From the stories of the Italian cyclists interviewed on the topic of eating problems and weight control has emerged the “Italian theory”, as Marta Bastianelli defined it, but is the foreign reality really so rosy? We listened to the Paraguayan Agua Marina Espinola of Canyon//SRAM Generation which, thanks to the opportunity given by the UCI team, She managed to make her international debut in 2018 with competitions in Europe.
The principle
Agua just over twenty years old, he left his home in Paraguay and moved to Aigle, Switzerland, to follow his dream, that of running in the most important races on the international calendar.
«I have always believed that by cycling I could eat without gaining weight, but since 2014 – says Agua – to improve myself, I turned to a sports nutritionistUntil 2016, I lived in Paraguay, where the climate is significantly warmer. Not being particularly hungry and getting dehydrated easily, I was able to keep my weight down.. Since the winter of 2017, however, with my move to Aigle, Switzerland, everything changed. The competitions and training had increased my muscle mass but I, Despite the nutritionist's advice, I couldn't accept that my weight was going up.».
Staff comments
Sometimes Agua would consult a nutritionist to have her body mass measured. "She insisted I eat more during training," she says, "but I didn't want to. It's crazy, every day I was cutting something more from my diet with the intent of losing muscle.I didn't even go to the gym anymore, and the results were completely opposite to what I expected. Some days I was strong, thanks to my mind, because I knew I was training well and making a lot of sacrifices. On those few occasions, Comments about my physical shape, such as "what nice skinny legs," gave me even more morale. and determinedly I continued to restrict my diet."
Agua persisted like this, also motivated by the comments that the team staff often did to her teammates: «Even though I was suffering, I remember that every observation about weight or diet encouraged me to continueOne evening a member of staff said to my companions who were eating dessert: “I want to see you tomorrow on the climb.” At that moment I felt proud of all my sacrifices., convinced that by doing so, the next day I could only go faster than them."
Hitting rock bottom
As we have seen in cycling, dazzled by the idea of the best power-to-weight ratio, riders and staff often underestimate the consequences of extreme thinness. Agua was getting worse, until luckily someone close to her noticed.
«The constant disappointments had made me collapse psychologically - he recalls now - I suffered and cried every day, but I always tried to hide itThere were times when I lost control, binged, and then vomited. I even had real panic attacks. Only thanks to my boyfriend, still overseas, I realized that I really needed help, and so I turned to a psychologistThe recovery was very difficult, we worked as a team, me, the psychologist and the nutritionist, but we made it."
Request for sensitivity
Agua, like many Italian cyclists we interviewed, is I grew up with the belief that being very thin was necessary to achieve results..
«I have heard many stories – he admits – about weight control in Italian cycling, but it's the same here too. In Colombia then, it's terrible. There is a real generation with an obsession with weight, everywhere, even in Europe."
The story of Agua must make us reflect on the effect our words can have, even indirectly on other people.
«The problem was mine – he admits – I don't blame anyone, but the interaction between staff and athletes needs to changeI've heard the staff comment positively about my partner's thinness, even though I knew she had serious eating issues. We need to change and be more sensitive and attentive to this issue."
Weight isn't everything
Agua wanted to tell her hard experience first with a post on Instagram, then with this interviewShe wanted to raise awareness in the cycling world, including cyclists themselves who, like her, suffer but continue to ignore the signals from their body. in the mistaken belief that weight is everything.
«Before I was very critical and angry with myself – she concludes – mentally destroyed, physically fragile and weakI wish all those living with these difficulties to find serenity, health, and strength of body and mind again."
IN PREVIOUS ARTICLES
Too skinny, but not by choice. Marta Cavalli opens up about herself.
A peaceful, guilt-free Christmas. Words from Elisa Balsamo
«Playing on the edge, in the exasperation of the Watt/Kg ratio»
Paladin: "Now I savor food and don't feel guilty."
"Italian Theory": Experience and Advice from Marta Bastianelli
Cecchini: Abroad without pressure and with a chef in tow
Scandolara, I ended up in Australia to learn how to eat.
Excessive thinness: is being thin always a good thing?
Dalia Muccioli intervenes: the head always wins
Pedaling with weight on your head, between empirical diets and false myths
