All-Star Cheerleaders With Eating Disorders?

[cheergirl630]

this thread makes me so sad. in my honest opinion i think the aspects that determine if you should fly is flexability. i personally give all my respect to rocket elite all stars. they have a method of "if youre flexiable you go up, and youll make it work, even if your base is smaller then you"....i agree with this so much. if its all age appropriate kids theres no reason why anyone cant go up

True story/statement happens about every practice for me my bases are smaller than me and still put me up!

 

[kayleigh]

Last year when i stopped cheering I lost about 15 pounds from my muscle being gone and it got to the point where my legs went from touching all the way to not touching anymore. I was going through a lot too and I remember that one day I only ate a bite full of mac and cheese. I had severe body image issues. since i'm only 5'1, everyone would tell me how cute and small i was and I loved feeling little like I did when I was little. No one meant it in the "oh you needed to lose weight" way though so I didn't take it offensively. Whenever I looked in the mirror I still thought I looked overweight and even now I do. But once i started cheering again i got all of my muscle back and i needed to eat a lot more to be able to cheer so now i'm back to my normal weight.

 

[omgitssydthekid]

I have been thinking about this thread a lot and I decided I was going to try to be more positive than negitive towards my flyer. My flyer is a beautiful flyer and looks stunning in the air but she has gotten dropped many times at a previous gym that it makes her scared to fly. The other night at practice, she was having a lot of trouble with doubling out of her stunt. And we were trying to help her but she just kept getting frustrated and the more frustrated she got the worse she seemed to do. So at one point she started tearing up and I took her aside and I told her how beautiful of a flyer she was, how that if the coaches didn't think she was good enough to be point they wouldn't have put her there, how I was glad she was my flyer, and that she was more than capable of doing the stunt but it might just take some time. So we hugged and went back to our stunt group and it was shakey and I tought she was going to bail out of it so I yelled "I believe in you *****, you can do this" and she tightened up and pulled her scale, and she tried doubling out of her stunt for the first time actually committing to it. Granted I didn't move fast enough out of the way because she squared to the front (this is my first time backspotting a double down because I fly our main stunt and I didn't think about moving until the last second so it was my fault and I felt horrible) and we hit our heads together pretty hard and it ended up in tears but it was such a milestone for her and I was so proud of her

 

[ayeeitslucien]

it's so tragic to hear about this sort of thing in cheerleading. i don't understand why everyone finds it totally necessary to have to weigh a miniscule amount in order to be a cheerleader. one of our girls is definitely on the bigger side but her jumps are almost hyperextended, she points her toes beautifully and she can work it in a dance like no ones business. flyers being somewhat smaller is somewhat understandable, but still the expectations they are given and the pressure put upon them for body image is immense. if a flyer isn't a stick that shouldn't be a problem either as long as the bases are capable of supporting her and are willing to try. i personally think flyers who are built more solid and have muscle are somewhat easier to put up, but that's just me.

bottom line, weight shouldn't be as much of a factor as it is. i LOVE seeing 'bigger' girls fight the stereotype and throw passes to double fulls, it always makes my day

 

[cmpayne]

This is really sad, I would hate to be a flyer. Anyways, I've had tops that I've had at first and they were not fat at all but they were heavier than my previous flyer so it's new. Most of the time it's just getting used to a new top and after a while I'm able to put them up like it's nothing. Also, like someone else said, the flyer's stunting ability has an affect. I could easily hold a heavier girl w/ muscles if she was good at flying but if you give me a skinny minny girl who is horrible at flying, she'll be harder. A lot of the time the problem isn't about the flyer being too big, it's the bases either not being strong enough or not trying b/c they're too focused on blaming the top.

 

[MNCheerMom]

This is really sad, I would hate to be a flyer. Anyways, I've had tops that I've had at first and they were not fat at all but they were heavier than my previous flyer so it's new. Most of the time it's just getting used to a new top and after a while I'm able to put them up like it's nothing. Also, like someone else said, the flyer's stunting ability has an affect. I could easily hold a heavier girl w/ muscles if she was good at flying but if you give me a skinny minny girl who is horrible at flying, she'll be harder. A lot of the time the problem isn't about the flyer being too big, it's the bases either not being strong enough or not trying b/c they're too focused on blaming the top.

I hear you! The best fliers are our gym are not only flexible but extremely tight. You can't hold up a wet noodle! Most bases would agree that they would prefer to hold up a tight, muscular flyer rather than a light, wet noodle. Unfortunately, teenage girls who are flyers seem to feel as if their weight matters and really, weight has very little to do with how "heavy" you feel in a stunt!

 

[alliebby33]

Today at my competition, I was walking around and watching teams with one of my friends. I love her, but I think people like her are who might be triggering these eating disorders. I'd say the majority of teams in Northern Ohio have full tops, my gym being one of them. Every time my friend saw a team with girls who maybe were a little bigger (but were still rocking the uniform, looking good!) she made some comment like "this is why gyms should never have half tops" or "why on earth would coaches let some of these girls out in public in these uniforms?" honestly, I just wanted to slap her every time. I wanna say good for you to every girl who may not be super skinny, but is still rocking that half top, confidently representing their gym in the best way they can! I'm so happy to be a part of a sport that produces confident athletes and (mostly) doesn't discriminate against the curvier girls out there, however, people like my one friend I think are what brings people down.

 

[gi_cheer]

I just want to clarify....and please don't think I'm invalidating anyone's experience....but eating disoders are not all about being skinny and losing weight. There are deep rooted issues in people who develop eating disorders beyond body image issues. Also...going on a 2 week crash diet, no matter how dangerous it is, it's not an eating disorder. An eating disorder is a serious psychological condition. I really can't explain it without writing a novel. I just don't want anyone to lighten the seriousness of eating disorders.

That being said, I do believe that society places harsh expectations on women. And I certainly think these unrealistic expectations contribute to poor body image in girls and women.....however, poor body image alone does not constitute an eating disorder.

 

[cartwheels&cupcakes]

Just wanted to mention that it is very difficult to actually be diagnosed with a real "eating disorder". The guidelines are pretty ridiculous in order for it to "count". But many people, not just athletes have -disordered eating. Their eating patterns are NOT healthy and view of food is not healthy.

Just wanted to point this out. While the week of extreme dieting and ridiculous calorie counting may not be considered an eating disorder, it is still considered disordered eating.

 

[gi_cheer]

Just wanted to mention that it is very difficult to actually be diagnosed with a real "eating disorder". The guidelines are pretty ridiculous in order for it to "count". But many people, not just athletes have -disordered eating. Their eating patterns are NOT healthy and view of food is not healthy.

Just wanted to point this out. While the week of extreme dieting and ridiculous calorie counting may not be considered an eating disorder, it is still considered disordered eating.

I don't disagree with that at all. I'm just saying that an eating disorder is more than that. I have recovered from a serious eating disorder and now am in the clinical field.

 

[cartwheels&cupcakes]

I don't disagree with that at all. I'm just saying that an eating disorder is more than that. I have recovered from a serious eating disorder and now am in the clinical field.

I wasn't saying you were, I just wanted to add to you! Sorry if I came off trying to disagree with you. I was just giving information I have came across in my years of psychology and nutritional classes. Im glad you have over came something so serious.

 

[cheerbear2x]

I was in gymnastics in 7th grade (4 yrs ago), and one time I was walking from the locker room to our gym in my leotard, and the football boys were walking down the hallway to to go outside to practice. Anyways, this one boy, one of the "popular" guys, was walking behind me and loudly said "ew". (mind you I wasn't the skinniest back then, but wasn't overweight.) At that age, I was always worried about how I looked and especially being in something as skin tight as our leotards. Once he said this, I just kinda played it off, but inside I wanted to roll on the floor crying. I wouldn't eat for a few days after that, but within two weeks returned to eating normally again. I wish people understood how something as simple as saying "ew" will stick with them forever. No matter how many times someone can say "You look great!", it never outweighs that one person who says something negative. After reading this thread, I'm definitely more careful about the comments I make to my flyer. Obviously my story wasn't as bad as some of the other very strong girls who have posted on here, but it definitely impacted me greatly at the time.

 

[gi_cheer]

I was in gymnastics in 7th grade (4 yrs ago), and one time I was walking from the locker room to our gym in my leotard, and the football boys were walking down the hallway to to go outside to practice. Anyways, this one boy, one of the "popular" guys, was walking behind me and loudly said "ew". (mind you I wasn't the skinniest back then, but wasn't overweight.) At that age, I was always worried about how I looked and especially being in something as skin tight as our leotards. Once he said this, I just kinda played it off, but inside I wanted to roll on the floor crying. I wouldn't eat for a few days after that, but within two weeks returned to eating normally again. I wish people understood how something as simple as saying "ew" will stick with them forever. No matter how many times someone can say "You look great!", it never outweighs that one person who says something negative. After reading this thread, I'm definitely more careful about the comments I make to my flyer. Obviously my story wasn't as bad as some of the other very strong girls who have posted on here, but it definitely impacted me greatly at the time.

Some people are so thoughtless....they don't think twice about the impact of their words. Makes me sick.

 

[gi_cheer]

I wasn't saying you were, I just wanted to add to you! Sorry if I came off trying to disagree with you. I was just giving information I have came across in my years of psychology and nutritional classes. Im glad you have over came something so serious.

We cool! lol

 

[bellaaa]

I don't understand how someone could tell a flyer that she's fat. It shouldn't matter if your flyer is the smallest or the biggest flyer on the team, your job as a base is to get that girl up in the air and stick your stunts. I love my flyer, she is not the tiniest girl on the team but I really don't expect her too be. As a base I am expected to lift athletes, nothing else.
Your flyer wouldn't tell you that you are too skinny to base, so why tell your flyer that she's to big to fly?