Having a distorted view of your body or seeing it in a negative light can happen to any athlete. I have seen trail runners and ultra-runners struggling to fight negative body image issues. This can lead to some seriously bizarre eating habits and a number of other problems such as injuries, feelings of exhaustion, mental stress, lack of energy, and more. Many studies have been taken up regarding the issue of body image and distorted eating, and it has been found that it is not specific to anyone in general. It is beyond racial, cultural, sex, class or socioeconomic differences. Athletes feel the heat more as they have to keep up with the image where they are seen as ideal.

I'm going to lay down some tips for you that will help you maintain a positive body perception and reach out your fitness goals. This basically means coordination between your diet, mental and physical health.

A Balanced Diet

For most people, losing weight is the basic goal that they have in their mind when they start trail running. This is not a bad idea. But it also doesn't mean that you have to cut your diet to lose weight quick. Having fewer calories would not help you anyway, as you might be depriving your body of what it actually needs to keep going. Proper diet for a body is as important as fuel for a vehicle. I would suggest that you never try to lose weight if you are training for a race.

Consume a wide variety of food, as every food type has its own benefits. This is not only necessary for improving your performance, but also to make your body more resilient. Your body will need proteins, vitamins and minerals, and to achieve this you'll need to have wholesome and nutritious meals. However, if you are actually very serious about losing weight, then you must seek professional help.

Know Your Body

Genetic weight plays a considerable role in determining the amount of weight your body can lose, and how easy it is to do so. You might have experienced the fact that even if you are trying to lose weight and get leaner, your weight is going nowhere. The reason for this could be that your body has reached its genetic weight. If you are consuming fewer calories than needed by your body, then your metabolism rate can end up being in a hibernation mode.

Don’t underestimate yourself by drawing parallels between your body type and your performance. Now it is proven that there is a connection between your body type and the type of athlete you are going to become.

Mental Health is Important Too

You can never achieve your physical health goals unless you have sound mental health. You can only get a healthy weight and positive body image if you are emotionally and mentally strong and stable. I understand that once you have entered a sport on a professional level, the sense of competition drives you to be better and improve yourself. But, amidst all this chaos of doing better, the only thing you need to remember is the reason you entered the sport. Don’t be too harsh in judging yourself. Appreciate what you have and how your body works. Once you stop chasing the way you should look, that day you will be able to pursue anything.