athletes unfiltered

Welcome to my very first blog, it is pretty terrifying to dip my toe into the blogging world. So please bear with me as I finesse this, we can take this bumpy journey together.

I want to firstly explain a little of why I wanted to reach out and write a blog. Lately I have had so many discussions about weight, food and performance with fellow athletes, some of which are struggling with their self-body image. So, I wanted to make a stand and talk frankly and honestly. So here goes… please stick with me.

The Perfect Athlete Body?

Social media is flooded with images that depict the "perfect" athlete

body. Let’s face facts though; The truth is - there isn't one. Everyone is built differently, no one should strive to try to achieve a body type that is unrealistic and something that may cause them harm mentally and physically.

I first started running at the age of twelve and I was blissfully unaware of any pressure to look a certain way. Social media has changed that. I am seeing younger and younger athletes posting on social media talking about getting into shape or losing weight. I, myself have felt pressure from people around me to conform to what they believed to be the correct athletic figure. This needs to stop.

Skinnier Doesn’t Equal Results

I don't have a problem with food but I have tried crazy "diets" in the past to see if it would give me an advantage. The result - skinnier doesn't equal improvements. The only thing I gained from that was acne. And after three years it's still sticking around. Much to my delight… not.

The images above were taken six weeks apart. Six weeks of under-eating. Did this help me improve?

Honestly, no. I felt lethargic and had no performance gain, and my performance took a swift turn in the wrong direction.

Let’s Talk Differences

In my training group we talk a lot about our figures, but in a positive way.

We try and boost each other's self-confidence as we all struggle with insecurities on a regular basis. But we are good at reminding each other how we are all individuals.

Take the two of us for instance:

This is my training partner Philippa Millage. Here we are on a Saturday morning before training. We are very different.

So let’s break this down a little further...

Our Stats:

Mhairi-177cm tall

65kg

13% body fat

800m pb 2.01.30

Philippa- 177cm tall

57kg

10% body fat

800m pb 2.05.13

That is 9kg weight difference. I could not physically lose 9kg and still be healthy, and Philippa would not manage to gain that weight and be healthy either. We are both very different.

We have both worked with Athlete Focussed Nutrition and learned a huge amount. We had different goals. I wanted to fuel correctly and sufficiently and feel energised for training. Philippa's aims were slightly different; fuelling for training was a big one, along with gaining weight/muscle which she finds difficult. Another aim was to boost her immune system, as due to her lighter weight she is more susceptible to illness.

How about me?

I mentioned previously I felt the pressure to "conform". I was told by previous coaches that I was too big. Some even called me fat. But I know now I'm not fat, I just carry more muscle. Power is a positive too, which I feel people often forget in middle distance.

Don't get me wrong, my body type has changed over the years. Take these two images; the left is from 2011 when I was competing for Scotland and still running well, the right was from 2018. In the first image I was young and had hit puberty, my hormones were just balancing out. Between these two images I had minimal diet change. And probably not a huge increase in miles, I hate miles haha!

I am a foodie, my full day revolves around eating. I think I'm always hungry

- chocolate and crisps are my favourite. I recently tried to see how long I could go without. I lasted 3 days, which I was very proud of. Cutting out foods and depriving your body of food though is not needed. Don’t even get me started on the Female Athlete Triad (We can save that for another day) Balance is so important. I always have a fairly good diet, but I also like the unhealthy stuff, but we are athletes and if we can't eat the bad stuff from time to time then why should anyone else. I want to continue to enjoy my food and not begin an unhealthy relationship with food, which so many athletes sadly have.

My Last Thought On This

Going to end it on a serious note:

Just know it is better to be running happy, healthy and strong rather than not running at all.

#health #fitness #lifestyle #athlete #athletics #trainbrave #running #runner #unfiltered