National Eating Disorders (NED) Awareness Week takes place during the week of February 21 – February 27. It’s important to raise awareness about the realities of eating disorders and how easily an athlete who’s constantly training can endure the illness.
Each wrestler on the team carries the weight of consistent training in the gym and the kitchen. To make their weight class, every team member is expected to responsibly maintain their weight by managing their food intake.
Even though the wrestling team has yet to have a member be seriously affected by disordered eating, it’s important for all involved to be reminded of the consequences of consistent food control.
“At least one kid every year will have issues with maintaining their weight every week,” wrestling coach Carl Bowerman said. “This uncontrolled [weight fluctuation] will cause long-term problems for one’s physical and emotional well-being.”
Fixating on eating habits and excessive training is similar to an addiction. The results it may have on one’s health can be as little as fatigue to something more severe, like an eating disorder.
It is crucial for each of the wrestling coaches to make sure to check in with each wrestler and their progress.
The Michigan High School Athletic Association provides nutrition programs and a mandatory PowerPoint presentation to go through with the team and their parents to explain the importance of healthy eating habits, and how athletes can only lose so much weight at a time.
“If [the other coaches] and I notice somebody is going too far down [in weight] then, of course, we’re going to reach out and try to help curb the problem before it gets any worse,” Bowerman said.
Senior and foreign exchange student Tanya Trach joined the wrestling team for the first time this year. The coaches gave her, and the rest of the team, plenty of advice in regards to staying healthy and stable.
“When I was struggling with cutting weight for the first time I reached out to [my coaches] and asked how I could do it in a way that wouldn’t starve myself,” Trach said. “With their guidance, I learned how to responsibly make a meal plan for myself that ultimately drove me to where I am today.”
A common stereotype that comes along with wrestling is that consistent weight checking and food control will lead to long-term eating disorders. Though this may be true in some cases, the training and control learned while wrestling are beneficial as well.
Senior Kyle Duby, who rejoined the team this season for the first time since eighth grade, appreciates how wrestling has helped him get to know himself and his limits on a more personal level.
“I think to myself ‘I don’t want to go back to how things were [for me] before wrestling,’” Duby said. “I look at how my health was before and where I’m at with it right now and I’m really happy.”
Although the coaches and the team are more than welcoming to new wrestlers, it is important for those who consider joining to be honest with themselves. Eating disorders are fueled by competitive nature. Joining such a sport that is based on competition could be damaging for those in a fragile mental state.
“I always tell myself we’re all different,” Trach said. “Our bodies are all different and what may be right for one will be different for another. That comes with gaining and losing weight too, it’s going to be easier for some, and a slower journey for others.”