Former Fatty wrote:
My freshman year of college, I came in about 5 pounds heavier than senior year and throughout the cross season I put on probably another 10 even though I was doing the most mileage I'd ever done (darn those awesome fresh-baked cookies and soft serve in the cafe!).
Needless to say, I had a horrible cross season and was shaping up for just as bad of an indoor track season.
My high school coach, who had turned me from a 2:26 800 girl to a state-leading 2:16 in one year had gotten an assistant job at my college and noticed the weight gain. After an 800m time trial in Nov/Dec, that I completed in the uppers of 2:20s, he pulled me aside.
He told me he could see that I had put on some weight and that that could be the source of my poor performances.
I went home that night and put on my facebook "_______ is fat" and wallowed in my self pity for the night while people told me I wasn't fat. I took a good hard look at my body in the mirror and finally saw the excess weight I had been in denial about.
I went to our nutritionist later that week and got set up on a plan (strength guys doubling as the nutritionist is not always the best as a female...). I really just cut back on how MUCH I would take in. Sure, I'd still have a cookie or ice cream here or there, but just a smaller portion and less frequent.
I went from mid 140s to high 120s and ended up placing in the 800m at indoor conference. Comparing a picture from cross freshman year to sophomore year you could see the weight I'd put on simply in my face.
Now I'm not saying that I only got better because I lost the weight, but because I lost a bit of weight, I was able to practice much better. I also took weight lifting a lot more seriously and saw the strength gains.
So my advice to you coach is that if you have a good enough relationship with your athlete, you CAN approach her about it. Don't ignore it like the problem doesn't exist, but like a previous poster said, don't be checking in on her either. Maybe set her down and just see what she thinks, but again, don't act like it's a non-issue, because from what you said, it is.
...sorry for the lengthy post. Kind of got on a roll there.
coachy coach wrote:Honestly, are the women posting on this thread saying coaches should never tell female runners to lose weight?
I had a college freshman last year who was more than a full minute slower than her high school PR.
She also gained 10-12 pounds -- her estimate -- from her weight when she ran her PR.
So, I am a horrible person for telling her that the weight gain is probably one of the factors? (She studies a ton for her excellent grades so sleep deprivation is clearly an issue, too.)
This is an intelligent young woman with a 4.0 GPA who wants to improve.
So while 6 of my top 7 women and 8 of the top 10 had new PRs in the fall, she didn't. The freshmen -- not counting her -- had an average PR improvement in the fall of more than 60 seconds.
I wouldn't have minded if she'd gained 5 pounds of muscle. But her butt is bigger and so are her thighs. It's not muscle, and yes, I'm a pervert for looking...
Too many people on this thread seem to believe if you tell a young woman she has gained weight that the next thing she'll do is stick her finger down her throat.
I don't think every female needs to be treated like a porcelain princess. That being said, I'm horribly imperfect, so tell me what to do with this young lady besides having frank talks with her, scheduling an appointment with our nutritionist, and workign with her in the weight room.