"Dude- you need to eat a bagel"

Just means you are within a few pounds of race weight!

I get this alot. I'm 5'4 115. Primarily I'm a FOP ultra runner, but I also do an IM each year. I always want to ask these people why they think its okay to question not only my weight, but make an assumption that I'm not eating enough. Its creepy and wierd.

I have simply started replying that I have a tape worm. Pretty much shuts it down instantly

Enjoy!! I never hear that and I always need to lose 5-7 pounds! I could train for 18 hours a week and I don't lose one single ounce of weight. In order to lose I have to stop training and focus solely on DIET. UGH!!!! ) People will always do that but as long as you are happy and healthy run with it! No pun intended.

I too still have a few lbs that could be lost and get the "your way too skinny" a lot. I saw a friend last weekend that I hadn't seen in several months, he asked how I was doing. When I replied great, he was shocked! He though I was sick or having emotional problems!! CRACKS ME UP!

When I was younger and in the Navy I was a pretty heavy duty runner (still am) and ran quite a few marathons. I had gotten down to 102 lbs (5'4") and actually had to gain 2 lbs before commissioning since 104 was minimum weight for my height. Anyway, when I would come back to my office after running at lunch there would either be an article about anorexia or bulimia, or food, sitting on my desk. I just laughed because I have always eaten quite a bit and never skip meals. Now, many many years later I am 109, which is still pretty thin for 5'4" and my sister always gives me trouble about my weight. But for her, it is just jealousy that motivates her comments and that doesn't really bother me either.

Most people that make those comments are eating too many bagels

Say, "you're right, can you go get me one?" Extra peanut butter please.

Doing Louisville as well and hit race weight this week. Ready for the race and bagel sounds good.

Yep--I was shopping last year with my Mom and someone asked her while I was trying on clothes whether I was anorexic. (I'm 5'7 and about 115 lbs, small frame, always been skinny, distance runner since age 10.) Mom has a similar build but maybe 15 pounds heavier as she doesn't do full-on endurance sports.) Good grief! I didn't hear the conversation while inside the fitting room or I would have been sorely tempted to ask the lady, who was on the pudgy side, if she was obese or merely overweight.

I've learned to just tune this stuff out. I eat plenty of healthy food, have no issues with eating, and would be happy to see a few more muscles and curves in the mirror (and would probably be much better on the bike if I had 15 more pounds of muscle!) but after years of strength training, it hasn't happened and I've just learned to accept it. Too bad if it doesn't fit others' ideals of what they find attractive and they don't have the good manners to keep their mouths shut.

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Ummm...I believe OP was a "Dude"?! And for anyone who believes that lighter is better for tri success, I should post a pic of my last race where I was 3rd in my AG. The women who kicked my a$$ on the bike clearly have plenty of pounds of muscle on me. Being a (healthy, adequately fueled) lightweight might confer some advantage on the run; on the bike, it's a disadvantage on flats and downhills and probably somewhat of a liability on the swim as well (more likely to get hypothermia and cramp in cold conditions, possibly less natural buoyancy, which means one has to have really strong technique). Unfortunately many people of both genders in endurance sports do get caught up in the "lighter is always better" fallacy.

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Edited by eppie 2014-07-31 11:42 PM

yeah I get these sort of comments all the time, usually by people that have no idea what I'm doing, nor exercise much themselves.

I just try to ignore.

I get the same comments.

What I don't get is why people think its ok to comment on my weight. If I were to comment to someone that they were overweight and "didn't need that bagel" I'd probably be slapped!

People at either end of the weight spectrum get comments.

My 13 year old son is 5'8" now and weighs 91 lbs. Very thin, but healthy for his pre-pubescent self. Once puberty hits, I'm sure that will change. Our public school requires a doctor's note for him to attend because of where he falls on the BMI chart (% based, not just BMI). So as his peers got fatter his % fell to 0. Our perception of what is "normal" has changed.

Thinner is not always better for Tris. Everyone has their own ideal fighting weight.

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says the guy that posts pictures of his bike computer and garmin on fb whenever he does a workout to show people how amazing he is. you should get the race photos and hand out framed pictures of yourself - then you will get even more attention, and conversations about being too skinny

well put.

I'm nowhere close to getting these kinds of comments and could easily stand to loose another 10 or 15-lbs.

However, it was a real eye-opener for me when I read Chrissie Wellington's book and read about her battles with bulimia. Food and eating issues are such a hidden thing....we want to think that people at the top-tier of the sport don't face these kinds of issues, but they obviously do.

I guess it just goes to show that any obsession, even health and fitness related ones, can be dangerous!

How do you explain that the two fastest guys to ever complete the ironman distances are very light weight guys? (Raelert and Vanhoenacker).

Chrissie was also very light. Lighter being better is no fallacy at all I'd say.

Yeah, that stuff was super interesting! Her strength of will is really impressive, and she just seems like an overall nice person.

Well yeah, but I'd like to think that everyone knows that. I'd love to put on some weight

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