Battle Cat 8c by Stasa Gejo and part 3 eating disorder

Staša Gejo has done her first 8c, Battle Cat in Frankenjura. Just the last week, she talked about her previous eating disorder, Part 1 and Part 2. Below is the third and final part. Currently, the 175 cm tall weighs 69 kg.

"I did a variant of Battle Cat last year, Cringer 8b+, so I checked out the traverse and the top quickly afterwards. I had 3 serious sessions last year, but I lacked endurance. This year I went once in April and once last Sunday to dial in the moves again. It felt ridiculous how quickly I did it this year. This route is very special to me. It is very long, with no really hard moves, but all force you to dance and adapt your body position to it. I enjoyed it so much every time I climbed it. I kinda wish it took me longer 😅"

What is next?
I have another 8c project in Frankenjura - Father and Son. I tried it twice last year and never since; it is usually wet. Also an 8b+ I tried a few times.


Part 3 - Eating disorder:
"My name is Staša Gejo, I am 23 years old, 175 cm tall, and I have won medals at the World level competitions when I weighed 67 kg, 57 kg, 62 kg, 65 kg, 69 kg and 67 kg again. I had lost 10 kg in my teenage years, making me lose my periods, get prone to injuries and fall down this deep hole of never-ending starving, which luckily came to an end in 2017. I won all the possible titles in the Junior category by eating 1200 kcal, running 4 times a week and climb 5 times a week, all while attending a difficult high school programme IB (International Baccalaureate). Didn’t last long until I burned out. Mom and Dad took me to a nutritionist, a very respected doctor in the Serbian sports scene, dr. Marija Andjelković, who helped me rearrange my food intake, start eating more, and train harder. After a few years, I now have 50% muscle mass, 13% fat and a BMI of 22.2. I feel healthy, strong and confident.

To go back to how weight management should be approached. There is no such thing as quick weight loss. If you are one week away from the competition, all you can do is take down 1 kg max (of water). Everything else is not healthy in the long run.

Intake should be around 300 kcal less than the output to lose weight consistently. No difference to maintain weight.
Eating lots of protein prevents muscle loss in long term. The surplus in calories builds muscles in this case.
Cardio is good for fat burning when performed at 60% of HR max (meaning light activity) for more than 45 min, few times a week. In my experience HIIT just makes you hungrier.
Carbs are very good for you! 50-60% is a must-have for climbers.
Keep the fat under control! 20% of the daily intake. We all like to snack on nuts at the training or crag.
Balance is the key. Balance of trainings, diet, and the mind.
The stomach can learn anything. It learns how to binge, and it learns how to starve. Teach it how to be calm, controlled, and functional.

These are just some basics. I recommend reading PEAK by Dr. Marc Bubbs for more insights. I am not promoting the bulky climbing chicks' movement. I am suggesting that a good diet offseason, combined with proper weightlifting, strength training and injury prevention can lead to very impressive results on the wall. The real power is born, you can do moves you never could before. You can climb for so much longer and more intense than ever. The recovery is much better and eventually, the hormones regulate themselves too.

It is hard to adapt to the new look. We all admire that skinny body we once had. Want to go back there so badly…. but remind yourself that it is just lots of trouble masked up in a sculpted appearance. Once you match the way you feel and look, that is when you have hit the right balance. Whenever life gets hard and you start falling into the disordered eating trap, try to remember why the end scenario would be really bad for your health."