Pig Out Gymnast!!!

[lakshmi369]

Eating is a peculiar thing for kids, let alone gymnasts but my daughter seems to have gone krazy with food! For the last year or two she has been eating constantly. Often having two complete dinners a night to go with her "snack" after school, "snack" at gymnastics break time along with full breakfast, "snack" at school and full lunch. At a meet last year she ate her snacks and snuck out on her bye rotation to snag a hot dog before vault! I dont see any eating disorder thing going on. She it healthy, VERY lean and petite. Anyone else have this going on with their DD? Oh yeah, I forgot, she is 10 yrs old and weighs about 70 lbs!

 

[gracefulone]

Some people just like to eat. I run some all-day camps for kids ages 5-12, and sometimes it seems like all they want to do is eat. If she's working hard, she probably needs it.

 

[Aussie_coach]

If she isn't gaining weight I wouldn't worry. She probably just has a very fast metabolism and exersizes a lot so she burns it up very quickly.

Just make sure she is pigging out on the right kinds of foods. Because even a slim child can be unhealthy. Try to avoid leaving snacks around the house that are high in sugar and salt. Instead have the fuitr basket or bread basket out for her to snack on. This will also let you know if se is snacking from hunger or greed.

Also make sure she drinks plenty of water, often kids are actually thirsty but they feel like they are hungry. Drinking a lot of water helps them control their appettite and if she does eat a lot the water will make sure the food is being absorbed properly .

And make sure the food she is eating is slow acting not fast acting. Fast acting carbs like sugarary type foods are absorbed by the body very quickly. So if a child is hungry they will make them feel better much faster but they will dissapear from the system very fast too and she will be hungary again in a very short time. Long acting carbs like bread sna buscuits and fruit will last longer and she wont get hungry again so quickly.

Just out of curiosity, how on earth did she manage to sneak out of a competition to eat a hot dog. In our competitions in Australia the girls arent even allowed to leave the floor to go to the bathroom without the judges permission.

 

[lakshmi369]

Thanks A-C!

She eats pretty healthy stuff....mostly. She is a kid after all tho!

Thanks for your point on water drinking because she does get dehydrated a bit from time to time so we will push the water before food and see if it helps.

As far as leaving the floor she simply informed her coach and went into the stands. Some of our competitions are not as rigidly formal as to keep the girls all on the floor. That must be a tough one for your kids!

Thanks again.

 

[gymgymgymnast08]

Whenever we have gymnastics parties its always a fight to see who gets to eat first. Last time they started with the level 5s. That caused an uproar with the 8s and 9s. haha. We always order so much food but it all gets eaten.

 

[Kendahl08]

After gym I totally pig out I just feel like i'm starving.

But anytime other than that I hardly have an appetite. I don't think its bad to eat, If you eat well. Eating well sometime ends in being unhealthy though. I became a vegetarian, I ate healthy and drank plent of water and got sick. I had a so little energy and I got really bad headaches all the time. I went to the doctor and I found out that I had anemia. So even though I ate healthy I got sick. Needless to say now I'm on iron supplements now.

Oh, yeah and she is growing.

 

[BlairBob]

I've seen so many girls, especially of pubescent age who were on vegetarian or ate little meat get anemia I can almost spot it now. It usually is hard to get even the younger girls to eat enough but those are the girls who will get strong.

I know some of our munchkins at the gym I was at last year would eat a lot. In fact they stole my snacks, the little thieves.

That is hilarious that she snuck out to get a hotdog.

Personally my diet is dangerous on those days I train. Think Garfield. If I'm active...I'm basically Garfield...every less than 2 hours, but that is also because I don't eat a lot of carbs anymore and don't handle them well.

 

[Mom2GymMonkey]

My DD also has a very high metabolism and she eats more than I would expect from someone her size, but she's not gaining weight so I let it be. When she snacks, though, it is usually yogurt, shrimp cocktail, carrot sticks, string cheese, apples, etc. She is VERY health conscious about her snacks. BUT, she has days when she is craving chocolate and will do anything to get it. LOL She also has a problem of drinking TOO much water- like over a gallon a day some days! She always has a water bottle with her and in the summer she wears a hydration pack because she dehydrates easily. Her ped finally figured out that she was literally washing the nutrients out of her system with all of the water she drinks so now she has to have Gatorade when she is active, instead of water. We have seen the ped, we have spoken to a dietician, she sees a GI for a motility issue and all of them say its not a problem because she is clearly metabolizing what she eats. If your DD is not showing signs of an eating disorder and can make healthy choices at least most of the time, I wouldn't worry about it. It sounds like she is a healthy weight for a petite child. My DS is 9 and weighs 83 pounds but he is very tall for his age at 4 foot 9.5 inches!

 

[gymkat]

I became a vegetarian, I ate healthy and drank plent of water and got sick. I had a so little energy and I got really bad headaches all the time. I went to the doctor and I found out that I had anemia. So even though I ate healthy I got sick.

I've seen so many girls, especially of pubescent age who were on vegetarian or ate little meat get anemia I can almost spot it now. It usually is hard to get even the younger girls to eat enough but those are the girls who will get strong.

Okay, comments like these really bother me. Eating healthy foods does not equal eating healthily. You can eat salads and fruit for every meal and have an incredibly unbalanced diet. I've been a vegetarian for 8 years, and even with a number of food allergies/intolerances, plus a condition that makes eating physically painful, I have never had a problem with anemia. (I do take a B12 supplement and a multivitamin).

If you're going to be vegetarian, you need to educate yourself on how to eat a nutritious diet that includes enough iron, protein, etc. Because plant sources of iron are more difficult for your body to absorb, you have to know that eating plant/grain sources of iron with vitamin C drastically increases the absorption rate (spinach is a great source of both vit. C and iron). For protein, you can't just eliminate meat; you have to have a replacement source. I eat a combination of soy, beans, tempeh, and other plant/grain-based sources. It is REALLY not that difficult to have a balanced and healthy diet and to avoid anemia while being a vegetarian.

 

[gymdog]

Also I know "so many" vegetarians and vegans who aren't anemic. It's really not a foregone conclusion. I also know people who eat meat that are anemic. Many Americans probably don't have a particularly well planned diet, especially children and early adolescent girls (who are also generally menstruating for the first time and having more freedom in their food choices at lunch, and may not want to eat with peers). It doesn't necessarily have to do with being vegetarian, and it requires really only marginal planning to get the correct nutrients.

The girls who eat meat are the ones who will get strong? I'm surprised anyone even knows what a bunch of teenage girls could possibly be eating. I guess that's why my vegan self is much stronger than the average female my age. I also never get sick and I donate blood regularly so I know I'm not anemic (in fact the nurse often comments on how high my iron counts are), although the plural of anecdote is not data and all that. Everyone should educate themselves on basic adequate nutrition. I feel really strongly there is a severe lack of logic based nutritional thought in our society and the milk industry just comes in with "milk will solve all your problems." Really? I'm not saying veganism is inherently healthy and that's not really my motivation either so that would be fairly hypocritical (I also don't believe it's "unnatural" for humans to drink cow's milk, but it's just silly the way we're conditioned to believe it's perfect and necessary), but some of the assumptions I see on a daily basis are really ridiculous. It's not that hard to get protein, iron, vitamin D, or calcium as a vegan. It requires a little awareness of what you're eating, and regular eating. This is also a true story with any dietary lifestyle.

Eating a whole bunch of meat and dairy is probably rarely the answer either. At some level saturated fats and a lack of vitamin C can impede absorption of iron, calcium, etc as well as cause other health problems. You know what the problem with some (perhaps even "a lot" would not be hyperbole in thise case) teenage girls is? They just don't eat. They skip meals. Throw their lunch away. Drink diet coke (I'll admit, diet soda is one of my unhealthy choices, but that stuff is pretty much helping no one). Anyone who's ever been a teenage girl probably knows that. People don't distinguish between methodical eating disorders (more rare) and the very common disordered eating patterns. There's often little awareness of regular, sufficient eating no matter what is eaten, and a lot of fears over whether it's too much, looks bad, don't want to eat in front of the boys, etc. I have no complex algorithm for eating and I'm a perfectly healthy vegan. I eat a variety of foods and I eat regular meals that contain basic food groups. A lot of food is fortified and I don't have absorption problems. If I did or if I somehow develop them, I know what the most efficient supplements are. That's about it. But it requires a willingness to eat regularly in the first place. Although I've never spiralled too far down, I have to admit there are times when I haven't had that in the first place.

 

[Kendahl08]

Okay, comments like these really bother me. Eating healthy foods does not equal eating healthily. You can eat salads and fruit for every meal and have an incredibly unbalanced diet. I've been a vegetarian for 8 years, and even with a number of food allergies/intolerances, plus a condition that makes eating physically painful, I have never had a problem with anemia. (I do take a B12 supplement and a multivitamin).

If you're going to be vegetarian, you need to educate yourself on how to eat a nutritious diet that includes enough iron, protein, etc. Because plant sources of iron are more difficult for your body to absorb, you have to know that eating plant/grain sources of iron with vitamin C drastically increases the absorption rate (spinach is a great source of both vit. C and iron). For protein, you can't just eliminate meat; you have to have a replacement source. I eat a combination of soy, beans, tempeh, and other plant/grain-based sources. It is REALLY not that difficult to have a balanced and healthy diet and to avoid anemia while being a vegetarian.

Wow, you seem offended. I did not say that 'all' Vegetarians get anemia nor did I imply that the vegan way of life was in anyway wrong or unhealthy. I was in fact just stating that sometimes one would become unhealthy even when eating healthily. True education on the dietary adjustments that need to be made when cutting out meat are ideal, but also stating that it is quote "REALLY not that difficult" just come off as rude. It almost seemed as if you were challenging my intellectual ability to fix myself a iron rich meal. This would also be rude and uncalled for.

 

[BlairBob]

GymKat, you are probably right that those girls and families that were vegetarian or ish did not plan it out right not, especially with the activity and power levels of gymnasts compared to youth soccer or dance or other sports ( pffftt ). Still, given some time I can guess the anemic ones pretty much on the dot as I find it ego-comforting and sad when the parents tell me their child turns out to be anemic after I inquire about their dietary habits.

GymMonkeyMom. If you take into account that the reccomendation for gymnasts is 1oz of water per kg just to maintain healthy fluid levels and then take into the hydration needs of a gymnast and active child...a gallon of water could almost make sense.

Gatorade...too much sugar and not enough electrolytes and by the time you drink gatorade to do so, they've drank A LOT of sugar.

Diet food is a joke, really. Effective marketing though.

 

[lakshmi369]

Gatorade

For girls that do get dehydrated easily, leg cramps, etc.... Gatorade seemed a couple of years ago to be a great thing in our case.....except for all the sugar! We have been trying a water drink lately called SmartWater that has the electrolytes in it without the sugar.
Has anyone elses DD worked with this product? It seems to do the trick for our DD.

 

[gymkat]

Wow, you seem offended. I did not say that 'all' Vegetarians get anemia nor did I imply that the vegan way of life was in anyway wrong or unhealthy. I was in fact just stating that sometimes one would become unhealthy even when eating healthily. True education on the dietary adjustments that need to be made when cutting out meat are ideal, but also stating that it is quote "REALLY not that difficult" just come off as rude. It almost seemed as if you were challenging my intellectual ability to fix myself a iron rich meal. This would also be rude and uncalled for.

Sorry, that was mostly addressed to BlairBob. I used your comment to point out that you could eat healthy foods and not eat healthily. A number of girls on my team are vegetarians/vegans, and none of us have anemia or other eating problems. I've only met one anemic vegetarian, and her diet was absolutely atrocious-- rather than finding a meat replacement, she just didn't eat protein. I have food allergies and intolerances to lactose, tomatoes, soy, pretty much all nuts but almonds, a lot of trace metals, proteins in turkey and beef, and about 10 other things, so I'm quite sympathetic to people who have a hard time finding acceptable foods... but it's not hard once you know what to look for.

 

[Kendahl08]

For girls that do get dehydrated easily, leg cramps, etc.... Gatorade seemed a couple of years ago to be a great thing in our case.....except for all the sugar! We have been trying a water drink lately called SmartWater that has the electrolytes in it without the sugar.
Has anyone elses DD worked with this product? It seems to do the trick for our DD.

Smart water is great ! It has little sugar and it tastes good. Yeah I used to get really bad leg cramps. But I don't anymore. My sister been having some really bad growing pains (She has grown like 3/4 and inch in a little over 1 month) and coach said she needed to eat more bananas. Well it worked! She eats like 3 a day (Yuck) and she is not in pain anymore.

 

[gymdog]

True education on the dietary adjustments that need to be made when cutting out meat are ideal, but also stating that it is quote "REALLY not that difficult" just come off as rude.

The thing is, there tends to be a perception that it's more difficult than it is...it's really not, although it's important to eat a variety of foods. But it depends on the individual. If you have absorption problems, then you're going to have to take it more into account and try to find the most bioavailable sources, be careful about when you eat calcium rich foods vs iron rich foods, make sure to get extra vitamin C, etc. That could really be true even if you eat meat. I know a fair number of people who have had more success with liquid supplements like Floradix, might be worth checking out, might be more easily absorbed for some. Cooking in cast iron is also good.

As a culture we also tend to be stuck in a certain mindset about food: in order to be a meal, there has to be a piece of meat, some white pasta or rice or potatoes or bread. A larger variety of whole grains like quinoa and brown rice or pasta are better and some find they have more lasting energy. Mix with some legumes and colorful veggies like bell peppers, broccoli, carrots. Frozen vegetables (frozen seperately, not as a block) are readily available, reasonably priced, and also nutritious as the nutrients are generally preserved. Sprinkling into pasta sauce, homemade breads, etc, can also add nutrients, protein, fiber. It isn't tasteless but in something like pasta sauce it's not very noticeable. I've been eating this kind of pasta for awhile - they have a 7 grain blend and also one enriched with calcium, reasonably priced and available at the supermarket.

Picking out anemia isn't that hard because there are some fairly tell tale signs. Tiredness, etc. Again this is more common in females and children and the onset of menstruation could trigger it for some.

But I maintain that for a lot of a girls, the main problem may really be eating too little or irregularly. This of course can be a problem even unintentionally, for example if you're at school all day and there is five hours between lunch and breakfast and you forgot a snack. I also think that high schools rarely have healthy meals available and many high schoolers will opt for soda, fries, cookies, or chips rather than meal (which probably isn't all that great in the first place or vegetarian). In fact I'd go so far as to say in many places I would not plan for a vegetarian child or teen to buy their lunch based on my experience. They should plan to bring it from home (and could buy supplemental snacks if desired). If kids become vegetarian and just replace food with snacks because they don't access to vegetarian meals, then that's not healthy. It's also common in my experience for any teenager to sometimes replace meals with snacks so just not healthy period.

 

[Mom2GymMonkey]

GymMonkeyMom. If you take into account that the reccomendation for gymnasts is 1oz of water per kg just to maintain healthy fluid levels and then take into the hydration needs of a gymnast and active child...a gallon of water could almost make sense.

Gatorade...too much sugar and not enough electrolytes and by the time you drink gatorade to do so, they've drank A LOT of sugar.

For the past 3 years, my DD has, by choice, drank nothing but water. No juice, no soda, no capri suns or milk, just water. When we took her to the ped for heat intolerance last spring and her bloodwork showed her electrolytes were out of balance, her ped told me to give her Gatorade when she is active instead of water to help keep her electrolytes in balance. We have been doing this for almost a year and she has had no problems. I admit I worried about the sugar content but, since she only drinks it 3-4 times per week and drinks water almost exclusively outside of that, I don't think it will hurt her. Not saying that I advocate this for every child, especially those who get other sugary drinks. But, it is what her ped recommended and it seems to work for her.

 

[KBT]

It's probably not a big deal for an active kid to be eating all the time. Next time you take her to the doctor, you may want to ask about screening for digestive disorders. Things like celiac disease can cause malabsorption so a person will be eating a lot more to compensate. This is probably not the issue, but it's worth checking.

 

[eeyoretumbles]

Whenever we have gymnastics parties its always a fight to see who gets to eat first. Last time they started with the level 5s. That caused an uproar with the 8s and 9s. haha. We always order so much food but it all gets eaten.

Haha that's funny, that's like at our banquets, optionals go first :]] They probably eat too much haha. I think as long as she has her fruits and vegtables, milk, and lots of water to stay hydrated, she'll be fine. When I was little, I ate whatever. At school I always ate my full meal, now looking back I ate more than I do now, haha, simply because I'm not even that hungry anymore. I didn't even start worrying about what I ate until the year I was off for an injury. Like me when I was younger, she doesn't seem to gain any weight, it's probably because she's burning off all the weight.

 

[gymgymgymnast08]

Haha that's funny, that's like at our banquets, optionals go first :]] They probably eat too much haha. I think as long as she has her fruits and vegtables, milk, and lots of water to stay hydrated, she'll be fine. When I was little, I ate whatever. At school I always ate my full meal, now looking back I ate more than I do now, haha, simply because I'm not even that hungry anymore. I didn't even start worrying about what I ate until the year I was off for an injury. Like me when I was younger, she doesn't seem to gain any weight, it's probably because she's burning off all the weight.

We get to the point were we run out of food so the last people to go up get nothing. haha.