Coach vs. the Dieting Athlete

In many sports, it is considered beneficial to achieve a leaner body composition for locomotive efficiency — in other words, the less you weigh, the easier it is to move your body. Within the sport of triathlon, triathletes are not immune to this mindset and will often manipulate the diet in order to achieve a lower body fat percentage. Although there are safe and healthy ways to change body composition, triathletes can be very rigid and inflexible with their thoughts and actions. When a driven, perfectionistic, competitive, achievement-oriented triathlete is constantly exposed to diet discussions, advertisements, articles, endorsements and images on social media, a general interest in weight loss may manifest into an unhealthy obsession.

With so many ways to enhance performance and to optimize health, two of the most popular sought-after strategies by athletes include diet and body composition changes. When done correctly, performance may improve. However, it’s not uncommon for athletes to engage in unhealthy weight control methods, resulting in great emotional and physical consequences. Whether for aesthetics, competitive leanness, body dissatisfaction or in pursuit of an ideal “race weight,” athletes often place unrealistic expectations on performance and their bodies. What may start as an innocent attempt to lean-up or to lose a few pounds, can easily spiral out of control, undermining health, training, recovery, performance and mental well-being.

Earlier this year, I was asked to contribute an article to the USAT Performance Coaching Newsletter - an educational newsletter provided to all USA Triathlon coaches. For the month of June, the USAT Performance Coaching Newsletter was dedicated to nutrition. As we all know, for optimal performance, nutrition is just as important as training. For triathlon coaches, it is important that you are familiar with nutrition guidelines and recommendations as well as understanding how to effectively speak to your athletes about nutrition and body image.

If you are a coach, you have a responsibility to take care of your athlete - physically, emotionally and mentally.

When your athlete feels pressure to achieve a leaner body composition, an increased fascination with nutrition, body fat, weight and calories can develop into an unhealthy group of eating behaviors called disordered eating. Typical disordered eating behaviors include obsessive counting calories, clean eating, carrying out food rituals, fasting, avoiding sport nutrition products, having an off-limit food list, or avoiding certain foods or food groups for non-medical reasons.

If you are concerned that your athlete may have an unhealthy relationship with food and the body, start the conversation with a non-judgmental tone in order to make your athlete feel safe and cared about. Making it clear that you care about your athlete’s health and well-being, you may say, “I’m worried about you because I’ve noticed that you are struggling to complete your workouts lately.” You may also say, “you’ve been experiencing a lot of injuries/sicknesses lately. It may be best to consult with a professional to make sure you can adapt to your upcoming training load.”

The most common precipitating factor in the development of an eating disorder is dieting. What starts as a well-intentioned diet plan, slowly transforms into skipping meals, undereating, removing specific foods or entire food groups from the diet and sacrificing calories before and after workouts. An eating disorder is a serious psychiatric condition that affects all types of individuals. Eating disorders are complex and multifactorial. Interestingly, athletes are at higher risk for an eating disorder compared to the rest of the population. A disciplined, goal-oriented athlete can be guilty of chasing perfectionism. Feeling great pressure to succeed, restricting food can become an easy way to exert control. Constantly pushing the body to the limits, athletes don’t realize how much food and fluids are needed for training. Lastly, many athletes believe that leanness is an essential factor in improving performance. With these realities in mind, it’s not difficult to understand why so many athletes suffer from eating disorders and disordered eating behaviors.

With several different genetic and socio-cultural triggers, risk factors for an eating disorder include dieting, need for control, weight stigma, body dissatisfaction, perfectionism, anxiety, biochemical imbalances, traumatic life events, behavior inflexibility, nutrition misinformation, low self-esteem, and being teased or bullied. With a strong stigma behind eating disorders, it’s important to show support to those who are struggling and to emphasize that help is available.

As a coach, routinely remind your athletes that optimizing performance should not require excessive training and restrictive eating. Resorting to destructive methods of manipulating body composition will only sabotage performance and health.

Pay attention to any warning signs that your athlete may be eating too little and training too hard. Fatigue, anemia, compromised bone health, hormonal imbalances, hair loss, notable weight loss, lack of energy, a decline in muscle mass and strength, mood changes, amenorrhea, restless sleep, and overuse injuries are common signs of an energy imbalance. Inadequate caloric intake relative to energy expenditure (RED-S) will result in extra stress on the body – increasing the risk for injury, sickness and burnout. 

Encourage athletes to maintain healthy training and eating behaviors that will favor long-term health and longevity in sport. It’s encouraged to partner with a Board Certified Sport Dietitian to provide effective, safe and personalized nutrition advice to athletes. If you are concerned about an athlete’s weight or health, a Board Certified Sport Dietitian can counsel athletes who are struggling with the physical and emotional consequences of dieting.

As a coach, how much emphasis do you place on body image? Do you often talk about weight loss, body fat or dietary trends to your athletes? Body composition is a sensitive and personal issue yet far too many coaches share an overvalued belief with their athletes that a lower body weight will improve performance. Inadvertently, you may be placing your own values and attitudes regarding weight, dieting and body image on your athletes. As a coach, you should never assume that reducing body fat or weight will enhance the performance of your athlete. Every athlete has his/her own optimum performance weight where the body functions the best and this body type is achieved through consistent training, nutritious eating and proper fueling and hydration. Acknowledge an athlete’s strengths beyond the physical, for athletes are more than just a look. Making remarks about body composition and performance can trigger or exacerbate disordered eating thoughts and behaviors. Don’t be the coach who makes stereotypical assumptions about the ideal body type for athletic greatness.

As a coach, use your power and authority. In today’s fad-diet, body image obsessed society, it can be difficult for athletes to keep a healthy perspective on body image. Help your athlete understand the importance of maintaining a healthy body composition – even if that image doesn’t look like the idealized image seen on social media. Protect the physical and psychological well-being of your athletes by discouraging dieting and enforcing health and performance-promoting eating habits.

Extreme nutrition habits are extremely trendy while discussions of health are lacking. Be a role model and encourage your athletes to care for their mental and physical health. Eating is not cheating. Meeting daily nutritional needs and supporting training sessions with proper sport nutrition is a necessary component of athletic success, and it keeps sport fun and health-promoting.

My article can be found in the 2019 June issue of the USAT Performance Coaching Newsletter.

Why you need a coach.

I'm 53 days away from my 7th Ironman and feeling fresh after finishing Ironman #6 just three weeks ago in Lake Placid. 

I value my health and I love my active lifestyle. I love setting goals and working hard for them. But I also know a lot about the human body and I do not try to push my body more than it is capable of handling in one season or one year. 

My immune system and bones are strong, my brain is sharp, I sleep great, I have a wonderful appetite and my energy is on a constant high level. I don't want these things to go away just because I am training for an Ironman. 

As a coach, I help a lot of individuals reach or move closer to their goals. One thing I have learned in my personal competitive sports history is recognizing that results do not happen quickly. Sure, you can take an athlete with great fitness and give them a structured plan and the body will likely adapt for great results. But then the athlete can only maintain that high for so long until she/he refuses to rest or slow down until injury or burnout occurs. As for the individual who is new to a sport or has a journey ahead in terms of improving fitness, what's the rush to be like others now when you can be who you aspire to be by working hard and being patient? 

Karel has guided me through my last few years of triathlon training and I continue to find myself improving throughout each season. I have learned a lot about myself, I have reached new levels with my fitness and I have overcome a lot of obstacles. As a coach to others, I also recognize that I also need a coach. 

As I aspire to reach my own goals with my career and races, I apply my skills, knowledge and experience to my daily choices to hopefully encourage optimal performances in my life. I can use a similar skill set and education to help others which I do so through my business. 

I was once told that athletes need coaches to tell them when to rest. Athletes love to train and if they are feeling crunched with an upcoming race, they likely will do more than is needed. Athletes doubt themselves, compare themselves to others, they don't trust themselves, they put too much pressure on themselves, they sweat the small stuff, they don't plan for the important things and they create unrealistic expectations. But on the flip side, athletes can strengthen their confidence, compete among those who are slightly better and trust themselves all while reaching new limits that were never once thought possible.....that is, if they have someone in their life who is able to provide clear, realistic and truthful feedback and genuine guidance to reach both short and long terms goals. 

I'm lucky in that I am married to my coach. I suppose we have a very long term coaching/athlete relationship. I question his motives at times and complain about silly things but I also thank him for seeing the bigger picture. In 2012 I had one of my best seasons by winning two races - Iron Girl Clearwater Half Marathon and Branson 70.3 all thanks to Karel's "long-term" plan. 

After finishing the 2011 Ironman World Championship Karel decided that after 3 Ironmans (2009, 2010, 2011), I needed a year break from Ironman's and to work on my speed. Now this was something that excited me but the thought of not doing an Ironman made me sad. I love the journey that the IM takes me on BUT I remembered the bigger picture of what my "coach" was wanting me to achieve. 

As someone who doesn't race a lot (Ironman Lake Placid was my only triathlon in a year and only race since last October) and enjoys the pressure of making races count after sticking to a periodized training plan, I want to be sure that my training allows me to be the best athlete I can be every season but also contributes to me being healthy enough to function well in life. .....for triathlons do not pay the bills. 

In 7 years of racing as an age group triathlete, alongside balancing continuing education (RD credential) and advancing my career/business, I maintain good health without sickness or setbacks. Sure, I get my hip/back issues that take me out of running but I am not forced to stop my life or the things that bring me happiness just like training for an Ironman. I have never been burnt out from triathlons and I have no stress fractures or broken bones to my name. I am not on any medications (even NSAIDs), I don't have a general physician (aside from OBGYN) to see in the case that I would get sick (for I haven't in the past 5-6 years). I feel all-around normal in society although I do admit that I my exercise routine is specific to performance and not to burning calories for health purposes. 

Regardless of your fitness status, your personal goals or lifestyle habits, it is likely that when the going gets tough or you feel a setback, you will give up and look for another option. I see this many times with diet fads/dieting and races. People love to move from one approach to another without figuring out the issue and dedicating themselves to another go around with a few tweaks in a similar approach.  

Having a coach allows you to better solve problems, to build better skills, to learn to recognize your weaknesses and strengths and to build confidence. A coach tells you what you need to change but also applauds what you are doing well. As a society, people love to be reactive. Always getting upset at the after math instead of being proactive and preventing mistakes from happening well before they happen. A coach allows an athlete to set him/herself up for success in an environment that bring success. 

And most importantly, a coach is not perfect and neither are you. Whether a coach is working on mental skills, nutrition or training, the coach understands that like anything in life, the more mistakes you make, the closer you get to figuring out what works by processes of elimination. Maybe you can't afford mistakes but a coach is an outside expert looking in and may reduce the number of mistakes that you could make alone, thus allowing you to achieve success sooner than if you try to dabble at things on your own. 

A coach sees things in you that you can not see. A coach only wants the best for you but they also know that the process can not be rushed. A coach may or may not be patient depending on his/her philosophy or approach, but in my experience, I know that patience does pay off and is a valuable skill for both individual and coach. 

Do you want to get results faster?

Do you want to stay motivated?

Do you want a long term plan instead of a quick fix?

Do you want to learn better life-long skills?

Do you want to prevent setbacks?

Do you want to reach a higher level of success?

Do you want someone to give you feedback on strengths and weaknesses?

Do you want to maintain balance in life?

What's the point of reaching your short and long term goals if you are not enjoying the process of becoming the best you can be? 

In our society, we have a lot of experts. Many have long lists of credentials with years of experience and others are passionate human beings who relate well to others. When it comes to looking for the right coach for you, the person with 15 credentials may be no better than the one who is compassionate and can identify with what you are feeling. 

So, if you were diagnosed with cancer, I'd like to think that you'd seek out the best oncologist available to help you with your disease and not google info on the internet to try to solve your issues all alone. As a Clinical RD, I see new diagnosis of cancer patients very frequently and I know that those who are willing to fight want a good team to keep them going. 

So what makes you an expert to train yourself for a triathlon, lose weight from January 1st to January 31st and maintain that lifestyle for the next 10 years, manage the negative thoughts in your head that occur during stressful and anxious situations and figure out the best strategy for managing life?

Because we are not stubborn when it comes to using professionals (and the best ones out there) for issues involving our health, why would you consider consulting forums, the internet and books to solve your personal struggles, concerns, questions and issues in life when it comes to reaching your personal goals. If you have personal goals, there is someone out there, whether it is a RD, career mentor, MD, life coach, psychologist, exercise physiologist or certified athletic coach (triathlete/runner) to help you reach your goals.

Whether you are changing careers, wanting to cross a finish line or change your diet/body composition, you don't have to do it alone. Just like the cancer specialist who is passionate about researching treatments options to help the person with a rare cancer, there is a coach out there for you that is educated and excited to help you reach your goals. 

As I finish this blog, I want to conclude that there are many great coaches out there in all areas of life. Do your research and find one that works for you. Many people out there, like myself, studied a subject/area specifically through education (and ongoing education) to better understand it and to better serve the public as a "specialist" in a certain area. Also, there are many great coaches out there with loads of experience and will be just fine to meet your personal needs as well. 

The idea is to find a coach that really cares about you on a professional and personal level. Work with someone that believes in you, that you can trust and communicate well with all day, any day. And most importantly, remember that having a coach is a long term investment. Do not expect someone to have magical powers and solve every concern you have in a few months. The best results are made in years. However, to keep you motivated, remember that the transformation happens daily and is noticeable over time. 

True success is found by people who refuse to give up no matter what comes in their way. Successful people have setbacks but they always find a way to  make progress. Because goals aren't achieved by doing everything quickly or doing nothing yesterday, enjoy your life and be sure you have someone special to enjoy it with you.