“Thin” has long been a word that I associate with eating disorders, not athletics. When another working mother said to me the other day, “Runners are so thin, I wish I could run long distances” I ignored her comment and instead invited her and her son to go for a walk to the park nearby.  For me, running has always been about being strong and brave, the very opposite of “thin” which is a word that I associate with weakness and wasting. The racks and racks of women’s magazines at my gym are filled with articles about weight-loss. A recent article that I read, called “Lose the Belly Fat” recommended a daily1500 calorie intake.  When I first began nursing my daughter, a nurse practitioner suggested that I try to gain a few pounds to insure that my daughter would also gain enough weight.  She suggested that I consume a minimum of 2600 calories per day. Although I have had a diminished appetite over the last two years, due to my daily pregnancy sickness, I made the effort to keep my weight up while I was exclusively nursing my daughter. Several other medical professionals told me that weight does not affect nursing, but I took the first consultant’s advice anyway and made an effort to gain five pounds.  Endurance athletes who become extremely thin may enjoy a brief period of competitive success, followed by injuries due to low hormone levels and eventually a loss of speed and endurance.  Runners who develop a distorted body image may begin to view their strong leg muscles as “too thick”. I am saddened when I see eating disordered young women at my gym, and extremely worried when I don’t see them. When I don’t see these extremely thin women, I am assuming that an ambulance has taken them to the hospital for tube-feeding, or worse that I might never see them again. I don’t understand why women’s magazines feature so few articles on eating disorders.  As the obesity rate has been climbing over the past few decades, have we forgotten about the high mortality rate for eating disorders? I have searched online to find information about a diminished appetite following the type of pregnancy that I experienced, but did not find anything.  Since giving birth to my daughter, it takes me three times as long to eat as it did before my pregnancy. I know for sure that if I want to be stronger and faster, I need to make sure that I am fueling myself with enough healthy food.  When I have a 1500 calorie day, (not because of the suggestions from the magazines, but because I’m not hungry and too busy), I try to make a special effort to eat more on the following day.  Sadly, the world has lost many talented and wonderful people over the years to eating disorders.  I hope to inspire other working mothers, not to be thin, but to be strong, brave and self-confident.