All-Star Cheerleaders With Eating Disorders?

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the complexity of an eating disorder goes way past dieting, looking skinny, losing weight etc. trust me, i was diagnosed with anorexia a couple weeks ago and i often despise how my body looks right now. yes, it's thin, and yes, a lot of people think it looks like an ideal body. but it is also very sick and slowly shutting down.

TO ANY GIRLS/GUYS WORRIED ABOUT THEIR BODY IMAGE- just remember that you only get one body. and you have to do all you can to protect that body. stay with a healthy lifestyle and let your body do what it's going to do. some people are naturally very slim, and others are naturally very muscular, others are curvy etc etc. there is no mold and flyers/bases/tumblers should not feel pressured to look like all the other girls/guys on their team. and if you do choose to change to a healthier lifestyle, remember- health first. looks second.
 
i'm not gonna deny it, if i wasn't a fly my weight would not be where it is now. Its made me very concious of what i eat, and how much I exercise. Since senior team flyers keep getting younger, it makes me feel the need to keep my weight down just to stay in the air.
 
i'm not gonna deny it, if i wasn't a fly my weight would not be where it is now. Its made me very concious of what i eat, and how much I exercise. Since senior team flyers keep getting younger, it makes me feel the need to keep my weight down just to stay in the air.
Me too. Wouldn't have to worry about those days that I had alot of pizza or drank alot of water before practice and had to hear, "LIFT UP!
or "Your heavy".
Those are seriously the worst comments ever.
 

i know how you feel!
i am a flyer on a senior 3 team, im 16 and im a junior (11th grade) in high school. at school i am very tiny and skinny compared to EVERYONE! even some freshmen. on my team there are two flyers who are alot shorter then me, they are in 6th grade (10-11 years old)and i always feel so much bigger then them! i just always feel like i am way to heavy at cheer and way to light at school. i know this sounds funny but i feel like i need to be lighter on my bases even though they say im a feather, i just dont always feel like it compared to the little flyers on my team. this is something i have been worrying alot about lately because i really want to fly and its something im really good at!
Ik. Every year I feel like I need to lose more weight because Im 16 now and don't think I'll fly next year and I'm worried. All the flyers on my team are half my size and next year when girls from juniors are old enough they'll get moved up and I'll be replaced because I'm too big and I need the biggest bases, etc. I've always been the smallest, so it's weird for me. I don't like being the biggest, it's horrible. I feel the need to lose weight just to keep my spot. It seems like a constant competition and I don't want my spot taken by some little skinny girl.
i'm not gonna deny it, if i wasn't a fly my weight would not be where it is now. Its made me very concious of what i eat, and how much I exercise. Since senior team flyers keep getting younger, it makes me feel the need to keep my weight down just to stay in the air.
Me too. But in a way it's good because at least I won't get fat lol. But like I said to beetle. It is really annoying for me having to constantly worry about my weight in order to keep my place in the air. I wish I was just one of those people who is just tiny without having to try so hard and think about it so much.
Me too. Wouldn't have to worry about those days that I had alot of pizza or drank alot of water before practice and had to hear, "LIFT UP!
or "Your heavy".
Those are seriously the worst comments ever.
Shimmy x 1000000. Those make me feel so bad. or when my bases are grunting and stuff trying to get me up i feel like 1,000 lbs. Sometimes my bases say "wow your heavy today what did you eat?" and usually its barely anything but the days it is I feel bad even though I ate probably not even a portion of what they get to eat and they don't have to feel bad about it. Jealous, but I don't wanna give up flying.
Sorry...Longest post ever, I'm done :)
 

Shimmy x 1000000. Those make me feel so bad. or when my bases are grunting and stuff trying to get me up i feel like 1,000 lbs. Sometimes my bases say "wow your heavy today what did you eat?" and usually its barely anything but the days it is I feel bad even though I ate probably not even a portion of what they get to eat and they don't have to feel bad about it. Jealous, but I don't wanna give up flying.
Sorry...Longest post ever, I'm done :)
I hate those comments. I don't think bases think about how they make flyers feel by saying those things. I even took the initiative to ask my base not to say anything liek that again because it made me feel bad, and she just lashed out on me! So now I have to deal with teh comments and know that I'm going to hear them and try and not let them both me.

Though the comments are bad, I would NEVER give up flying either. It makes me feel so amazing... like I can't even describe the feeling that being a flyer gives you. Its like your super important, and it feels great to have everybody looking at you. I can't imagine having to lift another girl... Sure I don't like stretching, contorting my body in weird postitions, and having to worry about my weight, but its all worth it. I've learned to keep myself at a good stable weight that doesn't kill my bases and that allows me to be able to do all my skills. But I would never lose weight if my bases told me too. That would be the point where I would give up flying, because flyers don't have to be rail thin.
 
Ik. Every year I feel like I need to lose more weight because Im 16 now and don't think I'll fly next year and I'm worried. All the flyers on my team are half my size and next year when girls from juniors are old enough they'll get moved up and I'll be replaced because I'm too big and I need the biggest bases, etc. I've always been the smallest, so it's weird for me. I don't like being the biggest, it's horrible. I feel the need to lose weight just to keep my spot. It seems like a constant competition and I don't want my spot taken by some little skinny girl.

i have always been the smallest and the skinnest also and its crazy for me to worry about how heavy i am since i am soo skinny, but its just those younger girls who are always making wish i was lighter.
 
This is intersting to hear other peoples thoughts on this because it isn't something easy you can openly talk about at practice or anywhere really! I just wish I was naturally tiny so I wouldn't have to try so hard making myself that way! Being in the uniform and flying is way to important to me to give it all up just to not deal with body issues. In my case it's all part of it, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
 
Trust that your coach has chosen the best spot for you to contribute to the team. Not everyone gets to be a flyer, and flyers shouldn't be more important than any other member of the team. A tight flyer weighs less than a loose flyer, and you can't be tight without muscle and strength. I think a lot of comments about weight from bases stems from frustration and wanting to lash out at someone, and unfortunately as girls we are taught that weight matters and it's an easy way to transfer negative feelings. It might also be that they are dealing with body image issues themselves and basing another girl that is similarly sized makes them feel too big to fly, rather than appreciating how strong they are or talented at basing. Let's not make this a "flyer" problem, or "bases against flyers" thing. It's an issue all women face and we are stronger together helping each other than we ever will be picking each other apart. Talk to your coach, team mom, captain, and tell them if there are body image issues that need to be addressed. It's something that needs to be openly talked about regularly, not a one time thing.

Being naturally tiny or thin does not prevent you from developing an eating disorder. I'm naturally tiny and have been in recovery from anorexia for 7 years now. It's a lifelong disease that is ugly and destructive, it affects your friends and family and pulls them apart as you struggle to let it go. Don't ever EVER think it's glamorous or aspirational.
 
"if you eat, you don't compete" is an expression I REALLY hope I NEVER hear again from a cheerleader.
 

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