Ep 90 Finding Balance with Food & Healing Body Image as an Athlete and Former Athlete with Katie Spada RD

Aug 16, 2022

The athlete world is FULL of disordered eating advice! But if you’re an athlete you may not know that. You may be thinking this advice is normal.. And then be judging yourself for not being able to adhere to that advice. 

 

Or maybe you were ‘strong enough’ to stick to your regimented (and often unhealthy) way of eating as an athlete but feel completely lost on what life with food and your body ‘should’ look like, not that you’ve retired (or are no longer able to train). 

 

If you struggle with your relationship with food and feel confused on what ‘normal eating’ should look like as a former athlete, or are stressing about body changes that are happening as a result, this podcast episode with former Division 1 Athlete and Registered Dietitian, Katie Spada, is the one you want to listen to! 

 

Katie shares her own journey as an athlete and how that affected her relationship with food and body image, and how that journey inspired her to help others in the athlete world and especially those who retire from it find balance and healing with food and body image.

 

In this episode we cover: 

 

• [0:30] Katie’s story and how she became a Dietitian who specializes in working with athletes & former athletes
• [3:02] Common misconceptions about nutrition that can actually be harmful to performance and body image within the different athletic communities
• [6:41] Addressing the coaches’ levels of education in nutrition
• [8:14] How coaches often focus on body size instead of performance & why that is problematic
• [10:11] How coaches can turn a blind eye to Orthorexia
• [11:40] The balanced approach to good nutrition for athletes versus disordered eating and how athletes can put themselves in the best position to eat intuitively AND perform well
• [17:38] How athletes can become more in tune with their body’s hunger cues when exercise blunts natural hunger cues
• [20:37] Common struggles with food and body image that athletes face when retiring from their sport career 
• [22:30] Red flags that can act as clues to former athletes that they may have disordered eating
• [25:51] Why body change is normal when you stop living the athlete lifestyle and the association between appearance and worth
• [33:56] Katie’s advice for transitioning to unfamiliar normal life from extreme athlete life 
• [37:51] The freedom and fun that come from discovering new things and the power of asking questions of your desires

Rachel’s Resources:

• Are you a Food Freedom Professional seeking to boost her coaching confidence with clients using the Intuitive Eating approach? Get immediate access to the FREE video training, 3 Steps to Boost Your Coaching Confidence: https://rachelgoodmanrd.kartra.com/page/food-freedom-for-professionals
  
  
• Stop feeling out of control with food using the FREE eguide: 3 Steps to Stop Feeling Out of Control with Food (hyperlink to https://rachelgoodmanrd.kartra.com/page/7NG39  )
  
  
• Join Rachel’s online course Living Free: rachelgoodnutrition.com/program  
  
  
• Follow Rachel on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/dietitian.rachelgoodman/
  
  
• Want to share your thoughts or feedback on this episode? Contact Rachel at  [e-mail]

Katie’s Resources: 

 

 

• Follow Katie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fueling.former.athletes/

 

Check out Katie’s Website: www.spadastrongnutrition.com