Should I loose weight?

[rowergirl]

Hello,

I am currently in my last year of high school, and I am considering becoming a lightweight. By lightweight, I mean being 135lbs. However, I do not want to loose muscle mass. I am female, 5'7", and weigh 140lbs. I have a 7:40 2k, and am looking to be in the 7:20s by the end of Winter.

I feel as though I would be more competitive in the lightweight category, so should I loose weight?

Thank you for your time.

[max_ratcliffe]

No. I don't think it is worth doing (if there's a scholarship resting on it, perhaps reconsider).
You've already got a pretty tidy time irrespective of whether you're HWT or LWT, and 7:20s is very good.

[Dangerscouse]

If you can easily do it, and maintain it, then it might be a good idea, but it is predicated on how much of an effort it will be. If it was 5kgs it would be a different matter, but 5lbs sounds like it could be manageable.

The benefits of being a faster LWT are obvious but I assume it's not so important that it could rule your life and lifestyle?

[Yankeerunner]

At 5'7" it should be possible, but with caution. Good nutrition should not fall by the wayside in an attempt to lose the weight, nor should dehydration be the strategy. If you currently eat some amount of junk food and can simply cut down or eliminate that while continuing to eat good foods that would be great.

We all have a point of diminishing returns. In my best days as a marathon runner I did my best running at between 137 and 141 pounds. Above 141 I'd start feeling sluggish, but below 137 I'd be too weak. I'd see great runners who were thinner than me and think I should be there too, and kept trying while studying nutrition and eating as healthy as possible on a limited diet. And yet 137 pounds was as far as I could go an perform well.

So I'd say that if you're motivated, and it seems that you are, then go for it. But sensibly. The sporting world is filled with high achieving girls who became anorexic or bulimic and did well briefly, only to ruin their lives in the process. Don't want it that badly.

[RR]

In my early Racing days, I had to “slim down” in the week before a race. On the Monday before the race on a Saturday, I would weight in at 170lbs, I used to drop that down to 161 by the Friday, meaning I could have an evening meal and breakfast and still make weight at 165(75kg) on rave day.
Did this by cutting out big meals, snacks and desserts.
Worked for me for years until I became a “natural LWT”
Occasionally I had to starve and dehydrate to make weight but still was able to produce a relatively good race