One major issue that many women who are getting serious about
their workouts start to deal with is known as the female athlete
triad.
The female athlete triad can affect a wide variety of
individuals, from someone training for a rigorous competitive sport
to someone who is simply trying to take their physique to a new
level. Most commonly it is seen in activities that do place a high
amount of focus on the image of the body, such as ballet,
gymnastics, figure skating, and women¡¦s fitness.
It¡¦s
important that you learn to recognize exactly what the female
athlete triad consists of so that you are not only aware if you are
already experiencing it but also, you learn what you can do to
protect yourself from further damage taking place.
The Three Main Components Of
The Female Athlete Triad
The female athlete
triad, like the name suggests, is composed of three big factors.
1. Amenorrhea
Amenorrhea can be defined as the cessation of the menstrual
cycle, after it had previously been somewhat regular, for three or
more months in a row. While some women may just be irregular,
the key here is that they are not getting periods at all. It can be
slightly difficult to establish if this is your issue if you have
always been irregular, but most often even those who are irregular
will get at least one menstrual period of a three month cycle.
2. Eating Disorders
The second component of the female athlete triad is the presence
of any one of the various eating disorders that are seen. This could
be anorexia, bulimia, binge-eating disorder, or an unclassified
disorder (unhealthy relationship with food). Remember to keep in
mind here that one does not need to be fully starving themselves to
have an eating disorder. You could simply be feeling extreme
amounts of guilt after even a small detour from your diet and this
could classify you as having an eating disorder or unhealthy
relationship with food.
3. Osteoporosis
Then, the third factor in this condition is osteoporosis. This
factor particularly, is very detrimental to the woman as it could
set her up to experience an increased risk of stress fractures or
broken bones for the rest of her life. Many women also start
to remove dairy products from their diet as they believe it will
cause weight gain and once again, this only further enhances the
problem. Additionally, this factor usually comes about because
of the previous two factors.
What Causes The Female Athlete
Triad In terms of what
causes this condition to develop, there have been many research
studies that have tried to determine just this and unfortunately
there isn¡¦t once single precipitating factor, but rather, it¡¦s a
combination of factors that seem to be at play.
First,
usually what causes the condition to strike is that the individual
is not consuming enough total daily calories.
This seems to be the most important part of the equation; therefore,
if you are hoping to avoid the development of these problems, eating
enough is your best preventative mechanism. As an easy general
guideline, for weight loss, the lowest number of calories you
consume should be ten times your body weight.
So for
example, a female weighing 130 pounds would require a minimum of
1300 calories each day ¡V and this is for maximum fat loss.
The second thing that needs to be looked at is the woman¡¦s
overall body composition. Women need so much
fat on their bodies in order to function effectively.
When there is a lack of total body fat, problems occur,
particularly with the reproductive system ¡V as seen with the loss of
the periods.
Usually these two are interconnected as many
times a woman is not taking in enough total calories will obviously
have a lower body fat level. Between the two though, total
calories is more important as there are a select few who are able to
maintain quite low body fat percentages, yet still avoid the
development of this problem.
Why is this? It¡¦s because
they are eating enough calories to maintain their weight,
their weight is just a lot of lean mass and little fat tissue.
Finally, the third reason that this condition can develop is
because of overexercising. When a woman
overdoes it in the gym or on the court/field, she is starting to
place an inordinate amount of stress on her system, and both her
CNS and reproductive system will respond in a negative
way. Rest is very critical in any workout program
and should be scheduled in regularly.
So, the three
main points to watch out for are a loss of your periods,
abnormal or unhealthy eating behaviors, and a workout schedule that
allows you very little, if any rest at all.
If you
are suffering from any of those, or a combination of them, you may
want to speak to a professional (both medical and psychological), as
all three are very interrelated, with the development of one often
leading to the development of another.
If, on the other
hand, you are already experiencing problems, then your first step is
to cut back on the amount of exercise you are doing and your second
step is to increase the amount of calories you are consuming.
Increase the calories slightly slowly as this might be a scary
process for you, aiming for a weekly increase of about 10% of your
total current intake each week. This will also allow the
metabolism to keep up with this increased amount of food and prevent
you from gaining any weight in the process.
If you complete
both of these objectives, you should find that slowly your body fat
levels also become more regulated, which fixes the last issue of
this disorder.
So, if this sounds like it could be a
condition you are experiencing or are at risk of experiencing, be
sure to have a good hard look at your training and eating habits.
Your health should always be the number one priority, even
if some of you would rather place looks as your main objective.
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