I'll have what she's having - the comparison diet/body image struggle

Every now and then I'm approached for an interview. Often times it is for a quote or two in a magazine on the topics of strength training, endurance training, nutrition or fueling. 

However, with specialty areas specific to athletes in the areas of sport nutrition, endurance training/fueling vegetarian diets and developing a healthy relationship with food and the body, I enjoy the occasional opportunity when someone reaches out to me for an interview. 

Recently I was interviewed by an amazing woman, Dr. Brooke. I met Dr. Brooke at the Women's Fitness Summit. 

Brooke reached out to me as not only an endurance female athlete but also a plant strong vegetarian athlete. 

(If you are new to this blog, I don't endorse vegetarianism but I strongly believe that all athletes should embrace a plant strong diet - that is nourishing and fueling the body off real-food, grown with the help of Mother Earth. I have been a lacto-ovo vegetarian for almost 23 years for animal reasons).

 I am not one to celebrate "an athlete's body" for what it looks like. I don't find it motivating to just look at an athlete and marvel over his/her body parts and more so, assume she is faster, stronger or fitter (or healthier) than me.  Instead, I like to showcase/see what a healthy, fit and trained body can do. 

On race day or on social media, I don't do the comparison game and look at another athlete's body - her defined core, toned arms or sculpted legs. I have no idea what she has done to achieve that image and body image should not define an athlete's fitness, commitment, discipline or passion for her (or his) sport.

What's the point of having a lean, toned, fit body if you can not do something amazing with those trained/fit body parts? 

There is absolutely no requirement that you have to have defined body parts or a lean body in order to do something amazing with your body. There is no guarantee that by losing x-lbs or getting to x-% body fat that you will get faster, be healthier or reach your athletic dreams. You can lose 10 lbs in an effort to have a flatter core but if you didn't get stronger in the process of losing weight, that flat core will not make performing core exercises any easier - nor will it help you be more powerful in swimming, biking and running. 

When it comes to how I fuel my body, there is certainly a large emphasis on fueling my body in motion. But my food choices come with a package deal - they not only fuel my endurance body but they also nourish my body. There is no reward ritual of eating "bad" foods post workout  nor a guilty experience if I didn't work out for x-hours/miles. Food is a positive thing in my life, regardless if I am an endurance athlete or not. 

Dr. Brooke did an amazing job with her article as she interviewed three different female's who have three different styles of eating. Ultimately, the diet doesn't make the body image.

You must eat for your goals, your lifestyle and your life. Regardless if you are training for a finish line or looking to improve your overall health and reduce risk for disease, don't eat (or not eat) just to look like someone else or to achieve a body image that does not enhance your quality of life. 

*Continue to educate yourself by learning from the pros, but sooner or later you have to get pro at being you. That’s not something any of us are experts in, only you can do that.

*They all have gotten to where they are with a lot of experimenting and patience. They are all in the business of fitness so they aren’t shying away from time in the gym or eating a certain way for the long haul.  For all three of them, this is a lifestyle not a fad diet.

I'll Have What She's Having

Mashed cauliflower and green pea lentils

Last night, my mom, Karel and I yummed over this meal not only during the meal, but after. It hit the spot. For a meal that tasted so yummy and looked so colorful, there was not a lot of work needed for this meal. 

Green pea lentils - cook according to package and season with herbs/spices of your liking or just a pinch of salt and pepper
Mashed cauliflower - steam cut/cleaned cauliflower in large pot until soft. Drain water and mash with fork or potato masher. Season with caraway seeds, a pinch of salt and pepper and garlic to your liking.
Avocado and pear salad - Romaine lettuce (chopped), chopped pear, diced avocado, sunflower seeds and artichokesHard boiled egg or other protein

As we enter the holiday season and new year, new habits may be born but more so, old habits will be hard to break. It's likely that you have found yourself at a dietary breaking point once or twice in the year in terms of "enough is enough, this has got to end."

So what is it that you want to change?Regardless if you feel you need a change in your eating routine or not, it's likely that you are comfortable in your ways and have gotten accustomed to eating certain foods at certain times and in certain situations. Changing dietary habits is hard. It takes time. This is not comforting for someone who wants quick changes or quick results. Recognize that it is extremely important to slowly adapt new habits over time. Quick fixes rarely last. 

Unlike starting a new exercise routine where you typically feel your efforts before you see the results of them, changing dietary habits does not always come with immediate results that you feel and see. Typically it can take a few days or a month to know that your consistent changes are actually paying off and this is hard for the individual who is changing habits but after 48 hours gives up because results are not being noticed. 

The most popular reasons I come across, in terms of wanting to change dietary  habits, are:
Performance goals
Body composition/weight goals
Health goals

These are great areas to focus on because they all correlate together. We can assume that if an athlete eats a more nutrient dense diet, his/her health will improve but also performance. Furthermore, an athlete may also experience a change in body composition by nourishing the body with appropriate foods, timed correctly. Additionally, if an athlete begins to time nutrition properly before, during and after workouts to improve performance, there may be less cravings/overeating later in the day which may pave the way to a more nutrient dense diet to improve health and support the immune system and ultimately, metabolism is not negatively affected and body composition goals are gradually achieved. 

So when you are considering a change in your eating routine, perhaps for one of the reasons mentioned above, consider the following:

1) What needs to be fixed

2) Why haven't you been able to fix this over the past 6-12 months
3) How will you fix this

Perhaps there is more than one change that is needed in your lifestyle to reach your health, performance or body composition goals but by breaking down things into smaller, meaningful and more realistic parts, it is much easier to identify where you would like to put your energy instead of trying to be perfect all day ever day or change a lot of things at once (especially changing some things that do not need to be changed). 

I have worked with a number of athletes on dietary changes specific to performance, health and body composition. Although my primary focus is making sure athletes fuel properly before, during and after workouts to support training stress, the daily diet is never overlooked. 

Here are a few issues that tend to come up when athletes are seeking dietary changes: 

Body composition/Weight goal concerns:

Hungry all the time
No time to cook/meal prep
Don't like to cook/meal prep
A lot of traveling/eating out
Inconsistent living routine
Always on the go
Always in meetings
Not hungry all day until dinner/evening
Excessive calorie intake in the evening
Overindulging
Lots of sugary cravings
Guilty eating
Unhealthy relationship with food
Unhealthy relationship with the body
Disordered eating habits

Performance goals:
GI upset before/during workouts
Inconsistent energy levels during workouts
Dizziness/fatigue/lightheaded during/after workouts
Poor recovery after workouts
Can't execute properly on race day
Lack of education on nutrient timing/sport nutritionHigh volume training with weight gainUnintentional weight loss
Wanting to gain the competitive edge
Wanting to build lean muscle mass/gain strength and power
Body composition changes


Health goals:GI distress before/during/after workouts
Digestion issues around meals and before races
Dietary intolerances
Past history of dieting
Restrictive diet (for religious, moral, ethical, health reasons)
Reduce risk of disease/illnessHormonal issues (including menstruation issues for athletic women)Significant weight loss for health reasons
Creating a healthier relationship with food