The ideal skating weight/height

[flexy_girl]

Hey me again. Sorry I have so many questions I must be a real pain lol. I was just wondering what's a good height and/or weight for skating. I'm 5' 9.5" and weigh about 135-140 pounds (roughly cos I measure in kilos so I think this is right.). I am trying to lose a bit more weight though but is this too fat for learning to skate well? What do people who skate usually weigh?

[cassarilda]

Your 63kgs and you think youre fat?? 8O and youre almost 6 foot??

Are you sure??

Try this calculator....
http://www.manuelsweb.com/kg_lbs.htm

Do you want to do pairs, dance or solo?? Obviously 60kgs is a good weight for doing lifts etc, but you will more than likely put on muscle weight with training etc...

[stardust skies]

This is a question only your nutritionist can answer. You sound thin as it is. Elite skaters are obviously thin. You don't need to be thin or skinny for learn to skate. If you ever wanted to do triples, maybe, but you've got a good 7 years before you even would get to that because it takes a long, long time to build up that far. By then you'd be skating so much that you'd lose any extra weight without needing to diet anyway. Focus on being healthy...eating your veggies, lean meats if you are so inclined (fish or chicken) and some whole grains. The rest will take care of itself, and if you feel the need to lose some weight or maybe have a more adequate diet, seek a nutritionist. Bodies and metabolisms are way too different for anyone to be able to answer to your specific needs on the internet.

PS: About the height...you are a little tall. I'd say a good skater height is anywhere between 5'1 and 5'5...5'3 being a pretty average height. But again that's for triples. And there are plenty of very tall skaters who have made it despite their height, so don't let it stop you.

[Rusty Blades]

Stardust is correct in that your health/condition is far more important than actual size.

I am your height and almost 50 pounds heavier but that hasn't stopped me from returning to skating at age 56. I have a large frame and my doctor figures 175 pounds would be a healthy weight. I know I am not likely to do any advanced jumps at my age/size so being "big" isn't too much of a disadvantage.

When I skated as a young woman (age 14 to 19), I was also 5' 9" and about 125 pounds - I was actually too skinny when I started and gained weight with mussle development. I was fortunate that there happened to be a man in the club who was looking for a partner and he was 6' 6" and about 200 pounds - he had no problem with lifts!!! LOL! (When he retired from skating, I gave up pairs.)

You need to recognize what goals are realistic for your situation (body type) and then go for those that are reachable. If the situation changes, re-evaluate your goals - but don't let ANYTHING stop you from from learning to skate - you will love it!

[Mrs Redboots]

No, you aren't too fat - as a dancer, I expect you're carrying a lot of muscle and are very slim. Get your bodyfat measured, and go by that rather than by what the scales say, it's much more likely to be accurate.

I've seen skaters who are probably classed as morbidly obese, and they can still skate quite beautifully, axels and all. I was obese (I no longer am), but could still skate, although I do skate better now I'm thinner! I was never as good as the skater I'm thinking of, though, and never will be (mind you, they're 20 years younger than I am!).

So you can skate whatever your weight, whatever your age, whatever your fitness level! It's not just a sport for young girls - some mornings, the only people at our rink are middle-aged men!

[VegasGirl]

You're no where near fat with those numbers and don't let any one tell you otherwise!!!
I'm 5'6" and 118-120lbs, athletic built with no room for weight loss... that's the image I get of you.

[Skate@Delaware]

I am 5'6.5" and 140 pounds, about 20-22% bodyfat. I am 44 years old. Most of the really good skaters at my rink (the ones pulling doubles) are muscular and lean, not thin (there is a difference).

As an athelete, you have to eat correctly to maintain good health.

[crayonskater]

How tall and elegant you must look as a dancer!

Height/weight are *very* individual, even at the elite level. Just look at Michelle Kwan, Irina Slutskaya, Shizuka Arakawa and Sasha Cohen. Some teeny tiny, others just lean, others just strong & curvy.

I'm just under 5'5'' and around 57kg/125lb. I'm a beginning skater, but I'm in very good shape. I imagine if I were an elite skater, I'd be 15 pounds lighter, but I'm not going to aim for that now. (Especially since when I *was* a competitive athlete, I was about 10 pounds heavier. Ah, muscle mass.)

Most important is your health, especially as you're just beginning. If you were a beginning runner, you wouldn't try the training diet of the elite marathoners from Kenya; you'd eat well and see how your body develops. And you certainly wouldn't wait until you were 102 pounds before lacing up your running shoes! Same thing here. Health is far more important than weight.

[sunshinepointe]

I'm 5'9"and change (close to 5'10") and 165 right now - I'm trying to lose weight to get down to 135. I don't understand why you're trying to lose more weight - 135 is at the bottom of the scale for "ideal weights" for your height. I've been everything from 140 to 200 pounds in my life and it's never stopped me from doing pointe work, skating or anything in between.

As a frame of reference, Shizuka Arakawa is 5'6 (maybe 5'5"?) and 119 pounds and has a gorgeous body.

[Skate@Delaware]

I actually think a woman looks better if she has a bit more muscle on her than looking like a stick (even if the muscle is under our layer of fat).

And, if you work on gaining muscle, it will speed up your metabolism causing you to burn more calories....

[doubletoe]

Muscle weighs more than fat, so I think it is a mistake for you to weigh yourself at all. An out-of-shape person with little muscle and high body fat will weigh less than an athelete with no fat and lots of muscle, so weight is completely irrelevant. Look at Joannie Rochette. She was one of the strongest jumpers in the Olympic competition this week and she is not skinny at all. But she is *muscular*, not fat, and her body serves her well. Same goes for Midori Ito, the first woman to ever land a triple axel.

Instead of looking at your weight, focus on how well your body is serving you, and to a lesser extent, focus on how your body looks. Do you have a hard time getting off the ice when you try to jump? I would imagine you have no such problem. And if you are concerned about how your body looks, then measure your hips and your waist, or pinch them and see if you have a roll of fat on them. My guess is that you don't. And by the way, as skinny and tiny as Sasha Cohen is, she told me her waist measurement is about 25 inches (I think that's because she has built up her abdominal muscles; the girl has a serious six-pack!).

[sunshinepointe]

^Muscle doesn't weigh more than fat...that's a common misconception. A pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat - a pound is a pound. Muscle takes up less space than fat :)

Sorry to nitpick because I agree with everything else you said :)

[sue123]

^Muscle doesn't weigh more than fat...that's a common misconception. A pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat - a pound is a pound. Muscle takes up less space than fat :)

Sorry to nitpick because I agree with everything else you said :)

I thought it means that the same amount of muscle weighs more thn the same amount of fat. So a cubic foot of muscle is more than a cubic foot of fat, no?

[Alicia]

So a cubic foot of muscle is more than a cubic foot of fat, no?

The easiest method to tell if it's muscle or fat is to weigh yourself under water. Fat floats, muscle sinks.

If your a floater, it's fat. If your a sinker, it's muscle!!

[sunshinepointe]

A cubic foot of muscle will weigh more, yes - but a pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat..a pound of feathers weighs the same as a pound of marbles. Same principle.

[flexy_girl]

Thanks for all your advice. Lol when I get in water I half-float half-sink. I used to dance more when I was younger and I was actually quite chubby. I've lost weight since but I think I lost whatever muscle I had too, so I probably should build more muscle like you advised. I do actually have a layer of 'flab' all over me and it's been there whether I'm a size 14, 12 or 11/10 (American size 10, 8, or 6/7). So I guess it's bring on the strength work lol!:D

[Alicia]

I'm sure if you are weightless in water (neither float nor sink), than you are the proper weight!!

[sue123]

A cubic foot of muscle will weigh more, yes - but a pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat..a pound of feathers weighs the same as a pound of marbles. Same principle.

Well, yea, that's the theory. But if you're converting fat to muscle, and not changing size but losing the flab so you don't get as much bulge, your weight might not go down so much, but you'd look better because you'd look tighter.

I'm not sure how the whole converting fat-muscle thing works, although I probably should. I think it's something like you're not converting the fat, but your body is burning the fat because it's in a mode of plentifullness, and the energy you get by burning fat goes into building muscle? Either way, as long as you're healthy, there's no need to be a toothpick.

[crayonskater]

Muscle doesn't *convert* into fat or vice versa. They're different molecules. It would be like saying that your eyeball might turn into your ear.

What does happen though is that you build up the muscle, by stressing it (lifting, skating), and then if you do enough fat-burning exercises (cardio), the muscle will be *revealed* as the fat reduces.

[coskater64]

Well, I'm 5'10" and weigh about 125, I am toooo thin, even though I have gained about 10-15 lbs over the past 4 years. You should also note that I am an endomorph for body type and very small in bone structure (4.5 inch wrist). I have about 15-18% body fat. I am trying to get to 135 so I would think you are very lucky, being to thin makes it very hard to hit lines with ease you sound just right.

Jumping especially the timing is very difficult for those of us who are taller, it takes me years to get doubles and i'll lose them for months and then get them back for months. Such is the joy of being an adult skater.

[stardust skies]

A cubic foot of muscle will weigh more, yes - but a pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat..a pound of feathers weighs the same as a pound of marbles. Same principle.

What I think people mean by "muscle weighs more than fat" isn't what you take it as meaning...what it means is that if you take two people of the same height and same clothing size and overall appearance, the one whose body is made up of mostly muscle will weigh significantly more than the one who has no muscle tone, even if they are by all accounts the same size in measurements. So if two girls were 5'4 and wore a size 2 and had the same measurements, the muscular one might weigh 130 lbs, and the non muscular one would weigh 115. So to look at weight only to determine your perfect size is a mistake, cause at 5'4 you'd think maybe 130 lbs is too much, but it's just cause your muscles are developed and if they weren't you'd weigh 115, meaning that if you TRIED to get down to 115 with the muscle weight you've got on you, you'd look very very sickly and you'd appear to be way below the 115 lbs.

Sasha Cohen doesn't look so much as 95 lbs...she looks more like 80 lbs. The rest is muscle mass.

[beachbabe]

I agree with everyone that weight is not an issue.

I an 5'7 and weigh 145 pounds yet ther is not a scrap of fat on me, I'ver actually had people ask me how I got so skinny. I have a lot of muscle mass


Don't look at just your weight, your fitness level, frame and muscle mass is also very important. My doc told me that i have a large frame and it makes your bones weigh more. So actually your doctor or a nutritionist can usually tell you this stuff. The scale is not realiable to measure fitness for an athlete. It is reliable maybe for people losing weight through diet only.

[Mrs Redboots]

^Muscle doesn't weigh more than fat...that's a common misconception. A pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat - a pound is a pound. Muscle takes up less space than fat :)Perhaps one should more correctly say that muscle is denser than fat - If you put a pound of fat and a pound of lean meat (which is what muscle is, after all) side by side, the lean meat will have a much smaller volume than the fat.

Which is why, for those who are taking strenuous exercise in an effort to maximise fat loss, the scales only tell half the story - the tape-measure and body-fat measurements tell the other half!

[DressageChica]

Well. I can tell you about my experience.

I started skating when I was anorexic. I was a horrible skater. Yeah, I could maybe do the jumps and spins "technically" correct, but they had no power or speed...simply because eating 800-900 calories a day just wouldn't allow me to have an energy. Now I eat, I have more energy, my spins and jumps have more energy, I'm a better skater.

I think it is so sad that recreational skaters have to worry about their height and weight. Where did all of this rubbish start? Who gives a flip how tall or how much you weigh as long as you eat correctly and exercise appropriately? I suggest you go to a rink and watch some skaters. Most ISI skaters (especially) adults are not petite pencils. They are normal people who have amazing skating skills...and that's why I worship the ground they walk upon. I just hope that I am that confident, beautiful, powerful, and amazing on the ice when I'm in my 40s, 50s, 60s, as they are.

[stardust skies]

Well. I can tell you about my experience.

I started skating when I was anorexic. I was a horrible skater. Yeah, I could maybe do the jumps and spins "technically" correct, but they had no power or speed...simply because eating 800-900 calories a day just wouldn't allow me to have an energy. Now I eat, I have more energy, my spins and jumps have more energy, I'm a better skater.



As someone who has struggled with anorexia and wound up in the hospital for it, I just have to point out that eating 800-900 calories a day is a very, very far cry from being anorexic. When I was actively suffering from it (I believe that even when "cured" the mental disease stays in your head forever...and it does peek its ugly head sometimes) I ate maybe 50 calories a day, 100 when I was being "bad" because I'd add some chicken broth...but otherwise I'd just eat fruit to stay alive, and a few saltine crackers when I felt especially dizzy, because I was dizzy all of the time and spent half of my high school years in the school nurse's office passing out.

800-900 is a decent amount of calories for someone trying to lose weight- it's really hard to eat the 2,000 reccommended daily calories unless you eat a lot of rich foods. Maybe 800 calories is not enough for some people to stay healthy but that's personally about the number of calories I eat in a day and I feel great, and a lot of the "famous" skaters you see on TV eat wayyyyyy less- and some of them *are* anorexics, but 800 calories a day isn't a disease. Anorexia is not eating anything, to the point of near death. You won't die on 800 calories a day. I just wanted to get that straight, and please don't take it as an attack, but "ana" has gotten so trendy in the past few years that everybody who doesn't eat 3 square meals a day think they suffer from it when they don't, and they should thank God that they don't. I'm not saying you're that way, but you are still mistaken on understanding the gravity of the issue.

[renatele]

Stardust skies: I strongly disagree with your whole post on caloric needs.

First of all, vast majority of teens and adults need well over 1000 (k)cals a day just to support the basic body functions (while doing nothing but lying down whole day) - things like breathing, digestion, heartbeat... The amount of calories burned for those functions is called "basal metabolic rate" (bmr).

Second of all: caloric needs vary according to one's current weight, age, gender, activity level, etc. For someone like me, who is at healthy weight at 165 lbs but could easily lose some 10-20 lbs and still be well in healthy range, eating 800-900 cals a day while losing weight might indeed be bordering on having an eating disorder - not a full-blown anorexia perhaps, but I'm sure my doctor would have been very very alarmed if I dropped down to that amount. My bmr alone is about 1500-1600 cals!

I'm definitely not an expert on anorexia - I'd say I know about it not that much, definitely way less than somebody who has gone through that hell.

You should NOT, however, make such generalizing statements as to what is a "healthy" amount for a person to eat.

[crayonskater]

Generally for weight loss doctors recommend dropping to no less than 1200 calories a day for a normal adult.

Anorexia is more about one's attitude towards food & exercise than it is how much one eats. 50 calories a day is a problem, but 2000 is very easy for an average adult to eat even eating reasonably healthy. At 800, most people won't be healthy; they might not be anorexic, but I'd be hard-pressed to say that was normal and not a sign of a problem.

800 calories could qualify as anorexic, and I don't think if someone says they struggled with an eating disorder we should assume they are being trendy. At 125 pounds, I burn a lot of calories just sitting here. On 800 a day I'd be suffering from extremely low blood sugar.

[Mrs Redboots]

800-900 is a decent amount of calories for someone trying to lose weightSorry, but I'm afraid that isn't quite right - if you eat consistently less than 1200 Calories for any length of time, you send your body into "starvation mode", at which point it burns muscle for energy and stores all it can as fat. Which is exactly what you don't want to happen. To lose weight safely and sensibly (and I've just lost about 60 lbs, so I think I do know what I'm talking about), you should aim to eat no less than 1500 Calories a day, and 1800 if you are really active.

If you want to work out how many calories you need, there's a sensible equation here (http://www.weightlossforall.com/calorie-requirements-daily.htm). I think you'll see that 800 Calories falls well inside the anorexic range.

[flexy_girl]

if you eat consistently less than 1200 Calories for any length of time, you send your body into "starvation mode", at which point it burns muscle for energy and stores all it can as fat.

8O I didn't know that. Lol I wish I did before I dieted though. I went on my own diet at 14 and lost about 35 pounds eating 850 calories a day and walking to burn 350. I guess that would explain why I don't have much muscle tone anymore, and why I see myself as "fat" and flabby - how long does it take to get muscle tone back and what are some good ways to do it if anyone knows?

[Tessie]

I thought it means that the same amount of muscle weighs more thn the same amount of fat. So a cubic foot of muscle is more than a cubic foot of fat, no?

yes, muscle is denser than fat. A poud of feathers weighs the same as a pound of lead. A bag of feathers will be lighter than the same bag holding the same volume of lead.

[coskater64]

I have watched my mother over the years yo-yo back and forth, between 160 and 200 lbs at 5'5". She eats almosts nothing, around 1100 calories a day and exercises for 4-6 hours a day she has destroyed her metabolism, she will never get back to what she percieves as her ideal weight of 135. While she stayed with me during her knee surgery I tried to get her to eat more, shockingly, she lost about 15 lbs by eating more 1500-1800 calories and going through rehab for a knee replacement where she exercised moderately.Dieting has become a habit for her a bad habit.

Eating enough is very important, I struggle to manage 2500 to 3000 calories a day, usually I get the lower I skate about 2.5 hours and then do another hour of exercise, ballet or pilates. It took me over 2 years to start getting muscle, it's not something I have naturally-- it took work but, I'm happy with it, I would not go back to being 108 lbs and when I arrived home from Russia I weighed barely 90 lbs and was actually suffering from severe malnutrition never have I felt worse, of course I had double pneomina (sp). So be careful skating takes time and you will build muscle don't worry that the number on the scale goes up, you'll get more definition and it will be fine.:lol:

[doubletoe]

^Muscle doesn't weigh more than fat...that's a common misconception. A pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat - a pound is a pound. Muscle takes up less space than fat :)

Sorry to nitpick because I agree with everything else you said :)

Muscle weighs more than fat per cubic inch. There, how's that?

[doubletoe]

Muscle doesn't *convert* into fat or vice versa. They're different molecules. It would be like saying that your eyeball might turn into your ear.

What does happen though is that you build up the muscle, by stressing it (lifting, skating), and then if you do enough fat-burning exercises (cardio), the muscle will be *revealed* as the fat reduces.

Also, a cubic inch of muscle uses more calories than a cubic inch of fat, so if you build up your muscle mass through weight-bearing exercise (or skating), you will be burning more calories even when you aren't exercising. This is why exercise helps you lose fat and build muscle at the same time.

[stardust skies]

You should NOT, however, make such generalizing statements as to what is a "healthy" amount for a person to eat.

Hmmm..I wasn't. I said it was approximately what *I* ate, and that I knew skaters who ate much less. I also said it might not be enough for some people, but that either way you won't DIE from eating 800 calories a day. And it's true, it may not be enough, but you're not going to die of starvation with 800 calories a day. And if you eat 800 calories a day, then you're not suffering from anorexia because anorexics don't eat, anorexia is to starve yourself nearly (and sometimes fully) to death. That's all. And actually, the medical definition of anorexia, to actually SAY you've suffered from it, you must be a certain percent below your ideal body weight, and you must have stopped menstruating. Obviously you can start suffering from anorexia BEFORE this because you need to starve yourself for a while for this stuff to happens, but medically speaking you're not anorexic until these things have happened to you. I believe there are a few more criteria as well.

PS to everyone else: perhaps 800 calories isn't enough to be healthy. I'm not sure. To my defense I did preface this by saying I had suffered from anorexia and that it would always be in my brain. I'm not the best person to decide how many calories are enough for the average healthy person. I was just pointing out that knowing how ana works, what the poster I responded to was describing was something else.

[AW1]

I'm 5'2" or thereabouts and probably around 210lbs so I'm actually in the morbidly obese weight range. I'm not likely to become a champion skater, but as an adult that was never my goal. My goal was simply to enjoy myself.

I don't think your weight actually has that much of a part in it except at the Elite Level (unless you're doing pairs etc for lifts). I mean, if I can skate relatively well at my size, then a smaller person has just as much of a chance. I think it's all about perception.

I also did do ballet up until just a few months ago. Because I am large people would laugh when I said I did ballet - it's because you don't fit that mental picture of a skinny little ballerina. Sure there were some moves I would never be able to do as gracefully as someone who is smaller... but I can still do most of the moves technically as well.

From an honest personal opinion graceful & large bodies don't go hand in hand. BUT I work hard when I skate and I *try* to look as graceful as I can - doesn't always work though!

All this talk of calories makes me laugh though because in the words of my doctor "I could sew your mouth shut and you still wouldn't lose weight" so I think it's funny that women put themselves through this constant mental torture over their weight. I am what I am and it doesn't prohibit me from doing anything I want to do.

Sorry off topic - back to subject - I think the only thing restricting you from skating is YOU! Nothing to do with your height/weight. I don't think there is a perfect weight/height ratio for skaters or else there wouldn't be such a diverse spectrum in skaters across the world.

[stardust skies]

All this talk of calories makes me laugh though because in the words of my doctor "I could sew your mouth shut and you still wouldn't lose weight" so I think it's funny that women put themselves through this constant mental torture over their weight.


Well if it's true that you are one of the very rare people that diet and exercise wouldn't help lose weight and you are over 200 lbs at 5'2, then perhaps what your doctor should do is run tests and identify what is making you so overweight if it isn't food or lack of exercise. Is it a thyroid condition? There is medicine for that. There is medicine for a lot of the problems that make people have weight problems when it isn't related to their food intake or lack of excercise. That's a really irresponsible thing for a doctor to say, to basically say that despite a weight problem that (as I'm sure you know) will make you much more vulnerable to certain types of diseases (and even just pain from carrying extra weight around..) that you can eat whatever you want to because it doesn't matter. I doubt that's true, but even if it were, then he should help you find the reason for it.

[AW1]

Well if it's true that you are one of the very rare people that diet and exercise wouldn't help lose weight and you are over 200 lbs at 5'2, then perhaps what your doctor should do is run tests and identify what is making you so overweight if it isn't food or lack of exercise. Is it a thyroid condition? There is medicine for that. There is medicine for a lot of the problems that make people have weight problems when it isn't related to their food intake or lack of excercise. That's a really irresponsible thing for a doctor to say, to basically say that despite a weight problem that (as I'm sure you know) will make you much more vulnerable to certain types of diseases (and even just pain from carrying extra weight around..) that you can eat whatever you want to because it doesn't matter. I doubt that's true, but even if it were, then he should help you find the reason for it.

Not everyone who is overweight is due to "food intake or lack of exercise". Actually I've removed my post and sent you a PM.
If you should feel the need to criticise anyone for their diet or exercise programme (or lack thereof as you so put it!) then hijacking this thread is not the way to do it. Perhaps if you were genuinely concerned for my health you would show me the courtesy of sending a PM.

This discussion is not related to ME nor my weight - I was merely pointing out to OP that I don't think height/weight has a great deal to do with it.

[NickiT]

Just to add my tenpence worth. I agree that eating below 1200 calories isn't wise, but I would also say that for some of us who carry a bit of extra weight, dieting simply doesn't work. I'd like to lose about a stone (14 lbs). I tried WW online for six months last year and lost just one pound in that time. I gave up "dieting" but continued to eat sensibly until the new year when I embarked on calorie counting. I stuck to around 1300 calories with little success weight loss wise. I upped to 1500 calories and still didn't lose weight. I've now been doing WW again for two weeks. Lost one pound last week but nothing this. I can assure all of you I don't overeat at all, I skate four times a week and do a weekly aerobics workout, yet I can't lose weight and my fat percentage is still higher than it should be. I simply cannot eat any less without feeling light-headed and getting the shakes so I just do what I can and miserably accept that I'm always going to be bigger than I'd like. I guess years of dieting has damaged my metabolism since I've been on and off diets since I was 12.

Nicki

[Mrs Redboots]

Just to add my tenpence worth. I agree that eating below 1200 calories isn't wise, but I would also say that for some of us who carry a bit of extra weight, dieting simply doesn't work. I'd like to lose about a stone (14 lbs).I honestly wouldn't have thought you needed to, Nicki - I think you look great! I'm slowly coming to the realisation that, even though I weigh 64 lbs less than I did 2 years ago, I'm still not going to have the figure I had when I was in my 20s. Rats!

[fmh]

ummm...it really depends on your height...your weight doesn't sound too bad at all considering you're five nine.

[TwirlGirl10]

My friend Went to a personal trainer and nutritionist and they both said that for a active teen ( ex: skating 4-5 days a week, running, ballet) that 2200 calories was about what was needed. So im guessing that you would need something around there if not more? I don't know but just to give you an idea. I am about 5.5 1/2 and about 121 most of it being muscle, everyone thinks im too thin!!!!!!!!

[NickiT]

I honestly wouldn't have thought you needed to, Nicki - I think you look great! I'm slowly coming to the realisation that, even though I weigh 64 lbs less than I did 2 years ago, I'm still not going to have the figure I had when I was in my 20s. Rats!

Thanks Annabel, but I have gained weight over the past few years, despite dieting. I just don't know what to do to lose the bit I've gained. I know I'm never going to be what I was in my teens/20s but I really feel I need to lose a bit, just for my own self-confidence if nothing else. You've done really well with your weight loss. I hope you are proud of your achievement!

Nicki

[Mrs Redboots]

Thanks Annabel, but I have gained weight over the past few years, despite dieting. I just don't know what to do to lose the bit I've gained. I know I'm never going to be what I was in my teens/20s but I really feel I need to lose a bit, just for my own self-confidence if nothing else. You've done really well with your weight loss. I hope you are proud of your achievement!Thanks - yes, I am! I'm afraid we do gain weight all too easily as we approach middle-age.... one of the boring bits about the female body!

[DressageChica]

Stardust Skies...

I don't want to make this a personal attack forum or the such, but I do want to stand up for myself. And I want other young, impressionable girls who are reading this to realize that if they want to be a good, strong, healthy skater they need to eat more than 800-900 calories a day. They need a well balanced diet that reflects their energy output. And let's leave the elite skating out of this. The majority of us are not elite skaters, and will never be, so that doesn't mean we need to train or eat like one.

While eating 800-900 calories a day I stopped producing hormones. I was faced with hormone replacement therapy. I wasn't a "trendy" anorexic. Believe me, there was a problem.

For future notice, you should never judge anyone's mental/physical health just because of what "you" think, unless you are a doctor and you have an M.D. degree. Then 4 years of medical school with a residency and internship will provide the background you need to make such a statement.

Your post obviously is not helping the situation of other girls who feel as if they must become anorexic or have an eating disorder. I mean, seriously, "Oh, elite skaters eat wayyyyyyy less than that!" ....and hello, who do these girls want to be like? The elite skaters. The young generation isn't going to be able to avoid this problem if we can't correct it now.

[Skate@Delaware]

I am a skating mom to a skating teen who is overweight by 30 pounds. I encourage her to make healthy choices in her diet. She doesn't always do so (too much Mc D's). She isn't concerned with it at this point. When she is ready to attack her weight with a sensible plan, I will help her.

She did ask for "diet pills" which frightened me. I did have a long discussion with her about alternatives to losing weight and dieting and she understands now that "diet pills" are not the way to go about it.

She is healthy otherwise.

[e-skater]

First of all, vast majority of teens and adults need well over 1000 (k)cals a day just to support the basic body functions (while doing nothing but lying down whole day) - things like breathing, digestion, heartbeat... The amount of calories burned for those functions is called "basal metabolic rate" (bmr).

Second of all: caloric needs vary according to one's current weight, age, gender, activity level, etc. For someone like me, who is at healthy weight at 165 lbs but could easily lose some 10-20 lbs and still be well in healthy range, eating 800-900 cals a day while losing weight might indeed be bordering on having an eating disorder - not a full-blown anorexia perhaps, but I'm sure my doctor would have been very very alarmed if I dropped down to that amount. My bmr alone is about 1500-1600 cals!


I just had to weigh in. No pun intended. I've always been slender. Though in my 40's I went up to about 145 on a very small-boned frame, at 5-6, it was a lot for me. It occurred because of a very hectic work schedule for over three years. During that time I did skate, but it was only about two hours each week. Not a lot of calorie burning, and I was sporadic about weight training.

Once I retired, I began skating three days a week. And I have to say, there is absolutely NO WAY I could subsist on 800 calories a day and skate, and do the other things I do. I can't even imagine that! In fact, I have to eat before AND after I skate, just to keep on an even keel. Plus a "good breakfast" and fairly hearty dinners. At 54, my body is really not what I'd necessarily like it to be, but I'm not complaining either.

What I find most interesting is that many people figure just because you are slender you must not "eat". Nothing could be farther from the truth, at least in my case. Plus, all the skating makes me hungry a lot of the time. Gotta fuel the furnace!

[mikawendy]

While eating 800-900 calories a day I stopped producing hormones. I was faced with hormone replacement therapy. I wasn't a "trendy" anorexic. Believe me, there was a problem.

I agree, DressageChica, 800-900 cal/day isn't healthy. On that few calories a day, it's very hard to get all of the nutrients the body needs, especially with high calorie output (in the form of skating) and especially if some of what one eats isn't nutritionally very dense (high nutrients, low calories). I'd also worry about early onset of osteoporosis--I've read that's a risk among former anorexics...

[Skate@Delaware]

I couldn't imagine eating only 800-900 cals/day! Although, my hubby thinks that I don't eat (compared to him I don't eat much). While he eats a lot at each meal (and his idea of dieting is 2 meals per day), my portions are 1/4 the size of his (I think this makes him mad), I eat throughout the day 6-8 times. This keeps my blood sugar from bottoming out. I've finally learned this after 30-some years....and it helps to keep me from getting shaky and tired feeling while keeping my energy up all day.

It's also what you eat that is important. But, I still have ice cream and chocolate, just not the whole container or 5 candy bars (unless they are the minis) and I eat sweets only after a meal not before. I have finally learned portion control. I still take vitamins though.

If you had told me this stuff years ago, I would have been too stubborn to listen....I think my daughter is in the same boat. My hubby came from a fat family and he is having a hard time. I can't let him shop because he comes home with no veggies or fruit but with the cakes and cookies and all kinds of crap-no "real" food!!!:twisted: It's frustrating!!!!

[EastonSkater]

I think somebody deleted my post. My post mentioned that if someone is very overweight, it's important to not go hard on the ice...just go casual so as not to overwork the heart. And don't go overboard with the effort, since it can be hard on the knees.

[jenlyon60]

I think somebody deleted my post. My post mentioned that if someone is very overweight, it's important to not go hard on the ice...just go casual so as not to overwork the heart. And don't go overboard with the effort, since it can be hard on the knees.

Definitely, if one is just starting out. And the same goes for an overweight and out of shape individual who is starting with any load-bearing exercise (including running/jogging, aerobics, etc).

Don't automatically lump together the categories "out of shape" and "overweight". Not all overweight people are out of shape, just as not all out of shape people are overweight.

[Skate@Delaware]

Definitely, if one is just starting out. And the same goes for an overweight and out of shape individual who is starting with any load-bearing exercise (including running/jogging, aerobics, etc).

Don't automatically lump together the categories "out of shape" and "overweight". Not all overweight people are out of shape, just as not all out of shape people are overweight.
I will second this!!
When I first started skating, I was overweight AND out of shape. I slowly got into shape although still overweight.

When I went to last year's Halloween Classic, I met a lovely young lady who was a phenomenal skater (I can't remember her name, as I was sick at the time) and had the most beautiful jumps and spins who just happened to be overweight, but definately NOT out of shape!!

We also have two skaters at my rink (one over 30 and one 20-something) who are overweight but NOT out of shape! Both are wonderful skaters!!!

This brings me to mind the other stressful problem...finding skating outfits that FIT and look GOOD! I had a hard time and they do. I know that is a problem that is too slowly being addressed out there. I sew and do custom work for some, but am just getting into the biz. Too often, the XL draws the line at what is the standard women's size of 14 and what I consider a short girth. I'm thinking about making stuff and putting it up on ebay and seeing how it does.

Any thoughts on this?

[nerd_on_ice]

I'm thinking about making stuff and putting it up on ebay and seeing how it does.

Any thoughts on this?

I think it's a great idea, although my fit problem is not weight but length. I'm mostly torso and I have a bit of a bubble butt (I call it "shelf butt" because you could stand things on it as on a shelf) so girth and skirt length are both at issue. I'd love to see more Adult Large dresses on eBay.

e-skater, I am more like you--I'm 5'8" and weigh about 130. I have to eat frequently, especially if I'm being active, but I don't eat enormous portions. I could be in better shape muscle-tone-wise, but as you said, I'm not complaining. I feel lucky to have come from skinny genes and to have learned portion control and pretty healthy food choices as a kid. The thing I do worry about is osteoporosis; my maternal grandmother had it and my mother has just been diagnosed. :cry:

[Mrs Redboots]

What I find most interesting is that many people figure just because you are slender you must not "eat". Nothing could be farther from the truth, at least in my case. Plus, all the skating makes me hungry a lot of the time. Gotta fuel the furnace!I was chatting to a skater this morning who has trouble keeping weight on! She certainly eats quite normally, if not more than most people, but her genetic inheritance is to be slim - all her family are, although I've only actually seen her mother - and with the exercise she takes, she actually has trouble not being too thin!

[Rusty Blades]

I was chatting to a skater this morning who has trouble keeping weight on! She certainly eats quite normally, if not more than most people, but her genetic inheritance is to be slim - all her family are, although I've only actually seen her mother - and with the exercise she takes, she actually has trouble not being too thin!

** Dianne hangs her head and mumbles "I wish . . . Oh I WISH . . ." **

LOL!

[AW1]

Don't automatically lump together the categories "out of shape" and "overweight". Not all overweight people are out of shape, just as not all out of shape people are overweight.

:bow: Well said!

[beachbabe]

while I agree that weight is not a freestyle requieremnt, but lets face it, if you want to do paired skating...no guy will want to lift you if you weigh more than 120 tops. Just about any weight is ok for freestlye...not so for pairs.

Doesnt't really matter if you are fat and in shape, for paired skating fat is fat. This is why I cannot do paired skating b/c the coach told me I'm too heavy, although I am at my lowest healthy weight of 143 at 5'7 and I have lots of muscle from tennis and soccer.

[EastonSkater]

Not sure....but if someone is extremely overweight, even lots of walking (let alone lots of skating) can be nasty on the knees and maybe heart. Which is why it's good to take it easy and watch the diet and get back in shape before going hard at it.

[doubletoe]

while I agree that weight is not a freestyle requieremnt, but lets face it, if you want to do paired skating...no guy will want to lift you if you weigh more than 120 tops. Just about any weight is ok for freestlye...not so for pairs.

Doesnt't really matter if you are fat and in shape, for paired skating fat is fat. This is why I cannot do paired skating b/c the coach told me I'm too heavy, although I am at my lowest healthy weight of 143 at 5'7 and I have lots of muscle from tennis and soccer.

There are very few women who are born with the body type for pairs skating. The pairs skaters I have seen are 5'0 or under, and weigh less than 100 lbs. Look at it this way: It's consolation for the fact that they will never make the basketball team! ;)

[Chico]

I was told by an old coach that I have a good body for figure skating. I'm short, thin, narrow hipped and small up front. Like Redboots mentioned about her friend, I EAT, my size is just who I am. I know several very good skaters who aren't tiny, size may help, but ability is unique to each person. There may be advantages to being smaller but it's not a ticket to success and being heavier isn't a no win situation. I HATE when people infer that things come easier to me because I'm small. I'd like to think any success I have comes because of me. The best spinner I ever have known was a little round. That girl could spin like a top! Sorry...this is a sensitive topic for me.

Chico

[EastonSkater]

*snip*
The best spinner I ever have known was a little round. That girl could spin like a top! Sorry...this is a sensitive topic for me.

Chico

hehehe.... that's because she's got the figure of a top, she's got a huge advantage!

[EastonSkater]

*accidently edited twice but can't see a delete button, even though there's a thing here that says edit/DELETE Message*

[mikawendy]

When I went to last year's Halloween Classic, I met a lovely young lady who was a phenomenal skater (I can't remember her name, as I was sick at the time) and had the most beautiful jumps and spins who just happened to be overweight, but definately NOT out of shape!!

I think I know who you mean, and yes, she's a great skater! Huge jumps and great spins. :D (ETA: great presentation, too)

And I talked to her at a different comp and she's very very nice.

[EastonSkater]

I met a lovely young lady who was a phenomenal skater

OMG.... that sounds big alright.

[Kelli]

This brings me to mind the other stressful problem...finding skating outfits that FIT and look GOOD! I had a hard time and they do. I know that is a problem that is too slowly being addressed out there. I sew and do custom work for some, but am just getting into the biz. Too often, the XL draws the line at what is the standard women's size of 14 and what I consider a short girth. I'm thinking about making stuff and putting it up on ebay and seeing how it does.

Any thoughts on this?

Freida B (http://www.freidab.com/) - and you can even wear a bra with these dresses!

[Skate@Delaware]

*accidently edited twice but can't see a delete button, even though there's a thing here that says edit/DELETE Message*
Maybe it doesn't appear to those in the Southern Hemisphere???

I couldn't resist!

My "quote" button has been showing up lately "X'd" out.....don't know what is up with that.:giveup:

[EastonSkater]

Maybe it doesn't appear to those in the Southern Hemisphere???

I couldn't resist!

My "quote" button has been showing up lately "X'd" out.....don't know what is up with that.:giveup:

hahahahahaha!! Maybe it really doesn't appear for us southerners hehehe. So you mean to say that you actually have a DELETE message button? The only way I can get rid of a message is to just edit the message and have it blank.

[VegasGirl]

Freida B (http://www.freidab.com/) - and you can even wear a bra with these dresses!

They look just like all the other practise skating dresses to me... may I ask what's so special about them?

[beachbabe]

They look just like all the other practise skating dresses to me... may I ask what's so special about them?


i thikn kelli put the link b/c these dresses are supposed to come in bigger sizes or something

[jenlyon60]

Yes. FreidaB dresses are cut much more "adult woman" friendly (i.e. for women who have breasts and curvy hips) than other companies such as GK and Capezio.

[Skate@Delaware]

I've seen these before, they are nice and not too expensive. But, the same problem exists...if you are any larger than a "certain" size, you have to go custom. Then you are talking about a lot of money. I have heard one skater say she paid $350 for a practice dress because she wore a 2X! I find that outrageous. It wasn't even stoned! I find that a form of discrimination.

I sew costumes for our ice shows and I can tell you: it takes no more effort to make a size 2X than it does to make a size 14. It only takes a bit more fabric. The technique is the same. The quality is the same. The length of time is the same. The only difference in construction is whether or not a built-in bra is used.

ok, I'll shut up now.

[jenlyon60]

But the same thing happens in workout wear....

It's very hard to find attractive workout wear in larger sizes. And especially attractive work-out bras or tops with built-in support for a woman with C or D cup breasts. The bulk of the cute camisole tops with shelf bras don't have a long enough liner to provide adequate coverage. And not everyone wants to ALWAYS have to wear boring white "uniboob" exercise bras with a tank or T over top...

[VegasGirl]

Found this site for plus-sized skating dresses:

http://www.riversedgedancewear.com/womplussizda.html

(scroll down past the dance dresses)

[kittie067]

Im no expert but I dont think it really matters how heavy or thin you are...

just as long as you are having fun and work hard enough you can do it!!

Im not one to talk tho.. Im only 5'0 and weigh about 110 lb (sounds heavy compared to those who are that hieght and taller than me!!!8O )

But I have a big booty, and a lot of muscle. I gained about 10-15 pounds when i started skating.... so..........

Any ways you sound thin to me!!

Good luck!

~kittie