Discussing Nutrition and Food Neutrality with Athletes

Hi, I'm Lisa. I'm a dietitian with Tahoe Forest Health System and I'm here today to talk to coaches about how to talk to your athletes about nutrition. Traditionally, teens have looked up to their coaches as trusted sources of information on nutrition and health. But times are changing. With constant access to social media and online content, teens now turn to other sources. And that means you've got competition. But here's the thing, your voice still matters, and it matters a lot. Teens today are under more pressure than ever to look a certain way. Social media bombards them with unrealistic beauty standards and endless opportunities to compare themselves. Did you know nearly 60% of grade 9 and 10 girls report trying to lose weight, even though they're at a healthy normal weight range? Boys also feel pressure to be lean, muscular, and strong. Teens who diet are up to five times more likely to develop an eating disorder. And teen athletes are at a even higher risk. Why? Because on top of typical appearance pressures, they also face performance expectations from parents, coaches, even themselves. When they start tying performance to weight or appearance, that's where the real risk begins. We need to be a little gentle and careful about how we speak to our kids about their bodies and about nutrition. Today I have six tips on how coaches can speak to their athletes about nutrition while supporting body image and a lifelong healthy relationship to food. My first tip is to build body trust. So bodies come in all shapes and sizes. During adolescence, bodies grow fast and that's normal. We need to trust that our teens bodies are growing at the rate that's healthy for them. Girls may gain 40 to 50 lb and grow 10 inches between the ages of 13 and 15. and boys can gain 50 to 60 pounds and grow 12 inches. This rapid growth can spark comments, but please avoid commenting on their appearance. Even if you think it's positive, it can be really difficult. I have teenagers as well that's growing very rapidly, and it's hard not to say, "Oh my, you're getting so big." When you make comments on their appearance, it can make the teen think that something's off or wrong. Instead, I want you to challenge weight-based comments when you hear them. This can happen a lot in groups of teens. Oh, you know, "this isn't good about me" or "that's not good about me." Stop them when they're having these conversations and gear it to more positive  comments. Model body acceptance. So, speaking kindly about your own body makes a big impact on them as well. And then celebrate what bodies can do rather than how they look. Avoid recommendations for weight loss. This builds resilience and helps protect athletes from harmful effects of weight stigma. My next tip is to encourage intuitive eating. Did you know adolescents need more calories than any other life stage? It's kind of wild. On average, 2200 calories a day for girls and 2,800 or more calories a day for boys. High school athletes might need up to 5,000 calories a day. Instead, promote listening to hunger and fullness cues, eating a large variety of foods, and trusting their body's signals, even if that varies from day to day. Food intake can vary drastically from day to day for teen athletes. And letting them trust their bodies on this is really important. Next is to teach food neutrality. And what I mean by food neutrality is that food doesn't have moral value. It's not good or bad. It's just food. So when we say things like broccoli is good and candy is bad, teens may internalize those labels. Kids and teens are more concrete thinkers. Their brains aren't fully developed. So if they like the candy, but candy is bad, it can kind of lead to them thinking that maybe they're bad. These conflicting thoughts around food have been shown to lead to picky eating, hiding or sneaking food, disordered eating, and even eating disorders. Not what we want for our kids. Instead, I want to talk about the how food functions in our body. Get really curious and ask questions with kids. Instead of you "ate badly, so you played badly", say things like "how did that meal make you feel before your run? Or was that a good snack in the start gate? Did that help you feel more strong during your race?" I also like to focus on nutrition by addition and aiming for balance. So, a lot of times when we start talking about nutrition, there can be a list of foods that we like shouldn't eat. Instead, I want to focus on the positive things. What do we want to eat more of? Instead of saying, "Don't eat chips," say things like, "What could we add to this to be more balanced? Maybe some protein or some produce." And then teaching the concept of balanced meals. There's different nutrients in food that plays a different role in our bodies, and we need all of them. Teach the concept of balance. So, you want our meals to have multiple components on them like protein, fat, carbs, produce, and fiber. We have a handout that has pictures on all these components and what makes up a healthy plate for athletes. All these variety of nutrients is what supports energy, recovery, and ultimately performance for our athletes. My fifth tip is to model positive eating behaviors through eating with your teen athletes. I know this sounds a little bit crazy, but teens learn by watching, not by listening. So nutrition lectures won't stick very long, but watching and eating together, seeing what you're eating, seeing what other adults in their life are eating, that will stick. It's kind of a monkey see, monkey do situation. So finding times to eat with them, whether it's snack after practice or maybe traveling for games and checking in with your own eating habits. Are you setting the example that you're also kind of teaching them about nutrition? Bringing your own snack when they're snacking. When you're traveling, organizing a team meal and involve athletes in prep or planning or even grocery shopping. Create these healthy habits together. On a road trip, instead of running into fast food, maybe we pack a lunch and stop at a park. Research shows that family meals boost fruit and vegetable intake over a lifetime and improve emotional well-being, provides a sense of belonging, and improves self-confidence. As kids get older, these family meals morph into meals um with their community, especially their teams, their sports teams. So, this can be kind of a replacement for family meals, and it's a really important part of their development. And then during these team meals or times when you're eating with your teen athletes, this isn't the time for a nutrition lecture. In fact, it's your role to make this group meal a pleasant experience and a place that they want to be. So, be interesting. Um, ask questions, ask open-ended questions, talk about their lives, be present with them. That's what's going to have the biggest impact on their nutrition in the long term. And my last tip is not using food for rewards. So, this can be a little bit tricky. Yes, team pizza parties are fun and those are still totally fine to do, but not making that the reward. So, instead, choosing something that's not food related. So maybe we're ending practice early one day if they met their goal or having a light recovery day if they won their tournament or planning a team bonding activity like putting coaches in a dunk tank or something that's super fun as a reward. Leaving food separate like we can just go have food and have a meal together. It's important to keep food separate from emotional or performance-based outcomes and encourages a healthier mindset around food. As a coach, you are in a unique position to shape how teens think about food, body image, and self-worth for life. By modeling healthy behaviors, encouraging balanced, trusting relationship with food in their bodies, you help build not just better athletes, but more confident and resilient young people. If you have concerns about your athlete or athletes are asking for more support around nutrition, don't hesitate to reach out to our team of dietitians at Tahoe Forest Health System. We're here to support you as well. Thanks for being such an important part of our teen support system in our community. I'm Lisa Fligor. I'm a dietitian at Tahoe Forest Health System and thanks for watching.