In this episode, I sit down with Heidi Strickler, a registered sports dietitian (RD, RSD), for a candid conversation about fuel, food, and the culture of diet and body image in sports. Heidi and I first connected at the WILDWOOD conference, and I knew right away that her experience and insights would resonate with our listeners.
Heidi grew up outside of Salt Lake City, where her love for soccer and the outdoors began. After a positive youth soccer career, she faced challenges with the culture in college athletics—dealing with body image pressures, a me-centered team environment, and a lack of positive leadership. This led her to discover a new passion: cross-country running.
Heidi's personal struggle with body image, the quest for the "perfect sports body," and misinformation about fueling for performance and recovery led her down a difficult path. Like many athletes, she dealt with under-fueling, over-exercising, and eventually, an eating disorder. Now, as a sports dietitian, she empowers athletes to understand the importance of proper fueling for performance and recovery.
In this episode, Heidi talks about key topics including:
Relative Energy Deficiency (RED-S): How under-fueling can impact performance and overall health.
Menstrual Cycles & Body Changes: Normalizing the conversation around body changes as athletes grow and develop.
Caregivers' Responsibility with Food & Body Image: How parents' negative self-talk, food labeling (good vs. bad foods), and their own diet behaviors can impact young athletes.
Best Foods to Fuel & Recover: No food is inherently good or bad, but Heidi explains the importance of timing in fueling for optimal performance and recovery.
The Pop Tart vs. Nature's Made Granola Bar Debate: Hold on tight for Heidi’s comparison, challenging common perceptions about "healthy" snacks.
Join us for this informative and eye-opening discussion on how to fuel not just for sport, but for life, with a healthy relationship to food and body image.
LINKS:
Heidi Strickler
https://www.instagram.com/hkstrickler_sportsrd/
Wildwood
https://www.instagram.com/wildwoodrunningpdx/
PEAC-train like a girl
https://www.instagram.com/peac_train_like_a_girl/
https://www.instagram.com/usa_womens_soccer1/
https://www.instagram.com/simonebiles/
Website:
https://sustainablelifelive.com/information-podcast
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Music.
(00:10):
Welcome to Peak, Train Like a Girl, a podcast by girls in sport for girls and coaches in sport.
We're here to amplify your voice. It deserves to be heard.
At Peak, we are a safe place for girls to hang out, learn, grow, and build community.
We empower girls in sport and coaches with knowledge, resources,
(00:31):
and support we think is necessary in today's athletic environments to thrive.
Join us for bold conversations about the experience of girls in sport.
Our discussions will make you laugh, cry, cheer, get frustrated,
and hopefully rethink the future of girls in sport for generations to come.
(00:52):
Whether you're walking, commuting, cleaning your bedroom, moving into a new
dorm room, take us with you.
Follow us. It helps more than you can imagine. Check out our website and make
sure you share with a female athlete or coach you love.
Now, I can't wait to introduce you to our next guest, Heidi.
(01:12):
Heidi and I actually briefly met at a workshop with Wildwood Running back in,
I think it was back in August, but I was so impressed with her thoughtfulness
around conversations around nutrition and fuel that can be super hard.
She's a registered sports dietitian. She'll fill you in on some of that,
(01:36):
but I just loved how approachable she was, not just from a personal perspective,
but also from a professional perspective.
I think one of the things that gets super hard with girls in sport is all the
confusion around food and fuel.
And she just was able to simplify it and make it super digestible and super approachable.
(01:59):
So without any further ado, Heidi, are you ready to get warmed up? I am ready.
Awesome. All right. Cat or dog?
Dog. Oh, 100% dog. No question, dog.
I kind of scoped you out on social media, so I thought I'd give you your answer.
My dog is my life. I love that. This I'm not sure about. Beach or mountain?
(02:24):
Mountain. Nice.
Movie or series? Oh.
It depends okay you want
to clarify um I think
maybe partly how much
time I have you know a series oftentimes like it's
(02:45):
half an hour 40 minutes versus movies are an
hour and a half two and a half two hours so maybe that yeah or just if I'm if
I'm into a series then usually that's like all I want to watch but if I don't
have a series that I'm watching then I might I'd opt for like a one-off movie
or stand-up comedy show or something like that. Love that.
(03:06):
All right. Taylor Swift or The Beatles?
Ooh. Ooh.
I'm going to have to go with Taylor Swift. Nice. I love that.
Okay. Summer or Winter Olympics?
Summer. Nice. Awesome. Did you love watching the Summer Olympics this past time?
Oh, my gosh. I was glued to my laptop. laptop I
(03:28):
as you may know soccer is my soccer is
my background and even though running is now my primary sport soccer
is my favorite sport to watch hands down so I yes I watched I watched lots of
lots of soccer and then gym that like gymnastics yeah I mean I could go on and
on I'm a huge Olympics fan so yeah it was super awesome and yeah the the women's soccer team U.S.
(03:52):
Soccer team had a ton of success after like
like some controversy right and so I thought that
that was just kind of super interesting to watch yeah yeah
the the new coach has done pretty incredible things with
the program and after the world cup this past summer having their worst finish
ever I think there was a lot of pressure on the team to to perform so it was
(04:14):
really fun to see them play like they did yeah I agree and I really connected
to her the coach I'm glad you brought brought her up because one of the things
that I'm passionate about at peak,
and we just talked about this a little, is keeping girls in sport,
but also giving opportunity for girls in sport. And that would include head coaching position.
(04:34):
I don't think people realize how few female head coaches are out there.
And so I just thought it was so awesome to see that.
Yeah. Yeah. I agree. Yeah. So that's super cool. So the soccer to running pipeline, it's real, right?
I'm not an anomaly. It's like comically common.
(04:55):
It is so comically common. It does actually kind of cracks me up a little.
So I know a little bit about your story.
So before we dive into your profession and some tips that we can help fuel girls for sport,
I would love for you just to share a little bit about your journey,
(05:16):
maybe even starting with that transition from soccer into running in college
and kind of bring us up to speed to where you're at now.
Yeah. So, so yeah, I started playing soccer at a very young age, three or four.
My dad is my coach and it just kind of became eat, breathe, sleep soccer.
I fell in love with the game very, very early.
(05:38):
I thought I had a really good sport experience as a kid. I definitely can't
say that I had negative sport experiences probably until college,
which I think I do feel really lucky about.
I played multiple sports through high school, but soccer was kind of always
my favorite. it. It was my biggest passion.
I knew I wanted to play in college, maybe beyond college.
(05:58):
And so, but it never run outside of like running on the soccer field or the
fitness that we do for that.
And so I got a scholarship to play at Seattle Pacific University.
So I moved up to Seattle, played soccer for essentially three years,
my full freshman and sophomore year and junior fall season.
And when I got to college, the team soccer dynamics weren't what I was used
(06:23):
to on my high school and club teams there was definitely conversation around
you know fear around getting the freshman 15 and there was just it was like
more clicky than I was used to.
The coach definitely played favorites like it was just it was a really big change
from my high school experience both with my club team and my high school team
(06:45):
and so pretty quickly it didn't feel the same for me I did also start running
a couple of the girls on the team would run on our off days.
And so I started doing that and really fell in love with that.
Unfortunately, I think there is this combination of, you know,
moving to college and distresses that come with that.
And then a lot of the negative conversations around body and fear of,
(07:09):
you know, weight gain or body changes.
And which now in my job, it's just like, I tell so many athletes and parents
and coaches, like, you need to gain weight from high school to college,
whether or not you're an an athlete, like that is part of that pubertal development.
And if you're in college, if you weigh what you did in high school,
like that's, that's kind of a problem. And there's so much fear around gaining weight in college.
(07:32):
And so I think like that in combination with the coach and I not really jiving
and then finding running, um,
And it became a coping mechanism. It became a way to make up for the fact that
I wasn't getting as much playing time.
And so I kind of started to develop an unhealthy relationship with exercise as well as food.
(07:56):
And had a really successful actually beginning of my sophomore
year I was a starter and then ended up with
an injury part of his season it took me
out for a few weeks and in that time the
coach put in kind of one of the freshmen we had
a pretty young team that year and I really
didn't see much playing time after that his kind of perception was
hey this younger player is going to give me more years I'm
(08:18):
going to work on developing her instead of this older player and
so like that was really hard I'd always
been you know a star on the team and club
and in high school and so again like mentally that
was really challenging again I think I felt I didn't have you know control and
that's where control over food like being able to run really came in and then
(08:41):
it just became a vicious cycle where I wasn't eating enough I was running too
much on the weekends or on like even on practice days.
And so I'd show up to practice and.
Pretty exhausted. And so I wasn't playing well, but in my head,
and this is something that when I'm working with athletes,
I see so often in the middle school level, at the high school level,
(09:02):
at the collegiate level is they're over-training because they think back to dedication.
They're not eating enough because they're afraid of body changes and they're not performing well.
And they think the reason they're not performing is because they're not fit enough or whatever.
And so they just keep doing it and digging themselves into a hole when actually
the The problem is they need to train less anymore.
(09:24):
And so I definitely got stuck in that cycle and ultimately transitioned out
of the soccer team at the end of my junior fall season and walked on to the
track and cross country team.
There were several girls on the team who, after they were done with their senior
fall season, they would do one season of indoor and outdoor track.
And I had really learned to love running. I started even getting into trail running.
(09:46):
And it was like, hey, that's something that I would really like to do. and
so I emailed the coaches they let me
walk onto the team and I kind of
hit the ground running no pun intended and so
I did junior year winter and spring track and then my senior year I did cross
country and then the winter and spring track and I just fell in love with it
(10:06):
and I the team just felt so much more like home I felt like I belonged I didn't
feel kind of like an outside or ostracized. It wasn't clicky.
It was just a really, really incredible, very family-like environment,
which is really what I needed because that was my experience with sports when I was younger.
(10:27):
And unfortunately, despite that, I really carried over some of those disordered
habits into running and it was just kind of fuel on the fire.
With the world of running, especially at that time, there was talk of racing
weight and definitely a lot more emphasis on body.
I was getting a lot of comments from people that I grew up with.
(10:48):
Whether it was friends or teachers or whoever, commenting on my body and how much weight I had lost.
And even if it was out of concern in my head, that's what I wanted to be happening.
And so it just kind of furthered some of my not great habits.
And then I wasn't a runner. And so I looked to my teammates and my coaches of
like, what does it mean? How am I going to be good at the sport?
(11:12):
And I think, again, kind of saw some really unhelpful habits when it came to
especially especially relationship with food, you know, looking at my coaches,
looking at some of my teammates.
And I did really well, you know, I was newcomer of the year,
I made, you know, regionals, like I was really talented and kind of took to it really quickly.
(11:36):
And unfortunately, that also kind of fueled that idea of, oh,
like, how I'm eating is working.
And like, what I'm doing, this is what it takes to perform well.
And for me, I just hadn't fallen off the cliff yet.
And I think there's a big part of me really wishing that I had suffered a bone
injury or something like that early on to kind of help me realize that maybe
(12:02):
what I was doing wasn't accurate.
I lost my period my freshman year in college, but at that time,
nobody talked about periods.
My doctor put me on birth control to quote unquote, get it back.
Yeah, I know. I know. So, and I was 18. Like, I didn't know that that's like
not actually a real thing.
So I was on birth control for 10 years and never had a period and was always told that that was okay.
(12:26):
So I think I also harbor a lot of a lot of anger for that.
But But yeah, anyway, so I graduated, I continued running, I grew up in the
mountains outside Salt Lake City.
And so the mountains have always been like deeply, deeply a part of my happiness
and joy and soul and who I am.
And so I very quickly shifted to longer distances, got into trail running,
(12:48):
ran my first ultra in the summer after my my
senior year and yeah now
still my you know I trail and
ultra run it's definitely my my favorite activity no
question it has been very toxic at certain times in my life but I have like
come I have I am now at a place where like I feel comfortable running and it's
(13:13):
no longer you know disordered or anything like that so but as much as I love
running I think there still is.
For me, you know, there is like, there's a little bit of a bitter taste in my
mouth when it comes to the running community, just because of the culture of
the sport and how it was really unhealthy for me for a while.
(13:34):
And so when I was going through, I went to eating disorder treatment,
which I'm sure we'll talk about.
I had to try and figure out, I had to untangle my love of running with my eating
disorder and kind of ask the question of, can I actually get back to running
in a healthy way? Or is it always going to be disordered for me?
And differentiating between running versus racing and what does that look like?
(13:56):
And so, yeah, that's kind of where we are now. I run.
I also, I just like to spend time outside.
So I mountain bike, I gravel bike, I road bike, I ski, I rock climb.
I, yeah, I just like to move my body outdoors. So, yeah.
It's so interesting. There, there was a lot there and some of the things that
(14:16):
I want to ask you questions around,
but I want to focus on the fact that you said you were angry and I'm so relieved
that you said that because a lot of people don't talk about that.
I think when people think you talk about anger, you're looking to blame somebody.
And we have a very similar story, but different.
(14:36):
I mean, I grew up in a culture in a home where, you know, thin was in,
I mean, I remembered the first time my mom called me fat.
I mean, like in exercise wasn't something thing that I did for pleasure.
I did it for the calories in versus calories out, but I found so much pleasure in it.
(14:58):
And I, SLC is like one of my favorite places in the world.
I spent a lot of time outside of Salt Lake City growing up and I loved being outdoors.
And I went through some of the same struggles that, you know,
I wanted to love this thing called sport, running, trail running,
(15:18):
skiing so much. I mean, before I would go skiing, I'd get up and run six miles,
you know, crazy stuff like that.
And it took away the love of the sport for me.
But one of the things I had to do as an adult when I gained relationship with
food and movement was to stop measuring things.
I don't know how far I run. I don't over data collect.
(15:42):
And that's something I really try to work with even my athletes with.
But I was also angry that there was so much misinformation. information.
I mean, when I would lose weight or had lost weight, there were so many compliments
around what I looked like.
It was, it was staggering for me. And I never pieced together,
(16:06):
nor did any doctors piece together infertility, not menstruating,
you know, multiple, multiple, multiple fractures.
It's hard. And so one of the things I want to do now is start the education process earlier.
Because by the time you get to college, like you and I, it is so much easier
(16:26):
to take those disordered patterns into full-blown behaviors because we don't
have accurate information.
So the question I want to ask you is, what can we be doing in middle schools
and high schools to give people more accurate information about menstrual health,
(16:46):
fueling for both pre and post activity, but also talking about food and food
being part of community.
And, you know, food is something that should be celebrated, which is different
than fuel, like fueling a workout or fueling. Yeah.
Yeah. So what are some of your thoughts there?
Oh, that's just like such a big rabbit hole. Um, I think, I think a lot of it does.
(17:10):
I mean, Unfortunately, there is so much generational passing down of what the
nutrition gospel was, per se, in the parents' generation.
I do think...
Some of the biggest problems are things like social media, our parents who,
(17:33):
whether it's not even talking about their kids' bodies, but just commenting
on their own bodies or having their own disordered behaviors with food.
Like I see that so often where parents aren't doing things intentionally harmful
to their kids or talking about their bodies or their food, but the kids are
observing how the parents are engaging with food, engaging with exercise,
(17:54):
talking about those different types of things, talking about their bodies.
And they learn from watching their parents their parents relationship with food body exercise,
that's where they pick up a lot of those messages and I
think that presents a really big challenge I do
think when it comes to schools I still think it's so interesting you
(18:15):
know whether it's you know middle
school high school or otherwise that coaches
are required to do things like concussion training
and you know things
like that and it's like i just had another coach send
me a message and be like i just want to let you know i just had to do my this
(18:37):
is a track and cross-country coach and my mandatory concussion training why
am i not getting doing reds training or eating disorder training and not only
that but all 71 of my athletes have to take that concussion exactly Exactly.
Yes. And so and that's like, it doesn't matter what state I think,
like coaches and athletes have to do like, I don't know.
(19:00):
And this is something that I think about and talk about a lot.
And I have not yet actually made the steps to do it.
But I really want to talk to at least in Washington, where I am like,
talk to, you know, the cross country chalk and field association,
just talk to the general coaches association,
say, Hey, like, let me record a 15, 20, 30 minute video on reds and it becomes mandatory training.
(19:28):
Because I do think so much of it starts from the coaches and the coaches' awareness
of what language to use and not use.
The coaches' awareness of signs and symptoms of under-fueling or REDS.
And just because so much of that does get normalized in sport.
Things like being fatigued, having stomach issues, low iron,
like all things that get normalized but can be fixed with adequate nutrition.
(19:53):
Nutrition and being able to stop things before they get serious and lose their
period or have a bone injury.
So I think coach education is really important.
I also think like, and I don't necessarily know like the layers of how this would happen,
but I also see a lot of harm coming from like health teachers where again,
(20:15):
they're teaching from old textbooks, they're using problematic language.
They're demonizing food when they're talking about like nutrition,
when they're on their nutrition unit.
I've had parents let me know that health teachers had everybody in the room
weigh themselves, put their weight up on the chalkboard, calculate their BMI,
put that on the chalkboard.
(20:35):
And then they did like a statistical assessment of who was in the range of like
underweight, normal weight, overweight, obese, and like so problematic.
And so I think, you know, social media is always going to be there.
We it's, it's, it's hard.
I do some parent work, but it's hard to get to the parents.
(20:57):
But I think if, especially from that school structure, if we can educate coaches
and provide some type of.
Just make sure that what is being taught from a nutrition standpoint,
again, maybe teachers are also getting like, I have never been,
I keep taught in college for one quarter, but like in teacher training,
(21:19):
have all the teachers get eating, like, I don't know, eating disorder training
and same thing, right? Like what language do you use?
And so, because those are some of those adults that have a lot of power over
our student athletes and there's a lot of like trust in those,
you know, know, adults knowledge and things like that.
So I think that's probably where we'd get a really big bang for our buck if
(21:43):
we could figure out how to do that in a streamlined way.
Yeah, I agree. And Megan, if you want to unmute at any point and jump in,
because I know Megan comes from swimming.
And to be honest with you, swimming and running aren't that far apart from each
other in relationship to body image, you know, over exercising,
under fueling, but also some of the, you know, same thing strategies,
(22:05):
like why are swimmers taking concussion?
And I'm not, listen, concussions are serious and neither you or I are not saying that they aren't.
That's not the point. It's for sure. Yeah. Fuse with a 15 year old swimmer or
cross country girl. Like, I mean, exactly.
That's the more likely that they will develop reds versus get a concussion. Yes.
Concussions are serious and you should know about them. Yeah.
(22:27):
Rads and eating disorders are
eating disorders are the deadliest mental health condition that exists.
Yeah. Yeah, completely.
Megan, do you have anything you want to jump in there and ask or say?
Because I know you've got some of the same thoughts. Yes, most definitely.
Heidi, your story has been so interesting. There's been so many things that
I've definitely experienced myself and heavily related to.
(22:50):
So when I was going off to college, my freshman year at University of was where
I originally started, but I had lost my period for over two years and it was never even a,
the conversation of it was a bad thing. It was just like, oh, you know, that's okay.
Like it was, I had no information on it. I didn't even know it was ever a problem.
So I just kind of, you know, went about my normal, you know, life for two years.
(23:13):
There were so many things were like, maybe was that why I was so tired here?
Or I stopped being able to lift so much then, or I didn't perform here.
And there are just so many things now that I still look back on.
I'm like, wait, this equals that, that equals, you know what I mean?
So it's just so fascinating.
And it's, you know, it's so beyond upsetting for me as well,
because I just don't understand how that is not a basic, you know,
(23:35):
like at the very beginning conversation that I would have had with someone.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And that's why we're here. We're here to give information and education.
I think that what we're all saying is that there are so many fingers that can be pointed.
I mean, even things like one of the things we talk about, our parent meeting
is coming up and we talk about language.
(23:58):
So we say, we don't tell an athlete, they look fit.
We tell an athlete they are fit.
I mean, it's a simple switch, but it makes such an impact.
You know? I mean, when people talk about quote unquote, healthy food or quote
unquote, clean food, it's like, okay, now you're demonizing,
(24:18):
you know, whether it's lack of access or whether it's given the a choice too.
I know, you know, your favorite food is a Pop-Tart, which is hilarious because
my favorite food is a Pop-Tart. Yes.
So, and it's like, and you almost, you can feel people looking at you as you're
like pulling out your Pop-Tart and they have their $7, you know,
(24:40):
organic sourced, you know, bar made from like Himalayan salt and the Indies.
Like, I mean, I'm making, but you get my point.
I mean, yeah. Okay. It's something I mean.
Yeah. And I do a comparison with athletes, with coaches, with parents of foods
that society labels as junk and foods that society labels as clean or healthy.
(25:02):
And one of the things I compare is a Pop-Tart to like one of the organic Nature's Bakery fig bars.
Pretty much everybody that I work with feels totally comfortable having one
of those Nature's Bakery bars before training, but so deeply uncomfortable having
a Pop-Tart. and I show them the nutrition facts and they are literally identical.
The calories, the carbohydrates, the added sugars, which is usually a big fear
(25:26):
for people, the added sugars are the same. They are the same.
And the protein, the fat, et cetera. And to help people realize your body can't read packaging.
Your body doesn't know that something is labeled Pop-Tart or Nature's Bakery.
It just knows it's getting X many grams of carbs and proteins and fats, et cetera.
And so why are we spending so much extra money on this?
(25:48):
Or why are we having, why is there so much mental anxiety over this?
When it's like your body literally doesn't know the difference.
Like research shows our body doesn't know the difference of,
you know, two things, as long as their macronutrients are the same.
So as long as they've got the same carbs, proteins, fats, vitamins,
and minerals, et cetera, our body responds in the same way from a performance
(26:10):
standpoint, from a recovery standpoint, from an inflammation standpoint, et cetera.
So anyway, that is, that is a large box that I get up on a regular basis.
And it's interesting because when we're specifically talking about sport or
girls in sport, we're talking about, you know, there are, you know, three meals a day.
(26:31):
So that's food and it's communal and it's social.
One of my biggest pet peeves is that the only time our student athletes can
see the trainer is during their lunch period. And my big thing is what student
athletes need to be doing during lunch is eating lunch and socializing with their friends, period.
Like that, that's period to me. Like that is, that is it.
(26:54):
But aside from those three meals,
having conversations around fueling for workout and then fueling to recover
after workout are something I really struggle with because if you're looking at the equation,
most people are looking at activity in today's culture is the formula.
(27:15):
You move this much and those fit big. Those things drive me up a freaking wall.
How many steps did you take? I don't know.
They're terrible. They're the worst.
They're absolutely terrible. Oh my gosh.
It's a mental mind game,
but what would you give from a tip perspective When we're talking specifically
(27:39):
about fueling for activity and then fueling for recovering from activity,
what are some general tips that you give people, especially athletes who are
on the go or a high school student who leaves for school at 6.30 in the morning
and then doesn't come home until 6 o'clock at night?
Yeah, right. I mean, that's definitely, you know, I tell athletes,
(28:02):
parents, coaches that student athletes, like middle school, high school are
the most unintentionally under fueled group that I've ever worked with.
And I've worked with professional athletes.
And a lot of it is the school schedule. I think it's a big part,
it's lack of time, school schedule and lack of education.
You know, fear of having stomach issues is another big one why people don't
(28:22):
eat right before exercise,
exercise but they're not told that actually not eating is going to be more likely
to cause stomach issues than eating as long as we're eating things that are
going to be beneficial you know we don't want you know things that are really
high in protein really high in fat or really high in fiber because all those
things take longer to digest and so having a chicken caesar salad,
(28:43):
30 minutes before exercise is it's not a bad food it's just that's not the right
timing and that's so often what I talk about with people is,
yeah, there aren't good and bad foods, but there are certain times where it's
better to eat certain foods than others.
Like broccoli is great. Broccoli is not great before exercise.
Like that's just the reality of it. And so I think, you know,
(29:07):
after school, before practice, having something that is like easy to digest,
simple carbohydrates, and that can be a lot of different granola bars.
It can be things like a nature's bakery fig bar. It can be a Pop-Tart.
It could be a couple of chewy bars or the Nature Valley crunchy oats and honey granola bars.
Granola bars can be great because they're, you know, shelf stable. They don't get smashed.
(29:31):
They're easy to eat. They're quick to eat. You know, you can also do something
like graham crackers, a handful of gummy worms, banana, as long as it's not
going to get like smashed in your bag, which is sometimes the hang up there.
But again, like easy to digest carbohydrates. The one thing to look out for
with bars is I see a lot of athletes actually now gravitating towards protein bars before.
(29:54):
And one, protein bars have too much protein before exercise.
They're usually not high enough in carbohydrates. And again,
protein takes longer to digest.
And so that's going to be more likely to cause stomach issues.
The other problem with protein bars is they usually have artificial sweeteners
or sugar alcohols that are also known to cause things like bloating, gas, diarrhea.
(30:14):
And so, you know, having a protein bar after exercise potentially can be a great
choice when paired with some carbohydrates.
But before practice, protein bars are not the best option. So that's before.
And, you know, it doesn't have to be, you know, big. It's just,
yeah, something like a granola bar, like a couple of applesauce squeezes or
an applesauce squeeze and a packet of fruit snacks or applesauce squeeze and
(30:37):
some pretzels, you know, again, anything along those lines.
And then finding what works for you. You know, some people, it's different for everybody.
You know, I love bananas, but I have found that a banana right before I train
just doesn't do it for me.
I eat bananas all day long except for right before exercise.
And then afterwards, again, it's like kind of having something to fill the gap
(30:59):
between finishing practice and when you get home.
Because most athletes are not getting home and eating dinner within 30 to 40
minutes. And we really want to get something in our bodies within that 30 to 40 minute window.
Just because it's going to be better for our recovery. It's actually going to
allow us to adapt to the training that we did.
I have a lot of athletes talk about certain foods undoing the work they did
(31:21):
in practice or undoing their fitness.
And I let them know, actually, the only thing that could undo your fitness is
not eating after exercise.
Like that will make those, like that work that you did in practice will not
actually, you won't adapt to it.
You won't improve from it if you don't refuel your body.
And so normally I kind of recommend a combination of carbohydrates and protein
(31:44):
after exercise, but something is always better than nothing.
Carbohydrates should be prioritized
over anything, but some protein in there can really help as well.
I'm a huge fan of shelf-stable chocolate milk. Throw one of those in your bag.
But again, it can also be something like a granola bar, peanut butter pretzels,
some trail mix, anything along those lines.
Again, like carbohydrates with a little bit of protein can be a really great choice.
(32:06):
And again, it doesn't have to be huge. is just bringing your body's stress levels
down and your stress hormones down, bringing your cortisol down and starting
that recovery and repair process to kind of carry you over to dinner.
Yeah, I love that. And there were a couple things in there that I thought that was great.
I love the idea of not a good or bad food, but it's about the timing of the food.
(32:27):
I think that's so awesome. And I love the fact that you called out the what
you shouldn't say, but also recognize that timing does play an issue.
I thought that was so awesome. them. Just the idea that the only thing that
quote unquote undoes anything is the not recovering. So not eating enough to recover.
I think that that's awesome. Those are, I think, two things that I think are
(32:49):
super simple for coaches and caretakers to have in their back pocket.
I know we're getting ready to wind down, but before we do that,
and I know that you are not a doctor and you don't play lay a doctor on TV,
but I would like to talk about the correlation between under fueling.
(33:11):
Over exercising or over training and specifically for a female losing their menstrual cycle.
So if you could just like sum it up and be like, you know, for just a minute
or two before we go through a cool down, I would really appreciate that.
Yeah. You know, so it ultimately comes down to, you know, sometimes someone
(33:34):
can lose their period because of, you know, just underfueling,
just overexercise, just really high stress loads.
But it's generally a combination of all the things. And ultimately,
what it is, is when our body is underfueled, that is stressful.
And when we're overexercising, or even if we don't perceive it as overexercising,
(33:55):
but if we're not eating enough to meet the demands of our training,
and also just maintain basic organ function.
That's where we start to see some of those problems with relative energy develop and losing our period.
And because we are exercising and not eating enough, that energy is going into
exercise and we don't have enough left to maintain our basic functions,
(34:18):
including things like building bone, supporting our heart health,
maintaining a menstrual cycle.
And so our body starts to shut down some of those non-essential systems to conserve
energy because it's being starved. And even if we're not intentionally starving
ourselves, our body doesn't know that.
And so, you know, we don't need a menstrual cycle to stay alive.
(34:39):
And so our body's like, hey, this system, not necessary. Like we're not going
to waste energy doing it.
And so we start to see those hormones decrease and our menstrual cycle might get irregular.
You know, that can be things like our period can get lighter.
Our cycle itself can get longer or shorter or it can go away completely.
And that is where we kind of start to see some of those problems,
(35:01):
especially if it lasts more than three months.
We see really notable declines in bone health, as well as things like heart
health and heart function, among other things.
And some people...
Lose their period right away when when they're kind of in that imbalanced
state of energy intake and energy output other people
it can take months or years or they might never lose their period
(35:24):
you know i have worked with athletes who have
a diagnosed eating disorder and are very very very underweight and still have
a period which is like wild to me yeah but it does happen and so i I think it's
also important to understand that just because you're having a period,
(35:44):
it doesn't necessarily mean you're not under fuel.
Like there are a lot of other body systems that can be affected because I think
that is, I think sometimes there is this language of, Oh, like I will lose my
period if I'm under fuel.
Then like, that is like, that is the sign where your body, like that might be a really late sign.
(36:04):
And like, maybe, you know, Ideally, we're catching this underfueling before
it gets to those late stages.
And so, yes, while losing our period can definitely be part of that,
it's not always one of the first things that happens.
And for some people, it just doesn't happen at all because of body,
because just their unique individual body.
So, yeah, that's kind of a very kind of serviceable description,
(36:27):
like kind of that process and what goes on.
That's a great point. And I love that you brought that up, that you can still
be underfueled and overworked.
And still have a menstrual cycle that other things may show up.
So thanks for pointing. I think sometimes we don't talk about that piece enough.
Yeah. Oh, let's move into our cool down a little. Great.
Because I could talk to you for the next seven days, and I know you have a place
(36:50):
to have. Yes, yeah. We can do a round two. We can do a round two.
Exactly. All right. So what food do you wish was portable enough to eat on a bus after competition?
I feel like I make any food portable enough to eat on a bus after competition.
It's just like, I mean, for sure. I think there's things that are more challenging,
(37:13):
but I do, you know, put something in a Tupperware and bring like a cooler with an ice pack.
And you can really make anything portable. True.
So, I mean. I think French fries are something that don't transition well. Oh, that's true.
Yeah, they do need to be fresh. although leftover french fries
(37:33):
with eggs the next morning oh yum that's that's a good way to use leftover french
fries i must say that's going to keep that one you know maybe the one thing
would be like ice cream because it would melt and i love ice cream so i mean
you can go out for ice cream but it's not like you can bring ice cream with
you and keep it in the bus for after the
game okay that's megan that's what
(37:56):
megan picked she picked
ice cream sundae yeah yeah yeah it's
just milk soup exactly all right heidi who's your favorite female athlete right
now oh geez you know i like my brain wanted to search for someone on the u.s
(38:19):
women's soccer team just
because I'm just such a fan of everything that they represent.
I mean, I think, I think the U S women's national team as a whole is just incredible
for what they've done for equal pay. Yeah.
And, yeah, just the way that they've transformed the game.
If there was one athlete, I would probably say Simone Biles.
(38:42):
I actually recently watched her documentary.
And I think she's done, she has opened up conversation for prioritizing her
mental health. And that mental health is physical health.
Really at the highest level of sport. She pulled out of the Olympics to prioritize her health.
And she has gotten so much backlash
for that. And then to come back this year and do as well as she did.
(39:05):
I just think it was really cool. So I just have a lot of respect for her being
able to recognize this is not smart.
And I think because there's so much glorification in the world of sport,
in any sport, there's so much glorification of athletes pushing and no pain, no gain and suffering.
And I think that's really problematic.
(39:27):
The fact that most athletes to some capacity need
to be able to dissociate from their bodies in order to be good at
their sport and so yeah
I just have a lot of respect for her being able to be at
the highest level of sport on the world stage in front of
the entire world and say no like my
mental health is not where it should be I'm not doing this um I
(39:50):
would agree with that that's a good answer yeah that's awesome
okay last question if talent were
not an issue what sport would you
love to excel in oh gymnastics 100
i talk about this every
time the summer olympics comes around because i watch what they do and i i literally
(40:15):
cannot wrap my brain around it like the way that they can like on the floor
the way that they run and then just jump i know and they get they get so i just
i can't like it literally it literally.
Baffles me like i cannot comprehend what they
do with their bodies and i just think they are probably some of the most impressive
athletes that are out there so i agree definitely they're nothing it's so funny
(40:39):
our daughter is a college lacrosse coach and that's her thing too she always
says to me why didn't you put me in gymnastics oh yeah that was the problem
i didn't put you Right. Right.
Well, thank you, Heidi. So much. Of course.
Awesome. We're going to have you back. So thanks.
Yeah, let's do it out there. I'm going to take you up on it.
(40:59):
Thanks everybody for tuning in.
We are so glad that you are here.
Don't forget to follow us on Instagram, share our episodes with a female coach
or athlete that you love.
We're so glad that you're here and we are so glad to be having conversations
around girls in sport. Can't wait till next time.
(41:21):
Okay. That was so awesome. You guys. Oh my goodness. Oh my God,
Heidi. I was in, I have to tell you.
Music.
Music.
(00:10):
Welcome to Peak, Train Like a Girl, a podcast by girls in sport for girls and coaches in sport.
We're here to amplify your voice. It deserves to be heard.
At Peak, we are a safe place for girls to hang out, learn, grow, and build community.
We empower girls in sport and coaches with knowledge, resources,
(00:31):
and support we think is necessary in today's athletic environments to thrive.
Join us for bold conversations about the experience of girls in sport.
Our discussions will make you laugh, cry, cheer, get frustrated,
and hopefully rethink the future of girls in sport for generations to come.
(00:52):
Whether you're walking, commuting, cleaning your bedroom, moving into a new
dorm room, take us with you.
Follow us. It helps more than you can imagine. Check out our website and make
sure you share with a female athlete or coach you love.
Now, I can't wait to introduce you to our next guest, Heidi.
(01:12):
Heidi and I actually briefly met at a workshop with Wildwood Running back in,
I think it was back in August, but I was so impressed with her thoughtfulness
around conversations around nutrition and fuel that can be super hard.
She's a registered sports dietitian. She'll fill you in on some of that,
(01:36):
but I just loved how approachable she was, not just from a personal perspective,
but also from a professional perspective.
I think one of the things that gets super hard with girls in sport is all the
confusion around food and fuel.
And she just was able to simplify it and make it super digestible and super approachable.
(01:59):
So without any further ado, Heidi, are you ready to get warmed up? I am ready.
Awesome. All right. Cat or dog?
Dog. Oh, 100% dog. No question, dog.
I kind of scoped you out on social media, so I thought I'd give you your answer.
My dog is my life. I love that. This I'm not sure about. Beach or mountain?
(02:24):
Mountain. Nice.
Movie or series? Oh.
It depends okay you want
to clarify um I think
maybe partly how much
time I have you know a series oftentimes like it's
(02:45):
half an hour 40 minutes versus movies are an
hour and a half two and a half two hours so maybe that yeah or just if I'm if
I'm into a series then usually that's like all I want to watch but if I don't
have a series that I'm watching then I might I'd opt for like a one-off movie
or stand-up comedy show or something like that. Love that.
(03:06):
All right. Taylor Swift or The Beatles?
Ooh. Ooh.
I'm going to have to go with Taylor Swift. Nice. I love that.
Okay. Summer or Winter Olympics?
Summer. Nice. Awesome. Did you love watching the Summer Olympics this past time?
Oh, my gosh. I was glued to my laptop. laptop I
(03:28):
as you may know soccer is my soccer is
my background and even though running is now my primary sport soccer
is my favorite sport to watch hands down so I yes I watched I watched lots of
lots of soccer and then gym that like gymnastics yeah I mean I could go on and
on I'm a huge Olympics fan so yeah it was super awesome and yeah the the women's soccer team U.S.
(03:52):
Soccer team had a ton of success after like
like some controversy right and so I thought that
that was just kind of super interesting to watch yeah yeah
the the new coach has done pretty incredible things with
the program and after the world cup this past summer having their worst finish
ever I think there was a lot of pressure on the team to to perform so it was
(04:14):
really fun to see them play like they did yeah I agree and I really connected
to her the coach I'm glad you brought brought her up because one of the things
that I'm passionate about at peak,
and we just talked about this a little, is keeping girls in sport,
but also giving opportunity for girls in sport. And that would include head coaching position.
(04:34):
I don't think people realize how few female head coaches are out there.
And so I just thought it was so awesome to see that.
Yeah. Yeah. I agree. Yeah. So that's super cool. So the soccer to running pipeline, it's real, right?
I'm not an anomaly. It's like comically common.
(04:55):
It is so comically common. It does actually kind of cracks me up a little.
So I know a little bit about your story.
So before we dive into your profession and some tips that we can help fuel girls for sport,
I would love for you just to share a little bit about your journey,
(05:16):
maybe even starting with that transition from soccer into running in college
and kind of bring us up to speed to where you're at now.
Yeah. So, so yeah, I started playing soccer at a very young age, three or four.
My dad is my coach and it just kind of became eat, breathe, sleep soccer.
I fell in love with the game very, very early.
(05:38):
I thought I had a really good sport experience as a kid. I definitely can't
say that I had negative sport experiences probably until college,
which I think I do feel really lucky about.
I played multiple sports through high school, but soccer was kind of always
my favorite. it. It was my biggest passion.
I knew I wanted to play in college, maybe beyond college.
(05:58):
And so, but it never run outside of like running on the soccer field or the
fitness that we do for that.
And so I got a scholarship to play at Seattle Pacific University.
So I moved up to Seattle, played soccer for essentially three years,
my full freshman and sophomore year and junior fall season.
And when I got to college, the team soccer dynamics weren't what I was used
(06:23):
to on my high school and club teams there was definitely conversation around
you know fear around getting the freshman 15 and there was just it was like
more clicky than I was used to.
The coach definitely played favorites like it was just it was a really big change
from my high school experience both with my club team and my high school team
(06:45):
and so pretty quickly it didn't feel the same for me I did also start running
a couple of the girls on the team would run on our off days.
And so I started doing that and really fell in love with that.
Unfortunately, I think there is this combination of, you know,
moving to college and distresses that come with that.
And then a lot of the negative conversations around body and fear of,
(07:09):
you know, weight gain or body changes.
And which now in my job, it's just like, I tell so many athletes and parents
and coaches, like, you need to gain weight from high school to college,
whether or not you're an an athlete, like that is part of that pubertal development.
And if you're in college, if you weigh what you did in high school,
like that's, that's kind of a problem. And there's so much fear around gaining weight in college.
(07:32):
And so I think like that in combination with the coach and I not really jiving
and then finding running, um,
And it became a coping mechanism. It became a way to make up for the fact that
I wasn't getting as much playing time.
And so I kind of started to develop an unhealthy relationship with exercise as well as food.
(07:56):
And had a really successful actually beginning of my sophomore
year I was a starter and then ended up with
an injury part of his season it took me
out for a few weeks and in that time the
coach put in kind of one of the freshmen we had
a pretty young team that year and I really
didn't see much playing time after that his kind of perception was
hey this younger player is going to give me more years I'm
(08:18):
going to work on developing her instead of this older player and
so like that was really hard I'd always
been you know a star on the team and club
and in high school and so again like mentally that
was really challenging again I think I felt I didn't have you know control and
that's where control over food like being able to run really came in and then
(08:41):
it just became a vicious cycle where I wasn't eating enough I was running too
much on the weekends or on like even on practice days.
And so I'd show up to practice and.
Pretty exhausted. And so I wasn't playing well, but in my head,
and this is something that when I'm working with athletes,
I see so often in the middle school level, at the high school level,
(09:02):
at the collegiate level is they're over-training because they think back to dedication.
They're not eating enough because they're afraid of body changes and they're not performing well.
And they think the reason they're not performing is because they're not fit enough or whatever.
And so they just keep doing it and digging themselves into a hole when actually
the The problem is they need to train less anymore.
(09:24):
And so I definitely got stuck in that cycle and ultimately transitioned out
of the soccer team at the end of my junior fall season and walked on to the
track and cross country team.
There were several girls on the team who, after they were done with their senior
fall season, they would do one season of indoor and outdoor track.
And I had really learned to love running. I started even getting into trail running.
(09:46):
And it was like, hey, that's something that I would really like to do. and
so I emailed the coaches they let me
walk onto the team and I kind of
hit the ground running no pun intended and so
I did junior year winter and spring track and then my senior year I did cross
country and then the winter and spring track and I just fell in love with it
(10:06):
and I the team just felt so much more like home I felt like I belonged I didn't
feel kind of like an outside or ostracized. It wasn't clicky.
It was just a really, really incredible, very family-like environment,
which is really what I needed because that was my experience with sports when I was younger.
(10:27):
And unfortunately, despite that, I really carried over some of those disordered
habits into running and it was just kind of fuel on the fire.
With the world of running, especially at that time, there was talk of racing
weight and definitely a lot more emphasis on body.
I was getting a lot of comments from people that I grew up with.
(10:48):
Whether it was friends or teachers or whoever, commenting on my body and how much weight I had lost.
And even if it was out of concern in my head, that's what I wanted to be happening.
And so it just kind of furthered some of my not great habits.
And then I wasn't a runner. And so I looked to my teammates and my coaches of
like, what does it mean? How am I going to be good at the sport?
(11:12):
And I think, again, kind of saw some really unhelpful habits when it came to
especially especially relationship with food, you know, looking at my coaches,
looking at some of my teammates.
And I did really well, you know, I was newcomer of the year,
I made, you know, regionals, like I was really talented and kind of took to it really quickly.
(11:36):
And unfortunately, that also kind of fueled that idea of, oh,
like, how I'm eating is working.
And like, what I'm doing, this is what it takes to perform well.
And for me, I just hadn't fallen off the cliff yet.
And I think there's a big part of me really wishing that I had suffered a bone
injury or something like that early on to kind of help me realize that maybe
(12:02):
what I was doing wasn't accurate.
I lost my period my freshman year in college, but at that time,
nobody talked about periods.
My doctor put me on birth control to quote unquote, get it back.
Yeah, I know. I know. So, and I was 18. Like, I didn't know that that's like
not actually a real thing.
So I was on birth control for 10 years and never had a period and was always told that that was okay.
(12:26):
So I think I also harbor a lot of a lot of anger for that.
But But yeah, anyway, so I graduated, I continued running, I grew up in the
mountains outside Salt Lake City.
And so the mountains have always been like deeply, deeply a part of my happiness
and joy and soul and who I am.
And so I very quickly shifted to longer distances, got into trail running,
(12:48):
ran my first ultra in the summer after my my
senior year and yeah now
still my you know I trail and
ultra run it's definitely my my favorite activity no
question it has been very toxic at certain times in my life but I have like
come I have I am now at a place where like I feel comfortable running and it's
(13:13):
no longer you know disordered or anything like that so but as much as I love
running I think there still is.
For me, you know, there is like, there's a little bit of a bitter taste in my
mouth when it comes to the running community, just because of the culture of
the sport and how it was really unhealthy for me for a while.
(13:34):
And so when I was going through, I went to eating disorder treatment,
which I'm sure we'll talk about.
I had to try and figure out, I had to untangle my love of running with my eating
disorder and kind of ask the question of, can I actually get back to running
in a healthy way? Or is it always going to be disordered for me?
And differentiating between running versus racing and what does that look like?
(13:56):
And so, yeah, that's kind of where we are now. I run.
I also, I just like to spend time outside.
So I mountain bike, I gravel bike, I road bike, I ski, I rock climb.
I, yeah, I just like to move my body outdoors. So, yeah.
It's so interesting. There, there was a lot there and some of the things that
(14:16):
I want to ask you questions around,
but I want to focus on the fact that you said you were angry and I'm so relieved
that you said that because a lot of people don't talk about that.
I think when people think you talk about anger, you're looking to blame somebody.
And we have a very similar story, but different.
(14:36):
I mean, I grew up in a culture in a home where, you know, thin was in,
I mean, I remembered the first time my mom called me fat.
I mean, like in exercise wasn't something thing that I did for pleasure.
I did it for the calories in versus calories out, but I found so much pleasure in it.
(14:58):
And I, SLC is like one of my favorite places in the world.
I spent a lot of time outside of Salt Lake City growing up and I loved being outdoors.
And I went through some of the same struggles that, you know,
I wanted to love this thing called sport, running, trail running,
(15:18):
skiing so much. I mean, before I would go skiing, I'd get up and run six miles,
you know, crazy stuff like that.
And it took away the love of the sport for me.
But one of the things I had to do as an adult when I gained relationship with
food and movement was to stop measuring things.
I don't know how far I run. I don't over data collect.
(15:42):
And that's something I really try to work with even my athletes with.
But I was also angry that there was so much misinformation. information.
I mean, when I would lose weight or had lost weight, there were so many compliments
around what I looked like.
It was, it was staggering for me. And I never pieced together,
(16:06):
nor did any doctors piece together infertility, not menstruating,
you know, multiple, multiple, multiple fractures.
It's hard. And so one of the things I want to do now is start the education process earlier.
Because by the time you get to college, like you and I, it is so much easier
(16:26):
to take those disordered patterns into full-blown behaviors because we don't
have accurate information.
So the question I want to ask you is, what can we be doing in middle schools
and high schools to give people more accurate information about menstrual health,
(16:46):
fueling for both pre and post activity, but also talking about food and food
being part of community.
And, you know, food is something that should be celebrated, which is different
than fuel, like fueling a workout or fueling. Yeah.
Yeah. So what are some of your thoughts there?
Oh, that's just like such a big rabbit hole. Um, I think, I think a lot of it does.
(17:10):
I mean, Unfortunately, there is so much generational passing down of what the
nutrition gospel was, per se, in the parents' generation.
I do think...
Some of the biggest problems are things like social media, our parents who,
(17:33):
whether it's not even talking about their kids' bodies, but just commenting
on their own bodies or having their own disordered behaviors with food.
Like I see that so often where parents aren't doing things intentionally harmful
to their kids or talking about their bodies or their food, but the kids are
observing how the parents are engaging with food, engaging with exercise,
(17:54):
talking about those different types of things, talking about their bodies.
And they learn from watching their parents their parents relationship with food body exercise,
that's where they pick up a lot of those messages and I
think that presents a really big challenge I do
think when it comes to schools I still think it's so interesting you
(18:15):
know whether it's you know middle
school high school or otherwise that coaches
are required to do things like concussion training
and you know things
like that and it's like i just had another coach send
me a message and be like i just want to let you know i just had to do my this
(18:37):
is a track and cross-country coach and my mandatory concussion training why
am i not getting doing reds training or eating disorder training and not only
that but all 71 of my athletes have to take that concussion exactly Exactly.
Yes. And so and that's like, it doesn't matter what state I think,
like coaches and athletes have to do like, I don't know.
(19:00):
And this is something that I think about and talk about a lot.
And I have not yet actually made the steps to do it.
But I really want to talk to at least in Washington, where I am like,
talk to, you know, the cross country chalk and field association,
just talk to the general coaches association,
say, Hey, like, let me record a 15, 20, 30 minute video on reds and it becomes mandatory training.
(19:28):
Because I do think so much of it starts from the coaches and the coaches' awareness
of what language to use and not use.
The coaches' awareness of signs and symptoms of under-fueling or REDS.
And just because so much of that does get normalized in sport.
Things like being fatigued, having stomach issues, low iron,
like all things that get normalized but can be fixed with adequate nutrition.
(19:53):
Nutrition and being able to stop things before they get serious and lose their
period or have a bone injury.
So I think coach education is really important.
I also think like, and I don't necessarily know like the layers of how this would happen,
but I also see a lot of harm coming from like health teachers where again,
(20:15):
they're teaching from old textbooks, they're using problematic language.
They're demonizing food when they're talking about like nutrition,
when they're on their nutrition unit.
I've had parents let me know that health teachers had everybody in the room
weigh themselves, put their weight up on the chalkboard, calculate their BMI,
put that on the chalkboard.
(20:35):
And then they did like a statistical assessment of who was in the range of like
underweight, normal weight, overweight, obese, and like so problematic.
And so I think, you know, social media is always going to be there.
We it's, it's, it's hard.
I do some parent work, but it's hard to get to the parents.
(20:57):
But I think if, especially from that school structure, if we can educate coaches
and provide some type of.
Just make sure that what is being taught from a nutrition standpoint,
again, maybe teachers are also getting like, I have never been,
I keep taught in college for one quarter, but like in teacher training,
(21:19):
have all the teachers get eating, like, I don't know, eating disorder training
and same thing, right? Like what language do you use?
And so, because those are some of those adults that have a lot of power over
our student athletes and there's a lot of like trust in those,
you know, know, adults knowledge and things like that.
So I think that's probably where we'd get a really big bang for our buck if
(21:43):
we could figure out how to do that in a streamlined way.
Yeah, I agree. And Megan, if you want to unmute at any point and jump in,
because I know Megan comes from swimming.
And to be honest with you, swimming and running aren't that far apart from each
other in relationship to body image, you know, over exercising,
under fueling, but also some of the, you know, same thing strategies,
(22:05):
like why are swimmers taking concussion?
And I'm not, listen, concussions are serious and neither you or I are not saying that they aren't.
That's not the point. It's for sure. Yeah. Fuse with a 15 year old swimmer or
cross country girl. Like, I mean, exactly.
That's the more likely that they will develop reds versus get a concussion. Yes.
Concussions are serious and you should know about them. Yeah.
(22:27):
Rads and eating disorders are
eating disorders are the deadliest mental health condition that exists.
Yeah. Yeah, completely.
Megan, do you have anything you want to jump in there and ask or say?
Because I know you've got some of the same thoughts. Yes, most definitely.
Heidi, your story has been so interesting. There's been so many things that
I've definitely experienced myself and heavily related to.
(22:50):
So when I was going off to college, my freshman year at University of was where
I originally started, but I had lost my period for over two years and it was never even a,
the conversation of it was a bad thing. It was just like, oh, you know, that's okay.
Like it was, I had no information on it. I didn't even know it was ever a problem.
So I just kind of, you know, went about my normal, you know, life for two years.
(23:13):
There were so many things were like, maybe was that why I was so tired here?
Or I stopped being able to lift so much then, or I didn't perform here.
And there are just so many things now that I still look back on.
I'm like, wait, this equals that, that equals, you know what I mean?
So it's just so fascinating.
And it's, you know, it's so beyond upsetting for me as well,
because I just don't understand how that is not a basic, you know,
(23:35):
like at the very beginning conversation that I would have had with someone.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And that's why we're here. We're here to give information and education.
I think that what we're all saying is that there are so many fingers that can be pointed.
I mean, even things like one of the things we talk about, our parent meeting
is coming up and we talk about language.
(23:58):
So we say, we don't tell an athlete, they look fit.
We tell an athlete they are fit.
I mean, it's a simple switch, but it makes such an impact.
You know? I mean, when people talk about quote unquote, healthy food or quote
unquote, clean food, it's like, okay, now you're demonizing,
(24:18):
you know, whether it's lack of access or whether it's given the a choice too.
I know, you know, your favorite food is a Pop-Tart, which is hilarious because
my favorite food is a Pop-Tart. Yes.
So, and it's like, and you almost, you can feel people looking at you as you're
like pulling out your Pop-Tart and they have their $7, you know,
(24:40):
organic sourced, you know, bar made from like Himalayan salt and the Indies.
Like, I mean, I'm making, but you get my point.
I mean, yeah. Okay. It's something I mean.
Yeah. And I do a comparison with athletes, with coaches, with parents of foods
that society labels as junk and foods that society labels as clean or healthy.
(25:02):
And one of the things I compare is a Pop-Tart to like one of the organic Nature's Bakery fig bars.
Pretty much everybody that I work with feels totally comfortable having one
of those Nature's Bakery bars before training, but so deeply uncomfortable having
a Pop-Tart. and I show them the nutrition facts and they are literally identical.
The calories, the carbohydrates, the added sugars, which is usually a big fear
(25:26):
for people, the added sugars are the same. They are the same.
And the protein, the fat, et cetera. And to help people realize your body can't read packaging.
Your body doesn't know that something is labeled Pop-Tart or Nature's Bakery.
It just knows it's getting X many grams of carbs and proteins and fats, et cetera.
And so why are we spending so much extra money on this?
(25:48):
Or why are we having, why is there so much mental anxiety over this?
When it's like your body literally doesn't know the difference.
Like research shows our body doesn't know the difference of,
you know, two things, as long as their macronutrients are the same.
So as long as they've got the same carbs, proteins, fats, vitamins,
and minerals, et cetera, our body responds in the same way from a performance
(26:10):
standpoint, from a recovery standpoint, from an inflammation standpoint, et cetera.
So anyway, that is, that is a large box that I get up on a regular basis.
And it's interesting because when we're specifically talking about sport or
girls in sport, we're talking about, you know, there are, you know, three meals a day.
(26:31):
So that's food and it's communal and it's social.
One of my biggest pet peeves is that the only time our student athletes can
see the trainer is during their lunch period. And my big thing is what student
athletes need to be doing during lunch is eating lunch and socializing with their friends, period.
Like that, that's period to me. Like that is, that is it.
(26:54):
But aside from those three meals,
having conversations around fueling for workout and then fueling to recover
after workout are something I really struggle with because if you're looking at the equation,
most people are looking at activity in today's culture is the formula.
(27:15):
You move this much and those fit big. Those things drive me up a freaking wall.
How many steps did you take? I don't know.
They're terrible. They're the worst.
They're absolutely terrible. Oh my gosh.
It's a mental mind game,
but what would you give from a tip perspective When we're talking specifically
(27:39):
about fueling for activity and then fueling for recovering from activity,
what are some general tips that you give people, especially athletes who are
on the go or a high school student who leaves for school at 6.30 in the morning
and then doesn't come home until 6 o'clock at night?
Yeah, right. I mean, that's definitely, you know, I tell athletes,
(28:02):
parents, coaches that student athletes, like middle school, high school are
the most unintentionally under fueled group that I've ever worked with.
And I've worked with professional athletes.
And a lot of it is the school schedule. I think it's a big part,
it's lack of time, school schedule and lack of education.
You know, fear of having stomach issues is another big one why people don't
(28:22):
eat right before exercise,
exercise but they're not told that actually not eating is going to be more likely
to cause stomach issues than eating as long as we're eating things that are
going to be beneficial you know we don't want you know things that are really
high in protein really high in fat or really high in fiber because all those
things take longer to digest and so having a chicken caesar salad,
(28:43):
30 minutes before exercise is it's not a bad food it's just that's not the right
timing and that's so often what I talk about with people is,
yeah, there aren't good and bad foods, but there are certain times where it's
better to eat certain foods than others.
Like broccoli is great. Broccoli is not great before exercise.
Like that's just the reality of it. And so I think, you know,
(29:07):
after school, before practice, having something that is like easy to digest,
simple carbohydrates, and that can be a lot of different granola bars.
It can be things like a nature's bakery fig bar. It can be a Pop-Tart.
It could be a couple of chewy bars or the Nature Valley crunchy oats and honey granola bars.
Granola bars can be great because they're, you know, shelf stable. They don't get smashed.
(29:31):
They're easy to eat. They're quick to eat. You know, you can also do something
like graham crackers, a handful of gummy worms, banana, as long as it's not
going to get like smashed in your bag, which is sometimes the hang up there.
But again, like easy to digest carbohydrates. The one thing to look out for
with bars is I see a lot of athletes actually now gravitating towards protein bars before.
(29:54):
And one, protein bars have too much protein before exercise.
They're usually not high enough in carbohydrates. And again,
protein takes longer to digest.
And so that's going to be more likely to cause stomach issues.
The other problem with protein bars is they usually have artificial sweeteners
or sugar alcohols that are also known to cause things like bloating, gas, diarrhea.
(30:14):
And so, you know, having a protein bar after exercise potentially can be a great
choice when paired with some carbohydrates.
But before practice, protein bars are not the best option. So that's before.
And, you know, it doesn't have to be, you know, big. It's just,
yeah, something like a granola bar, like a couple of applesauce squeezes or
an applesauce squeeze and a packet of fruit snacks or applesauce squeeze and
(30:37):
some pretzels, you know, again, anything along those lines.
And then finding what works for you. You know, some people, it's different for everybody.
You know, I love bananas, but I have found that a banana right before I train
just doesn't do it for me.
I eat bananas all day long except for right before exercise.
And then afterwards, again, it's like kind of having something to fill the gap
(30:59):
between finishing practice and when you get home.
Because most athletes are not getting home and eating dinner within 30 to 40
minutes. And we really want to get something in our bodies within that 30 to 40 minute window.
Just because it's going to be better for our recovery. It's actually going to
allow us to adapt to the training that we did.
I have a lot of athletes talk about certain foods undoing the work they did
(31:21):
in practice or undoing their fitness.
And I let them know, actually, the only thing that could undo your fitness is
not eating after exercise.
Like that will make those, like that work that you did in practice will not
actually, you won't adapt to it.
You won't improve from it if you don't refuel your body.
And so normally I kind of recommend a combination of carbohydrates and protein
(31:44):
after exercise, but something is always better than nothing.
Carbohydrates should be prioritized
over anything, but some protein in there can really help as well.
I'm a huge fan of shelf-stable chocolate milk. Throw one of those in your bag.
But again, it can also be something like a granola bar, peanut butter pretzels,
some trail mix, anything along those lines.
Again, like carbohydrates with a little bit of protein can be a really great choice.
(32:06):
And again, it doesn't have to be huge. is just bringing your body's stress levels
down and your stress hormones down, bringing your cortisol down and starting
that recovery and repair process to kind of carry you over to dinner.
Yeah, I love that. And there were a couple things in there that I thought that was great.
I love the idea of not a good or bad food, but it's about the timing of the food.
(32:27):
I think that's so awesome. And I love the fact that you called out the what
you shouldn't say, but also recognize that timing does play an issue.
I thought that was so awesome. them. Just the idea that the only thing that
quote unquote undoes anything is the not recovering. So not eating enough to recover.
I think that that's awesome. Those are, I think, two things that I think are
(32:49):
super simple for coaches and caretakers to have in their back pocket.
I know we're getting ready to wind down, but before we do that,
and I know that you are not a doctor and you don't play lay a doctor on TV,
but I would like to talk about the correlation between under fueling.
(33:11):
Over exercising or over training and specifically for a female losing their menstrual cycle.
So if you could just like sum it up and be like, you know, for just a minute
or two before we go through a cool down, I would really appreciate that.
Yeah. You know, so it ultimately comes down to, you know, sometimes someone
(33:34):
can lose their period because of, you know, just underfueling,
just overexercise, just really high stress loads.
But it's generally a combination of all the things. And ultimately,
what it is, is when our body is underfueled, that is stressful.
And when we're overexercising, or even if we don't perceive it as overexercising,
(33:55):
but if we're not eating enough to meet the demands of our training,
and also just maintain basic organ function.
That's where we start to see some of those problems with relative energy develop and losing our period.
And because we are exercising and not eating enough, that energy is going into
exercise and we don't have enough left to maintain our basic functions,
(34:18):
including things like building bone, supporting our heart health,
maintaining a menstrual cycle.
And so our body starts to shut down some of those non-essential systems to conserve
energy because it's being starved. And even if we're not intentionally starving
ourselves, our body doesn't know that.
And so, you know, we don't need a menstrual cycle to stay alive.
(34:39):
And so our body's like, hey, this system, not necessary. Like we're not going
to waste energy doing it.
And so we start to see those hormones decrease and our menstrual cycle might get irregular.
You know, that can be things like our period can get lighter.
Our cycle itself can get longer or shorter or it can go away completely.
And that is where we kind of start to see some of those problems,
(35:01):
especially if it lasts more than three months.
We see really notable declines in bone health, as well as things like heart
health and heart function, among other things.
And some people...
Lose their period right away when when they're kind of in that imbalanced
state of energy intake and energy output other people
it can take months or years or they might never lose their period
(35:24):
you know i have worked with athletes who have
a diagnosed eating disorder and are very very very underweight and still have
a period which is like wild to me yeah but it does happen and so i I think it's
also important to understand that just because you're having a period,
(35:44):
it doesn't necessarily mean you're not under fuel.
Like there are a lot of other body systems that can be affected because I think
that is, I think sometimes there is this language of, Oh, like I will lose my
period if I'm under fuel.
Then like, that is like, that is the sign where your body, like that might be a really late sign.
(36:04):
And like, maybe, you know, Ideally, we're catching this underfueling before
it gets to those late stages.
And so, yes, while losing our period can definitely be part of that,
it's not always one of the first things that happens.
And for some people, it just doesn't happen at all because of body,
because just their unique individual body.
So, yeah, that's kind of a very kind of serviceable description,
(36:27):
like kind of that process and what goes on.
That's a great point. And I love that you brought that up, that you can still
be underfueled and overworked.
And still have a menstrual cycle that other things may show up.
So thanks for pointing. I think sometimes we don't talk about that piece enough.
Yeah. Oh, let's move into our cool down a little. Great.
Because I could talk to you for the next seven days, and I know you have a place
(36:50):
to have. Yes, yeah. We can do a round two. We can do a round two.
Exactly. All right. So what food do you wish was portable enough to eat on a bus after competition?
I feel like I make any food portable enough to eat on a bus after competition.
It's just like, I mean, for sure. I think there's things that are more challenging,
(37:13):
but I do, you know, put something in a Tupperware and bring like a cooler with an ice pack.
And you can really make anything portable. True.
So, I mean. I think French fries are something that don't transition well. Oh, that's true.
Yeah, they do need to be fresh. although leftover french fries
(37:33):
with eggs the next morning oh yum that's that's a good way to use leftover french
fries i must say that's going to keep that one you know maybe the one thing
would be like ice cream because it would melt and i love ice cream so i mean
you can go out for ice cream but it's not like you can bring ice cream with
you and keep it in the bus for after the
game okay that's megan that's what
(37:56):
megan picked she picked
ice cream sundae yeah yeah yeah it's
just milk soup exactly all right heidi who's your favorite female athlete right
now oh geez you know i like my brain wanted to search for someone on the u.s
(38:19):
women's soccer team just
because I'm just such a fan of everything that they represent.
I mean, I think, I think the U S women's national team as a whole is just incredible
for what they've done for equal pay. Yeah.
And, yeah, just the way that they've transformed the game.
If there was one athlete, I would probably say Simone Biles.
(38:42):
I actually recently watched her documentary.
And I think she's done, she has opened up conversation for prioritizing her
mental health. And that mental health is physical health.
Really at the highest level of sport. She pulled out of the Olympics to prioritize her health.
And she has gotten so much backlash
for that. And then to come back this year and do as well as she did.
(39:05):
I just think it was really cool. So I just have a lot of respect for her being
able to recognize this is not smart.
And I think because there's so much glorification in the world of sport,
in any sport, there's so much glorification of athletes pushing and no pain, no gain and suffering.
And I think that's really problematic.
(39:27):
The fact that most athletes to some capacity need
to be able to dissociate from their bodies in order to be good at
their sport and so yeah
I just have a lot of respect for her being able to be at
the highest level of sport on the world stage in front of
the entire world and say no like my
mental health is not where it should be I'm not doing this um I
(39:50):
would agree with that that's a good answer yeah that's awesome
okay last question if talent were
not an issue what sport would you
love to excel in oh gymnastics 100
i talk about this every
time the summer olympics comes around because i watch what they do and i i literally
(40:15):
cannot wrap my brain around it like the way that they can like on the floor
the way that they run and then just jump i know and they get they get so i just
i can't like it literally it literally.
Baffles me like i cannot comprehend what they
do with their bodies and i just think they are probably some of the most impressive
athletes that are out there so i agree definitely they're nothing it's so funny
(40:39):
our daughter is a college lacrosse coach and that's her thing too she always
says to me why didn't you put me in gymnastics oh yeah that was the problem
i didn't put you Right. Right.
Well, thank you, Heidi. So much. Of course.
Awesome. We're going to have you back. So thanks.
Yeah, let's do it out there. I'm going to take you up on it.
(40:59):
Thanks everybody for tuning in.
We are so glad that you are here.
Don't forget to follow us on Instagram, share our episodes with a female coach
or athlete that you love.
We're so glad that you're here and we are so glad to be having conversations
around girls in sport. Can't wait till next time.
(41:21):
Okay. That was so awesome. You guys. Oh my goodness. Oh my God,
Heidi. I was in, I have to tell you.
Music.
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