Body image at the elite level - Live Chat with Olympian Katie Zaferes

Mark your calendars for a live broadcast discussion with 2019 ITU series overall champion, Olympian triathlete Katie Zaferes. 

It's no secrete that many athletes struggle with body image. But what about elite and professional athletes....do they deal with the same issues? Are Olympians afraid of becoming too muscular? Do they feel pressure from coaches (and the media) to be lean on race day? Do they worry about weight?

Every athlete wants to perform at his/her best when it matters the most...on event day. But in certain sports, there is a lot of pressure to look a certain way - to reach a body type that's "ideal." Many athletes struggle with eating enough to support the energy demands of training and wanting to look a certain way. Alongside a misbelief that lower body weight (or body fat) improves performance, many athletes desire a change in body composition due to the display of their bodies in a tight or revealing uniform. When the pressure is so great to achieve a specific body composition, it's not uncommon for restrictive or extreme eating strategies to compromise health and fitness. 

Body image issues are nothing new in the world of aesthetic sports like running, triathlon, cycling and swimming. Often times, the look of the body that is healthy and well-fueled does not match the image of the body that you think you need for sport. 

The topics of body image, weight and body composition can be triggering for many athletes. Inundated with wrong messages from coaches and nutrition experts, along with high expectations and feeling a lot of pressure to perform, it's not uncommon for athletes to slip into disordered eating patterns. 

But this doesn't mean that every athlete feels dissatisfied with his/her body image. Body confidence is part of what helps athletes achieve athletic dreams. Therefore, I find it extremely important to educate athletes on fostering a better sense of self worth. 

With so much pressure to "lose" weight, we need to shift the conversation from loss to gain. 
Gaining power, endurance, resilience, strength....and most importantly, 

GAINING BODY CONFIDENCE.

An athlete is more than a body. 
The strengths gained from sport are more than just physical. 

I hope you can join me on Thursday evening at 6:30pm EST at Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition for an enlightening discussion on body image at the elite level with Olympian Katie Zaferes. 

Must watch - the 2018 Winter Paralympic Games

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Since last Friday, we have been watching the Winter Paralympics every night thanks to our DVR and coverage on NBCSports. And as you may know from my previous Olympic blogs, I LOVE the sport of cross country skiing and biathlon.

There are six sports at the 2018 Winter Paralympic games - Wheelchair curling, para ice hockey, para cross country skiing, para alpine skiing, para snowboard and para biathlon.

If you have the opportunity to watch/follow online, I strongly encourage you to check out these incredible athletes in action.

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Athletes are a great source of inspiration and motivation because of their hard work ethic, dedication, ability to overcome the odds and exceptional mental and physical strength. It's unfortunate that in 2018, many athletes experience disability discrimination - especially at the Olympics! There's little coverage, discussion or promotion of the 2018 Winter Paralympic games and I can't think of a more inspiring group of athletes to showcase in the media (especially with all of the negative press that is currently going on in the media).

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Although it's incredible to see these athletes in action, we must remember that the world doesn't cater to disabled individuals as it does to able-bodied individuals. It can be very difficult and costly for a disabled individual to safely and easily find accessible ways to to travel/commute, not to mention the added cost, time and energy needed to train for and prepare for the Olympic Games. Disabled athletes may find it difficult  to access (and afford) coaching, therapy, gear, clothing, medical care and travel, compared to an able-bodied athlete.

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The beautiful thing about sport is that it doesn't discriminate. Being involved in a sport can improve health, well-being, self-esteem, confidence and quality of life, especially among those with a disability. Sport shows us that there is ability within a disability. 

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The 2018 Winter Paralympic games shows us that there are no barriers to sport participation and that no disability can keep an athlete from pursuing his/her athletic goals and dreams. We must encourage, support and promote athletes with disabilities and think of the disabled athlete as nothing more or less than the able-bodied athletes. Every athlete at the 2018 Winter Games is a human and should be treated with kindness, respect, admiration and support.

Over the past week, I have watched blind alpine skiers fly down the mountain with trust from their guide, biathlon athletes ski and shoot with missing limbs, snowboarders with a missing arm race against one another with no fear and hockey players slide across the ice with tremendous strength, grit and tenacity. And then there are the curlers....while I still don't understand the sport, it's still a sport I am watching because I support the paralympic athletes. 

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The next time you find yourself complaining about something meaningless, stressing over something small or worrying about what could have/should have been, consider the paralympic athletes who have chosen to rise up from hardship with focus, determination and a positive, can-do mindset.

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Paralympic athletes push the limits as to what is humanly possibly by the human body.
These athletes are living life to the fullest because they are not willing to settle for average.
Paralympic athletes have goals and they don't let what could have been stop them from reaching their full abilities, while having a meaningful life.
These athletes are overcoming disabilities in order to live a very productive, quality and happy life, all while inspiring others in the process. 

We must remember that these athletes are human and regardless of the physical or mental impairment, we must treat them with the same respect, notoriety, attention and enthusiasm as able-body athletes. 

What we can learn from Paralympic athletes

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I don't believe that life is perfect and that you always need to be happy to live a good life.
But I've always considered myself a positive person, trying to see the bright side in every situation.

My dad was always happy - he never seemed to have a bad day. Nothing ever bothered him. It was truly remarkable how he lived his life, which was sadly cut short due to cancer at the young age of 67. 

Now more than ever, I try to live with a mindset similar to my dad's, where I always try to wake-up excited for another day of life and look to experiences, nature, travel and other people for inspiration.

As you know, I am extremely passionate about sports, specifically swimming, cycling, running and triathlon. 

I just love watching the human body in action.


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I'm not sure if you are following the paralympics, as there is little TV coverage in the US (aside from NBC sports) but I strongly encourage you to watch and follow these incredible athletes in action.


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Sadly, you won't see many of these athletes interviewed on TV, in magazines or in a commercial because most of the press supports able-bodied athletes.
It's as if a disability discriminates against what it means to be a true athlete, thus the lack of attention from the media on the paralympic athletes in Rio.


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Athletes are always a source of inspiration because of their hard work, dedication and ability to overcome the odds.

But I can't imagine a better group of deserving individuals to look up to than the paralympic athletes (or any athlete with a disability for that matter).


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The world does not cater to disabled individuals. It can be hard to find accessible ways to get around easily and safely and it can also be very costly to be a disabled individual.

For the disabled or impaired individual who is also an athlete, it can be very difficult to find access to coaching, therapy and other services, not to mention the cost of specific gear, clothing and travel.

But, as we all know, sports are an outlet for many individuals and for the disabled, sports have shown these incredible human beings that there is ability within a disability. 

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I feel that this world needs to witness more amazing sporting achievements by paralympic athletes. I feel our world would be a better place. You watch an athlete swim without arms and suddenly, your "bad" swim workout isn't really worth complaining about.
Or, you complain about not having energy to train yet imagine how much work it takes a swimmer, with no arms or no legs, to not only swim but get to the pool and dress for swim practice.

The next time you find yourself complaining about something meaningless, stressing over something small or worrying about something that is not important, I consider you to think about the athletes who have learned how to rise up from hardship with focus, determination, a positive mindset.
It doesn't matter who you are as an athlete, but you must have the strength to move forward in life, without excuses for what could have or should have been.



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Paralympic athletes push the limits as to what is humanly possibly by the human body.
These athletes are living life to the fullest because they are not willing to settle.
They have goals and you better believe they find a creative way to reach them.
They are overcoming disabilities in order to live very productive, meaningful and happy lives, all while inspiring others in the process. 

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When an individual becomes an athlete, he/she gains self esteem, determination, courage and confidence. 

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For those who are missing a limb (or three), are visually impaired, have brain or nerve damage, cerebral palsy, MS or have a learning or movement disability......

We must remember that these athletes are human.
Even if an athlete has physical or mental impairment, we should treat them with the same respect, attention and notoriety as the able-body athletes.


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The next time you are having a bad day or you feel like nothing is going right, I encourage you to change your perspective of your current situation.
Is it really the worst day of your life?
Is everything really going wrong right now?
Do you really wish that you were not alive right now?


It's ok to be mad, upset or frustrated but sometimes it doesn't hurt to think a bit differently and remember the people in this world who may not have the easy life that you are living, yet refuse to give up on making the impossible possible. 

BE LIKE AN OLYMPIAN

 

Starting tomorrow, for 16 days, the most extraordinary athletes from around the world will be racing in 306 events, in 28 sports.

As you marvel over what an athletically fit and trained body, with a powerful mind, can do on race day, keep in mind that this select group of the population is not unlike you.

Olympic athletes are not superhuman.
They are not machines.
They do not have magical powers or special talents that cannot be trained or obtained.

They are normal people with an immense drive to pursue athletic goals, backed by a little good luck and good genetics on their side.

Olympic athletes have characteristics that help them excel and these qualities can be attained by anyone who wants to excel in sports and in life.  

While the Olympics are a great source of inspiration as to what the human body can do, the Olympics remind us all that it is possible to turn your dreams into a reality.

Becoming an Olympic athlete is more than just training hard.

Olympics athlete must get into the best physical and mental shape possible AND have great technical or mechanical luck, train and compete with a mentally strong mind and  successfully manage a roller coaster of emotions appropriately, all while not getting injured, overtrained, burnt out or sick.

Life is full of distractions and setbacks and being an athlete is not easy.

Despite the risks, Olympic athletes believe that anything is possible to go "faster, higher, stronger".

Let’s look at some of the many qualities of Olympic athletes so that you can decide if you carry these characteristics in your own pursuit for athletic success or if you need to make a change in how you physically and/or mentally prepare for your sport.

1. Perseverance
Sometimes it can feel like the odds are against you and nothing is going right. Perhaps you are in a string of constant bad luck.
Olympic athletes know how to deal with difficult situations and see setbacks as an opportunity to explore something new – the opportunity to overcome the odds.
Sure, it is easy to maintain a positive mindset when things are going well and to get upset when there are obstacles in your way, but Olympic athletes know how to stay incredibly focused, even under the most stressful and frustrating moments in life and in sport.

2. Focus
It’s easy to assume that Olympic athletes are only focused on winning. While a competitive spirit is extremely important, winning isn’t everything. If winning is the only way to be happy, it’s easy to lose focus on other important components that define “success.” Often these small details, when achieved, bring winning moments. When Olympic athletes are "in the zone" in training and racing, they are not focused on the outcome but simply, staying focused on the process.
Olympic athletes maintain great composure, win or lose. 
And regardless of personal problems, fatigue, lack of motivation or difficult unforeseen circumstances, successful athletes find ways to stay focused (often with the help of sport psychologists) to maintain good excitement and energy to simply do their best, without only obsessing about the outcome.

3. Commitment
Genetics, time and money can only take you so far in sports. If an athlete wants to excel to a high level, she/he has decided to make success a priority. Commitment extends beyond suffering in training, being strict with the diet and checking off workouts but it includes focusing on all the little things, like nutrient timing, mental strength, proper gear and smart training, to ensure that every little detail is not overlooked.
Olympic athletes know that one person doesn’t make the athlete. It takes a team approach to when creating world class performances.
Olympic athletes do not want to be good at what they do but instead, they want to be great. Olympic athletes live this commitment daily and are willing to put in the work, for as long as it takes, to get to where they want to be.

4. Relax
Olympic athletes know how important it is to train the mind, just as hard as they train the body.  An Olympic athlete has visualized success dozens and dozens of times, well before race day.
It’s very easy to get distracted when you are an athlete. Olympic athletes know their sweet spots as to how to best get into the “zone” in training and on race day. Whether it’s before and during a very hard workout or before the most important day of their athletic career, Olympic athletes know how to stay mentally strong but physically relaxed and to avoid distractions.
Olympic athletes draw attention as to what is within their control, can easily let go of distractions, they do not dwell on the not-so-great workouts and they know that the next workout is the next best opportunity to improve.
When it comes down to it, the only day that really matters is race day and because of this, Olympic athletes keep a sense of calm, no matter what is thrown in their way in training.

5. Internal motivation
While Olympic athletes may feel pressure from coaches, teammates, friends, family, the community and sponsors, a true champion trains and competes only for him/herself. Motivation, drive, direction, passion and focus all come from within.
When an Olympic athlete has a goal, she selects this goal because it is exactly what she wants to achieve and is willing to work for that goal.
And when an athlete has a setback, the athlete herself is the only one who can decide if putting in the work to rehab is “worth it”.
Seeing that motivation comes and goes, setbacks will occur, injuries will happen and low moments can make it hard to train, many athletes use sport psychologists to work through the emotions and external pressures to be “the best” as there is constant pressure to perform, even during the most difficult of days.


6. Courage
Olympic athletes know that there are many consequences when taking risks, especially as it related to training the body. It takes courage when making sacrifices in life, when training when tired or fatigued and when training among the toughest competition, when everyone is watching.
It takes courage to stick to your plan and to not focus on what everyone else is doing and it takes courage to believe in yourself, even when you encounter obstacles.
Above all, it takes courage and confidence to push the body and Olympic athletes are brave - they push the body, mentally and physically, to test limits and to break through personal physical and mental barriers.

7. Love for the sport
Olympic athletes dedicate years, if not a lifetime, to a sport. To accomplish anything of value, in sport or in life, it is necessary to love what you do.
When training becomes a chore or something you check off just to make others happy, it's time to evaluate if you are really in-it to win-it.
When passion subsides, training becomes a chore and distractions make it more difficult to stay focused and consistent with training.
Many times, a setback or obstacle reminds you how much you love your sport and being an athlete. Never take a day for granted as there could be a time when you can’t do what you can do with your body.
Wherever you place your attention, your energy will follow.

Although Olympic athletes have their low moments, with a drop in motivation, body and mind exhaustion and poor focus making it difficult to train, there’s always a hunger to excel, with a fire that fuels their passion, to be the best athlete that they can be.

My body obsession

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Ever since a young age, I have loved learning about the human body, especially a moving human body.
In 1999, just shy of turning 18 years old and a year away from graduating from High School, my birthday present was a book titled "New Atlas of Human Anatomy" which came with a CD ROM explaining all the human body systems. 

I read that book every night, over and over again.

Throughout my undergraduate years at Transylvania University, in Lexington, KY, I couldn't get enough from my exercise science classes. Every topic was interesting and exciting and as a student athlete, I was able to apply almost everything that I learned to class to "real world" situations.

While majoring in Exercise Science, I quickly fell in love with strength and conditioning which gave me aspirations to be a strength and conditioning coach. Forced to start strength training at the age of 10 as part of my swim team conditioning helped me appreciate the health and performance benefits of a properly designed strength training program.
(I've been strength training for nearly 24 years!)
I remember interning at the University of Kentucky with the men's and women's basketball and cheerleader teams, which gave me a lot of hands-on experience in writing strength training programs for athletes (most of those athletes towered at least 1-2 feet over me). 

When I graduated from college with a Bachelor degree in Exercise Science and a Minor in Psychology, my quest for learning was not complete.

In the fall of 2004, off I went to graduate school in sunny and warm, Davie, FL at Florida Atlantic University.

While studying to earn my Master's in Exercise Physiology, I worked as a research assistant. In addition to my classes, which required me to get familiar with all the testing equipment in the  laboratory, I spent many long days and nights collecting research, and testing subjects, for research studies. 

Sometimes, I was even able to test myself.

Although my love tank for exercise physiology was filled to the top while in graduate school, something was missing....my own athletic pursuits.

Although my free time was limited during graduate school, I just wasn't feeling complete.
The athlete part of me was missing as I was only a student.

Seeing that I spent the last 22 years of my life competing in sports, I knew that I needed to find something that would physically challenge me.

Well, since my longest swimming events lasted anywhere from one-minute to 2.5-minutes (or 60-150 seconds) and my longest ever run was a 10K (less than an hour), I thought, why not.....
I'll train for a marathon!

If I can run 6 miles, what's 20 more miles??

It only took a matter of time before an endurance bug bit me hard. 

By the end of 2006, I had completed the Boston Marathon, my first half IM and my first Ironman (which qualified me for the 2007 Ironman World Championship). 

But here I go again....

In 2008, I found myself once again feeling lost without school. 

I was convinced that the athlete part of me was here to stay as I found great joy as an age-group triathlete and runner but I still felt that I needed to learn more about the human body.

Rather than going the PhD route, I decided to follow my new found passion in nutrition, thanks to endurance sports (and a few bonky workouts) sparking a need to learn more about sport nutrition.

Fast forward to June 2011, after three arduous years of learning, studying, paper writing, interning (9-months) and test taking, I finally received my RD credential.

With an ultimate goal of becoming Board Certified in Sport Nutrition, I waited and worked until I was eligible to apply, study and then sit for the CSSD exam, which I successfully passed last summer.

So why do I write all of this?

Every Olympic year (in addition to any big competition in the sports of running, track, swimming, cycling or triathlon), I find myself itching to learn more.
I LOVE watching the human body in motion.

My obsession with the human body will never go away because there is so much to learn as it applies to the physiology of the body during exercise.

When I see the human body, I don't see what's on the outside.

Perhaps to most people, efficient movements, a lean physique and defined and sculpted muscles are easily seen by the human eye.
When simply looking at the body image, it's easy to look at the outside of the body and associate words like fast, strong, high, powerful and skilled with the athlete.

But within the body is a very complex system that always, sometimes, most of the time or rarely works smoothly.

This is why I always feel it is necessary to thank the body as there is great physiology complexity when you want your body to go long, far, easy or hard.
Many times, it is easy to take your human body for granted.

Sadly, many people abuse, overwork, undernourish, bash or hate their body.

What's interesting about the human body is that it can be trained, physically, but also mentally.
And for the body's metabolic systems, among many other things, to work efficiently, there needs to be water and energy, supplied from food and many times, sport nutrition, to support the many complex movements that are needed for a given sport.

The most beautiful thing about the human body is that it is not perfect.
There is not one size fits all sport.
The human body comes in all shapes and sizes and there is a sport for everyone.

Starting tomorrow, for the next 17 days, the 2016 Olympic games will be feeding my body obsession as I watch, marvel, learn and study the many bodies in motion.

Athletes from all of the world will be putting many years, if not a lifetime, of hard work, dedication, money, time, energy and effort, all to compete in their chosen sport, to be the absolute best athlete they can be.....with their one and only human body.

Discover your inner Olympic athlete

I love a body in motion. I love a body that has been trained to perform and I love a body and mind that work together when it's "go time."

If you share a similar passion as I do, it's likely that from Feb 7, 2014 – Feb 23, 2014 you will be watching athletes from around the world skate, ski, snowboard and slide (and everything else) their way toward an Olympic medal in Sochi Russia for the XXII Olympic Winter Games. 

When it comes to sports, it's likely that you will find success in a sport that you possess the natural skills for. Getting started in a sport is tough but if you are good at something when you begin, it's easy to continue to strive to get better. 

But more important than being a natural is loving what you do. For you can be genetically gifted to succeed at x, y or z sport but without hard work, dedication, and pure athletic ability, you will never reach your full potential. 

It's true that many of of us will never have the chance to walk in the opening ceremony of an Olympic Games, let alone compete to qualify for the Olympics. But, this does not mean that you can not act like an Olympic athlete in order to reach your personal goals and dreams. 

Here are a few traits of Olympic athletes that may help you reach a new level of success in your lifetime. 

1) Olympic athletes have coaches and a short and long term plan - it's hard to be told that you have weaknesses, that you need to try again while your training partners are moving forward, to be patient and that you can not race even though you really really want to. When was the last time you trained 4-years so that you could peak appropriately? A professional, educated, caring and supportive coach will have your best interest at heart and cares just as much as the journey of progress as she/he cares about your final results. Olympic athletes are open to coaches and don't only have one coach but rather a team of experts to be guides in a personal athletic journey. Consider being open-minded to a coach helping you reach your goals so that you can you keep yourself moving forward. Coaches (especially those who have been athletes or are athletes) likely have made mistakes in his/her past (or has learned from others) and will do everything possible to help you from making those same athletic mistakes. Coaches are an investment to your health as well as to helping you make your dreams/goals come true.

2) Athlete want to win and are willing to make sacrifices - winning should not be confused with an all-or-nothing mindset. Olympic athletes make a lot of sacrifices in life to reach their goals and this may not be practical for the age-group, adult athlete who already has a lot to manage in life. But no matter what stage you are competing on, you have every right to want to perform at your best when it counts. But an Olympic athlete has his/her mind always on his/her athletic goals and has very few excuses when it comes to reaching those goals. Focus on what you CAN do every day to move closer to your goals and remember that every great performance comes from the willingness to try and the ability to not give up. Olympic athletes are no strangers to obstacles (ex. injuries, financial situations,etc.) because of their ability to push above their comfort zone and do anything to become victorious in their ultimate goals. Part of being successful is keeping your mind on your goals and being willing to make a few sacrifices, even if it means that you are not winning a race. 

3) Olympic athletes love to learn - Olympic athletes are very smart. They do not google information on the internet or read a blog about how to eat, train or live but instead, they are meticulous at correcting their own personal mistakes, errors and potential setbacks. They also train when they are not in the spotlight. Rather than sharing that a workout has been completed, they are putting in the work when others are not watching so that they can perform when the world is watching. They hold themselves accountable to what they set forth to accomplish and alongside their team of coaches, they consider what others (at the same level or higher) are doing well and what they (the athlete) is doing wrong and are always willing to correct what's not working. Olympic athletes can be very narrow minded as they learn from others whereas the average athlete can often struggle with being too much of an open book when it comes to trying everything and anything without ever knowing what's working or not working. The most successful Olympic athletes can only learn from their own personal performances and are never too quick to change what's already working just because another athlete is doing something different.

4) Olympic athletes are consistent - Olympic athletes have consistency. Although an outsider may think that Olympic athletes have very little to think about aside from training, sleeping and eating, this doesn't mean that they do not get injured, have other obligations in life that cause stress or lack of sleep or that they do not get burnt out. 

Olympic athletes are able to visualize success no matter what is thrown in their way and they are always finding a way to move closer to their ultimate goal. It's not that they do not fatigue, get injured or burnt out but the chance of that happening (through good coaching and the ability to be patient) is minimized when they are committed to reaching a dream through hard work and consistency. 

5) Olympic athletes dream big and spare no expenses- It's true that the many athletes or individuals at a young age tell their parents that they want to be an Olympian one day. Alongside the importance of parents encouraging children to never give up and to always dream big, it's also important, at any age, that you have everything in place to keep yourself moving closer to your goals. Dreaming big is a big part of reaching your goals and finding success but there is always an investment to that success. Although you do not always have to have the latest and greatest of everything, no matter your fitness level (newbie or veteran), be sure that your environment helps you find success. You want quality and safe equipment and gear and a knowledgeable "staff" in your team that can ensure that you are not wasting money (or time) as you dream big and work hard to reach your goals. 

Do you possess the traits to act like an Olympian as you reach your personal goals in life?