Dehydration and lack of Fiber

Question
I'll start out saying that I'm a wrestler.  I just turned 18 and i'm a senior in high school.  Beginning of the season my fat test says i was 8% body fat and i weighed 190.  I had to drop to 173 pounds to get to my weight class (17 pounds about).  It took me about a month and a half to drop to the weight.  I dieted pretty healthy.  I took the most advanced vitamins and ate at least a little bit each day.  I got about 700-1000 calories a day (usually got 3-5000 during football).

I already know that losing 17 pounds for a teenager that is 8% body fat isn't good.  I lost most of my fat and some of my muscle.  The bad thing is that I'm constantly dehydrated and i don't think I'm eating enough fiber.  Last week i started pooping blood every once in a while.  It feels like there is a fissure in my butthole.  Possibly hemorrhoids?  I don't always poop blood when my poop is softer.  do you think more fiber and hydration will fix the problem?  if so, do you have any foods that will help me?

Thanks,

Darren  

Answer
Hi Darren,

I suspect that you ought to see a doctor over the situation. At least, since you know it was a bad thing to lose weight when you had only 8% body fat, you should also know that will also throw your metabolism into a chaotic situation. Being aware is a good sign you do not have an eating disorder at this time. Beware, however, that in many cases, working hard to keep your weight down malnourishes your body, and in some cases, that itself will cause you to develop an eating problem.

Why did you drop weight? Was it the coach's advice or were there just too many in your team already in the next weight class? I was a Golden Gloves boxer when I was younger, jumped up every year to a different class as I grew larger each year. I did not lose weight or anything but fought people who were in the class. Just wondering.

If you decide to not go to the doctor, start eating peanuts, raw ones if possible. They are definitely full of fiber. I use them myself to clean out my digestive system, but I get some blood in my stool as well on occasion. If the blood you see is very bright red, it is due to hemorrhoids. If it is dark, you likely have a ulcer or some other major problem which need medical attention.

Please, please, feel free to get back to me if I can be of any further assistance. I apologize that I did not respond as quickly as usual, but I my DSL was down all day yesterday and I was out of town the day before.

The best of luck,

Terence A. Russell

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