Body image and sport performance - make the changes, now.

There is so much nutritional dogma out there and it's hard to go a day without feeling overwhelmed by nutrition and body composition. 

 On social media, TV, in magazines and pretty much wherever you go, nutrition is the most dominant topic when it comes to health, wellness, performance and disease. Of course, there is a great reason why we should focus on nutrition for it is the vital component in our life that keeps us healthy and well. But, would you be surprised if I told you that much of my work with athletes as a sport RD is clearing up confusion, worry, fear and guilt about eating and fueling a body in  motion?

Can you be fit, healthy, strong, lean and fast and eat carbohydrates, drink milk, use sport nutrition products and eat before a workout?

Probably not if you have been listening to the loudest voices in today's sport nutrition/diet industry. 

Rather than learning about moderation, balance, mindful eating and nutrient timing, you may find yourself drowning in information on what not to eat. Now a days, many athletes feel pressure to pick a diet fad to "fit-in" and to find comfort in controlling your food intake. 

I work with many athletes who adhere to a gluten-free, vegan, dairy/lactose-free or vegetarian diet but it's not because media or someone on a forum told them too. There are underlying issues going on and they are seeking help to stay healthy and take performance to the next level. 

Healthy eating is a lifestyle 
Not that it was ever a focus of our society, but we have completely overlooked the necessary component of making healthy eating part of our lifestyle. Learning how to cook bread, slowing down for meal time and eating around the table, having a meal plan for the week on Sunday - with a grocery list  and recipes - for you and your family, making it an effort to prepare leftovers, seeing eating out as a special occasion, making time to soak grains and beans and lentils overnight, finding fun ways to eat your "5-a day" of fruits and veggies and making a few swaps from eating entertaining foods to eating more sustaining foods. 

Nope, now we live in a world of shame, guilt, self-hatred when it comes to food. Just eliminate these x-foods foods and you will be healthy...even if that means sticking to a diet of broccoli, sweet potato and chicken for the next 30 days. 

It doesn't hit every athlete or fitness enthusiast this hard but I do believe that people are becoming much more vulnerable to their bodies these days and a dietary fad or extreme measure is the quick fix. 

Developing a healthy relationship with food and the body
  I'm proud to be one of the few sport RDs who make an effort to focus on sensitive and not commonly discussed issues like body image and learning to develop a healthy relationship with food in athletes. 
And I'm also proud to be one of the few sport RD's who still advocates eating carbohydrates, using sport nutrition products (yes, the ones with sugar in them) and eating before every workout because I know these things boost performance and keep an athlete healthy.
Yes, I said it - these things can be done and you can still be fit, lean and healthy. 

You can still be metabolically efficient by eating before a workout.
Sugar is not evil or poison.
Carbohydrates will not cause inflammation or make you experience more sugar cravings throughout the day. 

However, you must ask yourself what does your typical diet look like throughout the day that would favor fueling properly before, during and after workouts? If you want to take your training to the next level, you have to see your daily diet and fueling regime as two different entities. 

As a coach and dietitian, before I give an athlete the best training plan I can create or provide the best fueling strategy before, during and after workouts, it is critical that my athletes have a healthy relationship with food and the body. And this doesn’t happen overnight and it's no quick fix. 

But no female OR male athlete is going to reach her potential if she/he doesn’t learn how to have a healthy relationship with her body. 

Changing your body on the outside, doesn’t always make you healthier, stronger or fitter in the inside and there is a fine line as to how much weight should be lost before performance and health are compromised.

Certainly, let's not make the method of losing weight be counterproductive of the goal of improving health and performance. 

Stop the body bashing

 In the mix of hundreds of pictures on social media of athletes showing their ripped abs and flexed legs and biceps, there are many athletes who struggle with body image to the point that they  sabotage performance and even health in order to “look like an athlete."

Guess, what...you are an athlete and no one can take that title away from you - no matter your weight, body composition or speed. 

Let's not forget that personal best performance comes from a well-laid training plan and a well-fueled body. 

You can't put a specific number on the scale or body fat percentage on that fact.

There is a broad spectrum of shapes and sizes when it comes to the physiques of female and male athletes, specifically triathletes. Athletes of similar sports tend to carry similar physiological traits such as runners legs, sprinters butt, swimmers shoulders/back, gymnasts abs, cyclists quads. 

But when it comes to triathletes, we are merging three different sports that require stamina, power and efficiency. When it comes to performance, leanness is not our missing link in triathlons.  The three big limiters in a poor endurance performance are fatigue, glycogen depletion and dehydration. Not being 5 lbs over your race weight or not being 12% body fat. 

I am sure we have all done some body examining, “oh she/he looks so fit, so she/he must be fast” but let’s not forget basic physiology. 

A body performs based on consistent hard work which happens with a smart training plan and good daily and sport nutrition. 

 Body image is getting in the way of happiness, health and performance for so many athletes. 

This must stop. 
Now.
 Let’s stop the body bashing and extreme exercise and dietary practices and let’s start living an amazing life with a healthy relationship with food and the body so you can finally reach your full athletic potential.

Put an end to the diet fads and off-limit food list because you need to start thanking and respecting your body in motion.

If you need help or have some questions that you want answered, reach out to a sport RD. 

Trust your sport RD

When I was finishing graduate school at FAU to earn my Master of Science degree in Exercise Physiology in December 2005, I found myself obsessed with sport nutrition. I was reading every book, research article and magazine I could access in the Exercise Science department. When I heard Krebs cycle, I got excited and when we discussed metabolism of carbohydrates or anerobic training, I could not get enough of the topics. 

I became an endurance athlete in graduate school despite having very little time to train for anything. But after 4-years of collegiate swimming, something was missing from my student-athlete lifestyle and running and triathlons was my missing link. 

In January 2005, I crossed my first marathon finish line and qualified for the Boston Marathon which I ran in April of 2006, 1 month before my first half Ironman and 7 months before my first Ironman.

Yep, I got the endurance bug and it bit me hard. My boyfriend (at the time), Karel was along for the long ride after we met in May 2006. 

The more I learned about sport nutrition, the more I found myself feeling more confident with my training which was good because I found myself wanting to get faster in the Ironman distance. And without a doubt, no matter the training plan, you can't expect your body to train and race for 140.6 miles without fueling it properly and keeping it in good health.

 When I trained for my first marathon, I didn't know a lot about sport nutrition and found myself bonking quite often as I progressed to longer distances with my running. I found myself struggling to recover after workouts but dismissed that as part of the normal fatigue of marathon training. And on race day, I didn't have a well-practiced pre race meal because it was my first go-around at running 26.2 miles so a Clif Bar, Gatorade and a bagel fueled my first marathon which ended up being a pretty good run by Boston Marathon qualifying with a time of 3:38. 

After qualifying for the 2007 Ironman World Championship after my first Ironman in November 2006 by winning the 18-24 age group in 11 hours and 47 seconds, I decided that I needed to fill in some nutrition gaps with my ongoing sport nutrition knowledge, so my next venture was to earn my RD credential. 

However, I never wanted to step away from the sport nutrition field for not only was it something that I was heavily passionate about but it was also an area that I could relate to with my active lifestyle and endurance athlete background. 

Because I specialize in endurance sports, specifically triathlons and running (and single-sport cycling and swimming thrown in there too), I work with athletes who are very performance focused (regardless of fitness level) and desire a better understanding of nutrient timing, how much to eat around workouts and what sport nutrition products/fuels will be most appropriate during workouts.

But much of my work (which I enjoy very much) is dedicated toward athletes who feel limited by their restrictive or unhealthy eating regime and unhealthy relationship with the body. 

Thankfully, almost all of the athletes who reach out to me desire an improvement in performance and thus are motivated to make tweaks in the diet/fueling regime.

Each athlete has his/her own journey and that's what I love about being a sport RD. 

As a female athlete, I can identify with many of the concerns, struggles and issues that female athletes talk about on forums, social media, in the locker room or with training buddies.  

But as a health professional and endurance athlete, I strive to demonstrate my healthy relationship with food and the body and pass it along to others. I enjoy helping athletic women and men reach body composition and/or performance goals BUT without compromising overall health. 

When I titled myself as a sport-focused RD, I knew changing body image/composition was part of the "performance" package. 

But I find it extremely important that my method of helping athletes take their fitness to the next level never goes against my philosophy of making sure athletes create and maintain a healthy relationship with food and the body. 

And certainly the methods of changing body composition or boosting fitness should not be counterproductive to an athlete's initial goal of getting faster, stronger or fitter. 

There are several sport RD's out there who specialize in your sport of choice. There are also RD's who work with athletes with eating disorders.
Find the right one for you based on his/her personal philosophy and referrals from other athletes.
Take advantage of their knowledge so you can move closer to your goals and reach your full potential as an athlete without compromising your overall health.