# Drastic weight loss for sport?



## Wildfire_Jewel (Nov 5, 2006)

Okay 10# might not be all that drastic but it is to a teenage athletic girl. She needs to drop 10# in 2 weeks to qualify for the lightweight category at the Junior Nationals ID camp she will be attending. We just found out about the camp otherwise she would still have a month until her first competition to lose the weight. She put ON weight in order to compete at the Head of the Charles in the fall....She trains in a conditioning/weight training class for an hour and then heads to crew practice for intense training for 2 hours. We have been dealing with overuse injuries as well AND she has to keep her grades up. Her goal? To make the nationals teams and then the Olympics (and go to college on a full ride). This is her dream so we want to support her as best we can. SO - any ideas?? She is STARVING ALL the time and she likes almost anything. TIA!


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## simplerlife (Nov 25, 2012)

My advice would be to cut out all refined carbs. Keep healthy carbs like a small sweet potato or quinoa in her diet. 

What sport does she play? You might want to consider if it's really worth all the stress on her body.


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## Horseyrider (Aug 8, 2010)

My advice would be to prepare a little further in advance with a healthy diet. Is crashing the weight off a child something that's wise to endorse?


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## Wildfire_Jewel (Nov 5, 2006)

rowing/crew and yes, she CAN lose the weight according to the ALPHA test and her doc. This is done in wrestling as well due to the weight categories. The camp is an opportunity we do not want to pass up although we have explained to her that the coaches will be well aware of where the kids should be in their preparations (ie weight loss or gain) for spring competition. This is no different than any of the other young kids who are training for Olympic level competition in swimming or gymnastics. She has the determination and the skill so we aren't just "blowing smoke".
The carbs I think is the issue - I may see if we can get a referal to a sports nutritionist to help plan out better meal and snack plans for her. At 15 she is not always into listening to "mom's wisdom"  and veggies only go so far.


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

My advice would be to "just say No". Your daughter's life and health is more important than any sport or any camp, team, dream, etc. If she hurts herself then the dream is gone anyway. Parents have to protect their children from their own childish acts at times.


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## Wildfire_Jewel (Nov 5, 2006)

I don't consider a teens dreams childish acts - As her parent, it is my job now to help her achieve her dreams and not squash them - And this is not an unattainable dream - she IS that good at rowing - and this has been backed up by colleges and her HS coaches. 
You are extremely judgemental. She has the okay by her doctor and her health is not in jeapordy if it was we would not be letting her do this- I was just looking for diet food ideas that would keep her feeling full, be extremely nutrient dense and help in the weight loss - guess I should have known better to ask for any help here.


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## bama (Aug 21, 2011)

what about increasing lean protein intake? and cutting out all starchy and sugary stuff should help also.

good luck to you (for dealing with a hungry teen LOL) and great luck to her!


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

A child loosing ten pounds in two weeks is very dangerous. You need to seek advice from her doctor. I can understand a child thinking it is a good idea. But you aren't a child, you are a parent. You need medical advice on this issue.


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## CCCC (Nov 21, 2011)

As an ex-collegiate wrestler of 16 years I can tell you there are several ways she can take off 10lbs in 2 weeks

If this is her dream, you are not going to stop her and all that you can do is try and support her. 

Is she cutting a lot of weight right now? I am sure a girl cutting weight can be a bit different than a guy, but you can shed several pounds of water weight the day prior to weigh-ins and you will normally lose 1-2lbs just sleeping over night. She will probably be a bit miserable the day before weigh-ins and have a long night, but this can teach a person a lot about yourself as well as a lot about self control. 

Probably not parent reccommended by most. Just wanted to share a small portion of my experience.

I am not sure how skinny she is now as that could be a factor.


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## Wildfire_Jewel (Nov 5, 2006)

We were back at the doc today to recheck her leg and her shoulder - both are in good shape and continuing will do no damage. As for the diet - she is still okay to lose weight. He recommended cutting out almost all carbs and those she does eat to be as natural as possible. Absolutely NO refined/white carbs. Fruit needs to stay in though as she will need some sugars and the water content will help her feel full. Lots of water - no sports drinks except for recovery after a very difficult workout and chocolate milk actually works better for her for that. Also, lots of lean protein - fish and chicken in particular. She is really not overly skinny 142 right now at 5' 8". Since she is still having a period the doctor said she still has plenty of body fat - having a period is a good indicater in a female athlete of the amount of fat carried on the body. 
She has 7 pounds to go to get down to the first competition's weight limit (2 weeks) and then another 5 pounds by the next one.


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## Laura Zone 5 (Jan 13, 2010)

Wildfire_Jewel said:


> We were back at the doc today to recheck her leg and her shoulder - both are in good shape and continuing will do no damage. As for the diet - she is still okay to lose weight. He recommended cutting out almost all carbs and those she does eat to be as natural as possible. Absolutely NO refined/white carbs. Fruit needs to stay in though as she will need some sugars and the water content will help her feel full. Lots of water - no sports drinks except for recovery after a very difficult workout and chocolate milk actually works better for her for that. Also, lots of lean protein - fish and chicken in particular. She is really not overly skinny 142 right now at 5' 8". Since she is still having a period the doctor said she still has plenty of body fat - having a period is a good indicater in a female athlete of the amount of fat carried on the body.
> She has 7 pounds to go to get down to the first competition's weight limit (2 weeks) and then another 5 pounds by the next one.


I am 5'7" 120lbs.......shedding 10lbs quickly will not hurt her!
You can also do a 'cleanse' that will clear her bowels out.
Fresh fruit, dark leafy greens.
Fish or chicken 
Absolutely no white flour, white sugar, artificial sweeteners.
Small meals, 5x a day.

If she wants it that bad, she can do this for two weeks.
Congrats on the invite to the camp!!


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## Work horse (Apr 7, 2012)

Maybe if she really is good at the sport, she just needs to be competing in the next available category instead of trying crazy weight-loss schemes to fit as a junior??
She's starving all the time and suffering overuse injuries as it is...


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## Wildfire_Jewel (Nov 5, 2006)

The "starving all the time" has actually been much better for her the last 3 days since she cut out almost all refined carbs and sugar and REALLY upped her veggies and fruits as well as the protein. She has always been very good about eating veggies and fruit, she just needed to eat more to feel fuller longer. She has never been a big meat eater but this has pushed her to become more aware of how much protein she really needs and to include it in every meal and at least one snack. Now my hubby is having a really hard time because dinner "MUST" have bread or pasta with it in his mind so my daughter and I are making a seperate meal at this point.
In order to be competitive in the next weight category, she would need to gain 20-30 pounds (and make sure that that is muscle gained!) as well as be closer to 6 ft tall. Most open weight female olympic rowers are 6+ ft tall and 180 + pounds of solid lean muscle - They dwarfed our girls when we met them this last fall. More than likely though, this will be the last year that our daughter will compete in this weight category - she obviously is still growing and since she does alot of weight training, she is putting on muscle. I am so proud and excited for her and what the future could bring for her. 
And the injuries are fine according to the doctor. She just got done with 2 weeks on the stationary bike rather than the Erg in order to let the shoulder heal up. These types of injuries happen when a person is training for such a high level of competition. 
Rowing/Crew is also what she calls her "safe place" - She can shine, she doesn't have to worry about what she says or wears, if she has makeup on or what her hair looks like. She has dealt with alot of very negative female bullying behavior which has made her very paranoid in school itself about her looks, what she talks about or what she wears. There is no way I could take rowing out of the picture and get her thru highschool.
Thank you Laura and CCCC for the postive comments.


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## Laura Zone 5 (Jan 13, 2010)

I have an athlete.
He had to put on 20lbs of muscle in 3.5 months 2 years ago.
No roids.
Just good eating, proper work outs, pre and post work out fuel, etc.

His hard work paid off.
His tuition was 50% off at a private college that took him "sight unseen" for his sport.
He played this year with the school, and NOW is in an amazing bargaining position to go to college almost free.

I absolutely HATE the whole bull poop notion of Zero Tolerance for Bullying in school because it's such an enormous lie. It grinds my butt that the school tolerates bullying.

Is rowing a 'school' sport (where she can letter) or is it club??


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## Wildfire_Jewel (Nov 5, 2006)

Vasity sport in the Spring, Club sport in the Fall - she earned her varsity letter last Spring as a Freshman - a _*14*_ year old freshman - She was also one of the "athletes of the month" last spring and the coaches said they have NEVER nominated a freshman - She also took gold in the lightweight category at the indoor rowing competition last spring which means she beat out 18 year old seniors who had been doing this for 4 years! When she gets frustrated with her erg times (indoor rowing machine) we just keep telling her that she is still VERY young in comparison to the rest of the kids in her grade. She started school at 4 - I listened to the teachers tell me she was ready - dumbest parenting mistake I ever made :/ 
The bullying thing breaks my heart and brings back my own awful memories of school. I just keep telling myself - 2 more years, 2 more years - but that seems like forever when you are dealing with this stuff.


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

Nevermind, you don't want to hear it anyway.


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## Laura Zone 5 (Jan 13, 2010)

Wildfire_Jewel said:


> Vasity sport in the Spring, Club sport in the Fall - she earned her varsity letter last Spring as a Freshman - a _*14*_ year old freshman - She was also one of the "athletes of the month" last spring and the coaches said they have NEVER nominated a freshman - She also took gold in the lightweight category at the indoor rowing competition last spring which means she beat out 18 year old seniors who had been doing this for 4 years! When she gets frustrated with her erg times (indoor rowing machine) we just keep telling her that she is still VERY young in comparison to the rest of the kids in her grade.


I hear ya. My son is a freshman in college and was selected to play on the all-star team. That's a big deal, because it's mostly for jr's and sr's.

Is this "her" passion, "her" love? If it's 100% her do everything you can to follow that passion. 
The 2 years my son played Jr. hockey, he lived with a billet family in flint MI.
Those were 2 of the most amazing years of his life. (he was 19-20). He learned so much about hockey, and life.....Best money I ever spent.

Let her chase this dream......Rowing is in the Olympics. Find out what it takes to get 'noticed'....then be where you need to be so she is 'seen'.



> She started school at 4 - I listened to the teachers tell me she was ready - dumbest parenting mistake I ever made :/
> The bullying thing breaks my heart and brings back my own awful memories of school. I just keep telling myself - 2 more years, 2 more years - but that seems like forever when you are dealing with this stuff.


I pulled my kids out of school when they finished their 6th, 5th, and 3rd grade years, and home schooled them. 
1. we didn't have to deal with all the bull poopy
2. my boys sport was a club sport only.....so I didn't have to worry about him missing out on a varsity sport. 

It grinds my backside raw that schools tolerate bullying, then act shocked when things like Columbine happen.....


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## Wildfire_Jewel (Nov 5, 2006)

It is _her_ dream - we NEVER said anything about National teams let alone Olympic teams. That is ALL her. I have always joked though that there had better be a college scholarship for all of the $ that we have dropped into crew  We have the cheapest fees to be on the team @ $340 per kid. Most are over $1,000. Then you add in the uniform cost, travel and hotel expenses for us to watch them.....But it is sooo worth it to watch them glide across that water with the biggest grins on their faces (our son rows as well - and is very good too). She is down to 139# and not having the hunger issues that were plaguing her so badly before. #4 pounds to go before her first competition and we told her that she can't begin to lose that 4 pounds for the scouting camp this weekend without losing the strength and endurance she'll need. We are just praying for beautiful weather so she can get on the water and show them her real talent.


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## Kung (Jan 19, 2004)

10# in 2 weeks is easy; I wasn't trying too terribly hard a year ago when I first started CrossFit. I went 3x a week for 2 weeks, ran on the off days, and went Paleo the whole time. I think I lost 9# that way.


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

DH lost almost 30#s in one month & I lost 5#s per week just dropping refined sugars and empty carbs from my diet without any other changes (20#s in one month). I didn't increase or start a workout, either. DH ramped up his workout. That was 5 years ago for me, now, I believe (over a year for DH). Similar to Kung, we eat Paleo/Primal (slightly modified).


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## Wildfire_Jewel (Nov 5, 2006)

We will see what tomorrow morning brings - no loss today. No white carbs other than a tortilla type wrap that she puts her sandwich fixings in. No mayo - she is using pesto or hummus + veggies for falvor. We are really watching fat as well and making sure all the protein is lean, limiting the cheese and really ramping up the veggies. Almost no sugar other than a few dark choco chips to keep the cravings to a minimum. Have to keep hubby happy too......that is proving difficult - he wants "something sweet" and I am just not making anything so the rest of us don't have the temptation sitting there.


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## Laura Zone 5 (Jan 13, 2010)

Have you tried an all natural colon cleanse?
The human body can hold up to 5bls of waste......

They have them at Whole Foods / Fresh Markets, or any other health food store.


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## Wildfire_Jewel (Nov 5, 2006)

Those aren't recommended for the high schoolers (per the coaches) although there are several who do use laxatives the day of or day before to lose the final couple pounds. That is not something I am willing to let her do as it just seems too drastic/unhealthy to me?


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## Laura Zone 5 (Jan 13, 2010)

Wildfire_Jewel said:


> Those aren't recommended for the high schoolers (per the coaches) although there are several who do use laxatives the day of or day before to lose the final couple pounds. That is not something I am willing to let her do as it just seems too drastic/unhealthy to me?


Laxatives are WAY bad.
I was talking the more natural, holistic way of eliminating the bowels.


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## Wildfire_Jewel (Nov 5, 2006)

Well the scouting/ID camp this past Sat. went well - not as well as what _she _wanted but she PR'd again on her erg time. She is/was sick with a cold, had 5 hours of sleep due to a previous commitment and had not been on the erg for 2 weeks prior because of the shoulder injury as well as dieting for this weekend's indoor rowing competition. Unfortunately, the weather was crappy so she did not get to show them her "form" which is really her strong point. It really showed her where she needs to be and gave her a good idea of what type of dedication this will take. We do not know if she will be invited to the training camps this summer until the end of March at the earliest.


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