The Food and Body Image Talk Gymnasts and Coaches Must Hear with Christina Anderson, RDN -

In gymnastics, misguided nutrition advice, body image insecurities, underfueling, and negative mental health are still massive problems that gymnasts face.

It doesn’t matter the level, discipline, or age of athletes when it comes to this topic. Most gymnasts constantly struggle with the unhealthy culture that gymnastics still has around nutrition and aesthetics.

For young males and females growing up in the sport, this topic can become a massive source of anxiety, depression, and other negative mental health impacts.

There is an insane amount of inaccurate, nonscientific information being given to gymnasts about nutrition and proper fueling. Not to mention, often times the source of that advice does not come from a licensed, qualified medical practitioner.

So, today on the podcast I wanted to have a highly qualified expert in gymnastics nutrition, Christina Anderson, come on to tackle what gymnasts really struggle with.

I wanted to dive directly into the biggest issues we face, in an effort to help gymnasts realize they are not alone but also give them science-based, healthy ways to create a better relationship with food.

Christina Anderson RDN is a Registered Dietician who is board certified in pediatrics and eating disorders. She was a gymnast herself, and now currently helps high-level gymnasts with food, body image, disordered eating, proper fueling, and more.

She was a part of our insanely popular “Gymnastics Nutrition Roundtable” which you can check out here, and also wrote a fantastic guest blog on “Normal Eating in a Culture of Disordered Eating” you can read here. You can learn about her on her website here.

In this week’s podcast we discuss absolutely, must hear topics that gymnasts struggle with such as

The real negative things gymnasts are saying to themselves about how they look and what they eat
Some of the worst things Christina and I used to say to ourselves about nutrition
What coaches or parents should or should not say about a gymnasts body and food intake
How “diet culture” is wrecking young gymnast’s mental health
Why gymnasts being told “carbs make you fat” is dangerous and wrong
The biggest mistakes gymnasts, coaches, and parents are making about nutrition
The proper way to view food, training, and sports nutrition
Advice for parents and coaches on how to find great registered dieticians like Christina to help

and much more. Please, please share this with every gymnast, coach, and parent you know.