hysterical. In the end she was taken out of the air and it killed her for she thought the coaches thought she was too big.

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that is so sad. ): the same thing happened to a flyer that i know too.

cheerchick795 said:

Oh. Ok gotcha. But, then wouldn't that apply for cheer too? Because I can do a full but when I was 20 lbs lighter I could do a double, but not anymore. So i think it somewhat applies to cheer too, except we are spinning and flipping less than gymnasts.

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I guess it applies to any tumbling, but in gymnastics the skills are so much crazier and more complicated and there are more apparatuses to consider