Debaser, you're totally offbase. You completely missed the point of my post. The answer to all of your questions is yes, first of all. You shouldn't flame people you know nothing about, it makes you sound like an idiot. Being a slob and acting like a little bitch over some excess fat and water are two totally different things.
I didn't say that girls don't care about appearance, I said true athletes do what they do and train how they do for performance, not to get girls. Re-read the fucking post and get it the fuck right before you go out and say something dumb again.
The guys listing the names of all ripped athletes are missing the point too. Michael Johnson trains and eats in a manner which will help him PERFORM best, so does Jason Seahorn and so does Shannon Sharpe. It just so happens that a side effect of their performance training and eating is a ripped appearance. They don't strive to be ripped, they strive to perform their best. If they so happen to have a six pack due to their training and eating, then swell, it looks good, if they don't have a six pack, they don't care as long as their performance improves.
The point of my post is that elite athletes train for PERFORMANCE, I would bet you that Michael Johnson only cares about his times. He trains and eats in a way to improve him times, it just so happens that that also makes him appear ripped and lean. The guy doesn't stand in front of the mirror like some of the guys getting their panties in a bunch over my post and say "Damn, I am up to 8.205 and 1/2 % bodyfat, now my gay lover won't jack on my abs".....
I agree with the posts saying food is fuel. People feel weak and less-energized on a diet. Look at powerlifting. I think a lot of superheavies would stay at 309 lbs if they could take in the fuel to put up bigger numbers and stay there, but the fact is a side effect of taking in all that fuel could be weighing 325. Being fat helps nobody, but eating plenty and feeling energized does. I have seen many wrestlers drop weight classes thinking they will clean up, and it turns out they were so weak from not eating, that they end up getting smoked by a scrub with a fraction of their ability.