One of the challenges that occasionally comes with competitive sports is dieting. Whether it’s encouraged by coaches or a key part of the sport, dieting can be empowering when done properly. However, there’s a fine line between healthy dieting and toxic restrictive eating habits.
During high school swim season, athletes participate in something called tapering. Tapering is when swimmers decrease their yardage at practice while eating healthy and maintaining the same amount of physical effort exerted previously.
Swimmer Sophie Bellon (11) feels that tapering separates itself from toxic diet culture.
“It’s not a negative diet, it’s not saying that we should get skinnier, it’s just that we should eat what will help power us,” Bellon said.
Because Bellon feels that taper is a more welcoming and empowering form of dieting, she has felt more of the effects physically rather than mentally.
“Tapering isn’t really a mental challenge for me because it makes me feel really strong,” said Bellon. “It has a more positive effect on me mentally because it puts me in a competitive mindset and gets me ready to swim my best.”
Taper can be tough for some people, because it overlaps with Halloween, a night associated with sweets. But staying away from sugar isn’t that hard for Bellon.
“A lot of people might feel left out around their friends or family during taper because it falls on Halloween, but I don’t,” Bellon said. “Halloween doesn’t really get in the way of my tapering because I know that I have worked so hard throughout the season and I’m not willing to throw it all away for a few pieces of candy.”
In swimming, changing your eating habits is recommended, but it is not required.The main goal of the diet is for athletes to limit their intake of soda and , processed foods. But for athletes in other sports, dieting is more mandated.
Wrestling is one of the main sports dieting is almost necessary for. Wrestlers cut weight by doing intense cardio, cutting out unhealthy foods, and training for hours until they get to their desired weight. Wrestlers prefer to remain in lower weight classes so that they can wrestle lighter people, which typically increases their chance of winning.
“I cut because I like to sit in a lower weight class so I can wrestle lighter people but sometimes the amount of weight I cut can be unnecessary,” Laurain said. “Sometimes you have to cut more weight than usual so that the team can have a good lineup though”
The difference between dieting for wrestling compared to other sports is the fact that it isn’t for body image or strength, but instead for functionality of the team and the lineup they will be put in.
While wrestler Kingston Laurain (11), agrees that dieting for his sport puts him in a better physical state, he doesn’t necessarily think it’s good for his mental health. He feels the constant focus on cutting weight has a negative impact on him.
“When I’m cutting weight, I’m only focused on cutting weight,” Laurain said.
While losing weight can be helpful during meets, it can cause problems during practice, and hinder athletes’ love for the sport.
“At practice I am constantly thinking about the fact that I have to cut weight instead of being focused on learning new techniques.” Laurain said. “I wish that cutting weight wasn’t as large of a part of the sport as it is.”
The difference between dieting for certain sports can be detrimental to how an athlete performs in games, meets, matches, and practices. Sometimes, athletes become caught up in their diet, and end up depriving their bodies of essential nutrients. If an athlete is under-eating or dehydrated it can cause a lot of harm to both their physical and mental health.
While wrestling and swimming can require tough dieting plans on top of their workload, athletes try their best to maintain a good relationship with food and athletics. According to Bellon, educating herself on the benefits of eating healthy helped her stay committed to her diet while making sure she received the fuel she needed.
“I think if people weren’t aware of the purpose that tapering served it could lead to some issues with dieting but because everyone is really educated on the purpose it serves it helps to prevent that.” Bellon said
