Body Image
Develop a Healthy Relationship
With
Food & Your Body
Dear Athlete,
As a Sports Dietitian, triathlon coach and endurance triathlete, I understand your drive for self-improvement. Driven and determined to perform to your greatest ability can make you hyper-focused on food, training and body image. With good reason, nutrition and body composition contribute to sport performance. Although the path to high-level performance requires a certain level of obsessive passion, it’s not uncommon for behavior changes that start with good intentions to lead to bad outcomes. Don’t let diet culture convince you that your body needs to change in order to become a better athlete.
Do you struggle to accept the body you see in the mirror?
Is your diet controlled by rules or an off-limit food list?
Do you often workout to compensate (or punish) for calories consumed?
Have you developed an unhealthy obsession with exercise?
Does your diet consist of a narrow group of foods that are viewed as “healthy”?
Do you constantly compare your body to others - or a past version of yourself?
Do you sabotage your health, well-being and/or performance because of body dissatisfaction and/or food/calorie restriction?
If you are an athlete and you said yes to any of the above, keep reading. I created a program just for you.
For more educational resources, you can check out some of my most popular blog posts.
The Whole Athlete 6-Series Educational Course
It’s widely recognized that athletes are uniquely susceptible to a dysfunctional relationship with food and the body due to pressure to perform, life transitions, stress, dysfunctional interpersonal relationships, chronic dieting, history of abuse, performance anxiety, fear of failure, low self-esteem, social influences and the belief that weight has a significant impact on performance. This risk is only heightened in weight-class sports, sports requiring a revealing uniform, athletes competing in aesthetically judged sports and gravitational sports in which a low body mass is perceived as offering a competitive advantage - such as in triathlon, running, cycling and cross country skiing.
It’s not uncommon for athletes, coaches, commentators and spectators to attribute poor performance to weight or body fat. On the flip side, within the culture of sports, weight loss is often praised and encouraged. It’s not uncommon for restrictive eating and consequent body composition changes to be a sign of commitment to sport and the rigors of training.
Now more than ever before, taking care of your mental and physical health is extremely important. Because sport culture places a high value on external appearance, I decided that something needed to be done to help protect the whole athlete - not just the athletic being. I decided to take action and create a 6-module course to help athletes of all levels (and in all sports) develop a healthier relationship with food and the body.
I'm here to tell you that with some hard work, you can unlearn food rules. You can learn to love your body. You can bring back the joy in training and eating. You can achieve a performance ready body without dieting. Regardless if you choose one or all six modules, you will unlearn toxic dieting behaviors and the distorted views that you've developed with food and your body, and how to replace negative beliefs with practical ways of thinking.
The course is called “The Whole Athlete” because you are so much more than an athletic body.
MEET YOUR INSTRUCTOR……..
Please note, the terms “obese” “fat” and “overweight” have been criticized as weight stigmatizing. Although I may use these terms in the series as they are commonly used when discussed weight, I refrain from using these words in my own practice when speaking about body weight, performance, nutrition or well-being. Furthermore, I do not promote any diet or lifestyle change that involves intentional food restriction, extreme eating practices or any regime that could place an athlete’s mental and physical health at risk. I always focus on the whole athlete. I believe all athletes – at any size – are capable of elevating performance without compromising health or mental well-being by developing and maintaining a healthy relationship with food and the body. This series is a reflection of who I am personally and professionally.
This is not a course on treating eating disorders in sport. This course does not discuss specific food, calorie or sport nutrition guidelines. The 6-week series is designed to help you improve the relationship with food and the body so that you can elevate your performance, optimize your health and protect your mental well-being. Please be mindful that this is for educational and informative purposes only, and should not be a substitute for medical advice or personalized nutrition counseling. This series is designed for any athlete who identifies themselves as having:
A rigid diet with food rules and an off-limit food list.
Distorted eating behaviors - inflexible rituals and routines surrounding food and exercise. Feelings of guilt and shame associated with eating.
This series may not be suitable for individuals with a clinical eating disorder.Poor body image.
Inability to improve performance due to an unhealthy relationship with food and the body.
This series is also beneficial for coaches, parents of athletes and trainers to address underlying behaviors, thoughts and beliefs around food and body image to better serve the athlete(s) in your life.
For personal questions or personalized counseling regarding your individual health needs (or that of a loved one), seek the help of a healthcare professional like a Board Certified Sport Dietitian, Sport Psychologist or Sport medicine doctor for customized care.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does this course start and finish?
The course begins immediately after purchasing it and you will have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like. This course includes 6 modules and is a self-paced online series. Each module includes an educational handout, a collection of downloadable worksheets and affirmations. You can also go back and listen/read any sections over and over again, as many times as you like. You can also access (and download) the materials anytime.I would like my team of athletes to utilize this course. Is there a group discount?
Yes! Send me an email at Marni@trimarnicoach.com and we can figure out a way for your athletes to utilize this course at a discount.Many online courses come with a forum or Facebook group. Why don’t you offer this?
I am committed to honoring your privacy and providing you with the highest level of protection of any personal information you choose to share with me. Nutrition is a sensitive and difficult topic for many athletes. Unfortunately, many individuals struggling with disordered eating or overcoming an eating disorder may feel shame – a feeling of being unworthy, bad or wrong. With this is the possibility of additional stress from stigma. And a consequence of stigma is that it may act as a barrier for people seeking help. The privacy of anyone who utilizes this course is very important to me.Do I have to purchase the entire series?
Yes. It’s important to understand why you have specific thoughts and behaviors around food, exercise and your body before you learn how to improve your relationship with food and your body.Is this only available to male and female athletes?
The education and information in this module is universal. More so, it was my intention to make this series as inclusive to as many people as possible. This course is designed for all gender identities, the LGBTQ+ community, races and cultures. Diversity and inclusion are extremely important in body image acceptance.How is the information delivered?
You will receive all information via email as attachments and documents. You will receive a document of all video and audio files as well as documents for the handouts, affirmations and homework assignments. By accessing all information at once, this will allow you to move at your own pace byIs this course only for athletes?
This course is best suited for individuals who are training for an upcoming competition/event. It is suitable for self-proclaimed fitness enthusiasts (not actively training for an event but still exercise in a way that could be performance enhancing) as athletes are not the only types of exercisers that are influenced by diet culture.
Final thoughts…
For athletes, using the diet as a way to enhance performance is common. With so many scientifically backed sport nutrition guidelines designed to help athletes optimize performance and change body composition, it would be a shame to not apply these methods to help gain the competitive edge. However, from the latest diet trend to image-obsessed social media feeds, it can be difficult to apply safe sport nutrition guidelines if you do not have a healthy relationship with food and the body. It’s time to change the conversation that you have with food and your body so you can optimize your performance while protecting your physical and mental health.