A better measure may be body composition, the percentage of fat to lean muscle mass. But this can be problematic, as well, especially if a woman strives for a fat percentage that’s unrealistic or unhealthy. And unless you’re dealing with big disparities, there’s no solid research to support a direct correlation between body fat percentage and performance. “Sure, there’s a difference between a woman with forty percent body fat and someone with twenty percent, but not when you start nitpicking over eighteen and twenty percent,” says Hewlings, also a thirty-seven-year-old runner. And for a lot of women, dropping that two or three percentage points means restricting calories so much that muscle is lost along with fat, hindering performance and possibly health.
Making Peace With Your Body
“You need to consider at what point you’re going to be happy with your body,” says Koff. The same is true for your abilities. No matter how hard we work at it, many of us won’t be able to weigh 120 pounds or look like a sub-three-hour marathoner, nor could we run like one.
Every body is different. Your ideal physique and weight should be defined as the point where you have the most energy and strength to perform at your best. If you’re healthy, exercising regularly and eating right, weight should be only one of many ways to measure fitness. How well you feel and perform should be the main measure. Koff suggests focusing more on distance gains, strength improvement, or faster times. You may also notice shorter recovery times and less muscle soreness.
Ginsburg adds that athletes shouldn’t be worried about small fluctuations in weight; it’s all part of the process. “You get used to eating so much and not having to pay for it during training, but off-season is tough. Every year I pick up a few pounds off-season, so I just adjust my intake.”
Written by Linda Melone for Her Sports + Fitness
Photo credit to Lane Bryant
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