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Unpopular Opinion: Salad is not a meal for the gym

Unpopular Opinion: Salad is not a meal for the gymnast without CARBS 🥖

I said what I said ☺️

And, a salad also needs fat + protein at minimum!

I like to always make sure there’s a source of calcium (HELLO cheese), especially bc gymnasts need 4+ servings a day (milk, cheese, yogurt) to get adequate calcium for their bones 🦴

Carbohydrates are what fuel the gymnast.

I’ve met with SEVERAL clients recently who are complaining of fatigue, dizziness, headache, and nausea during 4+ hour workouts.
 Why?  
They are ALL underfueled.

Some of them aren’t eating before gym.

Others aren’t eating enough carbs (looking at you plain salad with lettuce only).

It’s no wonder they feel like garbage during training!

Your brain uses the equivalent of 8 slices of bread (in carbohydrate) PER DAY just on it’s own. And you can double that for the high level gymnast’s overall needs at minimum.

Nothing wrong with a great salad, but be mindful. I probs wouldn’t eat something like this right before gym…too much fiber which can bloat and delay the carbs from getting into your body for when you need them.

If you’ve got a few hours before gym or want to enjoy something like this post-workout, no problem!

Want to learn more?

Learn to build meals/snacks that FUEL the gymnast…Join our free training to learn how: https://christinaandersonrdn.com/masterclass-1/

You don’t know what you don’t know. High lev

You don’t know what you don’t know.

High level gymnasts are so incredibly tough that when you ask most of them how they feel at gym they’ll say “fine”.
 If you dig a little further they may fess up that on certain events at certain times of a workout (often towards the end) the don’t feel as great.

They can still do the gymnastics, it just take a lot more effort and isn’t as pretty.

But then, when high level gymnasts we work with utilize performance nutrition AND fuel adequately…

It’s like they hit a whole new level.

All of the sudden they have WAY more power, explosiveness, and actually have the energy to train the skills they’ve been trying to make.

For example…

One of my rockstar gymnasts has been working on her Geinger for a bit. She’s been close for a few months, but hasn’t caught. When we started working together she was massively underfueling and tired at gym.

With the proper nutrition, she’s making huge gains in her tumbling and vault…and guess what!?

She caught her release! You have to have a certain amount of strength and energy to even get yourself on the equipment…and proper fueling plays a crucial role in this.

Want to learn more? Listen to our latest episode on the NEW Podcast—Does Your Gymnast have RED-S? Link in bio to listen and don’t forget to rate and review for a chance to WIN one of our Competition Season Toolkits ($197 value).

Tired of the same old dry wheat bread, rice cakes,

Tired of the same old dry wheat bread, rice cakes, brown rice, or sweet potatoes?!

Gymnasts often fall into the trap that they have to eat 100% “clean” to be successful…i.e “healthy, “lean”, etc.

Here’s the deal…

All carb foods break down into the same basic building blocks (glucose).

Sure, some are more “nutritionally dense” and have a smidge more vitamins, minerals, etc. And yes, we do want to incorporate these most of the time. I like to include these at a lot of my meals.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t include something more “fun” like a fluffy dinner roll, white bagel, etc as part of a meal/snack to keep things interesting.

And…when it comes to pre-workout, we don’t want too much fiber as this can delay the carbs and/or cause GI distress.

If you’re gymnast is stuck in a food rut, mix it up!

Need more ideas?

Listen to Episode 3 of our NEW podcast for some quick tips on planning meals/snacks for the gymnast.

Link in bio to listen…and don’t forget to rate/review on iTunes for a chance to WIN a free Competition Season Nutrition Toolkit which includes a 60 minute video workshop + jam-packed PDF guide to help you fuel your gymnast this season.

Just send us a screenshot of your rate & review to support@christinaandersonrdn.com to be entered to win.

Giveaway is not affiliated with Instagram in any way. Deadline to enter 8/12/22.

The intense fear of weight gain and body change of

The intense fear of weight gain and body change often gets in the way of us doing what’s best for our gymnasts.

We can thank #dietculture for this.

We are SO concerned with what gymnast’s bodies look like that we’re willing to allow them to be underfueled, injured, and suffer all kinds of mental and physical pain + anguish.

This isn’t often meant in a malicious way. Parents, coaches, medical providers, etc are only doing what they think is right.

They worry that by a gymnast being fed and thus growing, gaining weight, etc…that something bad will happen (i.e., they’ll lose their skills, won’t be successful, etc).
 The irony is that when a gymnast IS properly fueled, that’s when they do better.

And, it’s the only thing that gives them a fighting chance of staying healthy.

Do you KNOW how many injuries can be prevented by proper fueling?

Did you know that adequate growth and development is a crucial indicator the gymnast is getting enough nutrition to repair/recover?

I talk about gymnasts eating enough because this is literally the root cause of so much of the struggle.

It’s not just about “healthy eating”.

There’s no such thing as “eating healthy calories” and that being what’s important.

Learning to fuel your gymnast with the right foods at the right times is the most important thing.

And the gymnasts we work with find that when they’re properly fueled, their body is no longer the issue.

These are really hard conversations to have. It’s really hard to unlearn and relearn what we’ve all be taught for years in our larger culture and in the sport. It’s hard to trust the process and allow gymnast’s bodies to do what they need to do according to their genetic blueprint.

If you have a compulsory through level 6/7 gymnast and want to learn to fuel the gymnast for optimal performance and LONGEVITY in the sport (aka not be so broken by Sophomore year that college gymnastics starts to fad)…

Join us for our FREE training this Thurs—Fueling the Growing Gymnast. Link in bio to sign up!

A lot of gymnasts have a rough relationship with b

It’s back-to-school… Which means major weeken

BIG news over here at The Gymnast Nutritionist®..

BIG news over here at The Gymnast Nutritionist®...eek! I'm so excited to announce that we've officially launched The Gymnast Nutritionist® PODCAST!

You can find the first 3 (!) episodes here and on Itunes (link in bio).

If you like the #realtalk information I share on Instagram and my blog, then you're going to love this podcast.

The first 3 episodes are live and waiting for you to dive in and dig deeper about fueling the high-level gymnast.

This podcast is the perfect thing for your commute from school to gym, gym to home, or the office! Or, if you're like me, it's a great way to start the day on a long walk in the sunshine 🙂

We’re doing an exciting giveaway to promote the launch of the podcast and I’m giving away 3 Competition Season Nutrition Toolkits ($197 value).

How to enter the giveaway:
1. Subscribe to the podcast on Apple podcasts & leave a rating and a review.

2. Screenshot your review and send it to: support@christinaandersonrdn.com

The more reviews the podcast gets (especially in the beginning!), the more likely it will be seen by other gym parents like you who could benefit from the information I share.

I truly appreciate every single one of you for being a part of The Gymnast Nutritionist® family!

This podcast has been a dream of mine, I can't wait to hear what you think!

Giveaway is not affiliate with Instagram in any way. Closes on 8/19/22 at 8PM MST.

It can be really enticing to have a “nutritionis

It can be really enticing to have a “nutritionist” tell you they can make your gymnast “lean and mean”.

It can be really convincing to have coaches and other parents recommend said “nutritionists” and say they get gymnast’s “fabulous results”.

 But what no one *really* talks about is the DUMPSTER FIRE that’s left after the trauma of working with unqualified professionals who may preach food freedom/body positivity but are literally wolves in sheep’s clothing.

It is SO inappropriate to put a teen gymnast on a diet, ask her to count calories/macros, and weigh herself. Or himself.

You can’t say you help gymnasts be confident in their bodies AND put them on diet/tell them to lose weight.

Yeah, a lot of people think that’s just a normal part of being a high level athlete and “wanting it” badly enough.

But I’m here to tell you that the risk of developing a full blown eating disorder or at minimum a very dysfunctional relationship with food + body is very real.

How do I know this?
 Because I get these high level gymnasts in my office all the time.

Sometimes parents don’t think our approach is “strict enough” or get mad that I won’t put their gymnast on a diet or make them “lose weight”.

But I refuse to be responsible for helping a gymnast develop an eating disorder which has the highest mortality rate of all mental illness AND will follow them for life, way beyond the sport.

No thanks 💁‍♀️

It’s my job as a registered dietitian sports nutritionist to teach your gymnast how to fuel and nourish her body. And parents play a really big role in this, so it’s also my job to support them in helping their gymnast have a healthy relationship with food + body.

The thought of B+ nutrition and allowing a gymnast’s body to grow and develop as it needs to while focusing on performance isn’t “good enough” for some people, and I get that. But we have to “fast-forward” the tape and consider how every comment could help or harm a gymnast down the road.

And we should be choosing to help. 💕

Want to learn more? Join our free training this week: https://christinaandersonrdn.com/masterclass-1/

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