Advertise on podcast: The Gymnast Nutritionist® Podcast

Four years ago, our RED-S episode became one of the most downloaded episodes of this podcast. A lot has changed since then. In 2023, the International Olympic Committee updated how REDs (relative energy deficiency in sport, or underfueling) is defined and screened for, and most gymnastics parents, coaches and doctors haven't caught up. If your gymnast is heading into comp season tired, banged up, moody or just not herself, start here. In this episode: → What REDs actually does inside your gymnast's body, from hormones and periods to bones, iron, sleep and mood → How underfueling shows up in the gym: lost power, fading at the end of practice, the recovery gap, and the deductions I see as a judge that are really energy problems → The 6 biggest changes in the 2023 update, including why one rough practice is NOT REDs and why carbs matter on their own → What to ask your gymnast's doctor about growth charts, periods, stress fractures and labs → Why boys get REDs too → 4 things to check this week before comp season Timestamps 02:16 A quick refresher: what REDs is 03:40 How REDs affects every system in the body 04:40 Bones and the 300-calorie gap 08:17 How REDs shows up in the gym 09:35 Coordination, focus and what I see as a judge 11:04 Change #1: the new name 11:56 Change #2: low energy is a spectrum 13:42 Change #3: carbs matter on their own 15:08 Change #4: it can look like overtraining or a mood problem 16:00 Change #5: the doctor's screening tool and what to ask 17:42 Change #6: boys get REDs too 18:25 Why this matters before comp season 18:57 4 things to do this week 20:09 How we can help Links & Resources Free: Is Your Gymnast Underfueled!? masterclass Read it: Does Your Gymnast Have REDs? What Changed in the 2023 Update (blog post) Listen: Episode 04: Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport and Gymnastics (the original) Listen: Episode 139: Acute vs Chronic Underfueling Listen: Episode 64: Is Your Gymnast Overtrained or Underfueled? Listen: Episode 213: Is Underfueling Behind Your Gymnast's Mood Swings? Work with us: The Balanced Gymnast® Program (Level 5-10 + Elite) Boys: Men's gymnastics nutrition program Instagram: @the.gymnast.nutritionist Head to www.christinaandersonrdn.com/program to apply for The Balanced Gymnast® today, and we'll help you figure out if the program is the right fit for your gymnast.

Your gymnast doesn't need a perfect diet to score 38+ in the all-around, but she does need these three things. I'm sharing exactly what I see in our gymnasts who are going to nationals year after year and getting full-ride offers right now. In this episode: → Why eating "healthy" and eating ENOUGH are not the same thing, and why comp nutrition starts the other 364 days of the year → The Level 10 who was stuck in the 37s, switched from one meal before practice to two, hit a 38 by her second meet, qualified to the Nastia and signed a full ride to her dream school → What fueling ownership looks like at 15, 16 and 17 (and what I tell all of my D1 commits about the jump to college) → How to support her fueling without becoming the food police, and why fueling is your insurance policy against injury → Why B+ nutrition beats bouncing between A+ and F- Timestamps 01:17 Why comp season is my favorite time of year 03:04 #1: They eat ENOUGH (not just healthy) 04:02 You can't underfuel Monday through Thursday and fix it Friday night 05:18 From 37s to the Nastia and a full ride 08:50 #2: They own their fueling 11:06 What I tell my D1 commits about college 12:14 #3: Their parents support fueling 13:22 Fueling is your insurance policy against injury 14:17 What 38-39 all-arounders are NOT doing 14:58 B+ nutrition vs. A+ and F- 16:12 3 questions for parents this comp season 17:53 How we can help Links & Resources Free: Take the Gymnast Fueling Quiz Read it: What Gymnasts Who Score 38+ Do Differently With Nutrition (blog post) Work with us: The Balanced Gymnast® Program (Level 5-10 + Elite) Boys: Men's gymnastics nutrition program Instagram: @the.gymnast.nutritionist Head to www.christinaandersonrdn.com/program to apply for The Balanced Gymnast® today, and we'll help you figure out if the program is the right fit for your gymnast.

"She thinks she's fine." "She gets annoyed every time I bring up nutrition." "She thinks you're going to tell her what she can and can't eat." So does your gymnast need to be fully bought in before she can get help? If you know your gymnast needs better fueling but every conversation about food ends in eye rolls or a slammed door, this episode is for you. Christina makes the case that not wanting help and not needing help are two very different things, and that when it comes to gymnast nutrition support, buy-in is often something we build along the way rather than something we wait for. Christina digs into what your gymnast might actually be afraid of, from the "food police" to losing gymnastics altogether, and why resistance during adolescence makes a lot of sense. She shares two deeply personal stories from her own gymnastics career: one where she convinced her parents she didn't need help, and one where her mom put her foot down and it changed everything. From there, she walks through how parents can validate their gymnast's feelings while still holding the boundary, the "if you can fuel it, you can do it" framework, and what gymnast nutrition support inside The Balanced Gymnast® Program actually looks like (hint: we're usually trying to get her to eat more). In this episode, we cover: ❗ Why your gymnast doesn't have to walk in 100% bought in for nutrition support to help her ❗ What your gymnast might be afraid of: the food police, talk about weight, losing control, losing gymnastics, or getting in trouble ❗ Why "I'm fine" might be exactly what she believes, and how you can acknowledge that while still seeing signs that something's off ❗ Christina's own story of refusing help as a teen gymnast, what she wishes her parents had done, and the physical therapist who changed her mind in one appointment ❗ How to validate your gymnast's feelings without removing the boundary, and why adequate fueling is a health and safety issue ❗ The "if you can fuel it, you can do it" framework and how to give her autonomy within boundaries ❗ When safety has to override performance, and when it's time to loop in the pediatrician, sports med physician, or an eating disorder–informed treatment team ❗ Exactly what to say to a gymnast who's pushing back, plus curious questions to replace "you need to eat more" ❗ Why watching every bite can backfire, and the difference between normal resistance and a red flag ❗ How gymnast nutrition support builds real independence so she knows how to fuel herself long after gymnastics Links & Resources The Balanced Gymnast® Program (Level 5–10) Connect with Christina on Instagram @the.gymnast.nutritionist Head to www.christinaandersonrdn.com/program to apply for The Balanced Gymnast® today, and we'll help you figure out if the program is the right fit for your gymnast.

"She eats breakfast." "She had lunch at school." "She had a snack before practice." So why is your gymnast completely DONE by 6:30? If your gymnast consistently falls apart halfway through practice (heavy legs, a vault going nowhere, routines she can't make), this episode is for you. When it comes to gymnast fueling for practice, Christina makes the case that eating and adequately fueling a gymnast who trains 20+ hours a week are not the same thing, and that the problem showing up at 6:30 PM often started at breakfast. Christina breaks down why a gymnast can look fine at 4:00 and crash two rotations later, using the analogy of sending her into practice with a gas tank that's only 60% full. From there, she walks through four common reasons gymnasts crash mid-practice, the sneaky ways underfueling shows up (hint: it doesn't always look like being tired), and why better gymnast fueling for practice isn't always as simple as "just eat more." She also shares a real Balanced Gymnast case study of a family who came in saying, "But she eats! We don't understand why she has no energy." In this episode, we cover: ❗ Why meal frequency doesn't tell you whether your gymnast is adequately fueled, and the questions that actually matter ❗ Why your gymnast can feel fine at the start of practice and fall apart halfway through ❗ Reason #1: breakfast happened, but it wasn't big enough ❗ Reason #2: why lunch isn't doing nearly as much as you think (and what came home in the lunchbox) ❗ Reason #3: when we're asking a snack-sized amount of food to do a meal-sized job ❗ Reason #4: why you can't out-snack an underfueled day, and why gymnast fueling for practice really starts at breakfast ❗ How a crash can look like heavy legs, emotional outbursts, worsening mental blocks, headaches, or not being hungry at all, and why it gets mistaken for conditioning, effort, or mental toughness ❗ The other factors worth looking at before jumping to "she needs more food," from carb availability and hydration to iron status, sleep, growth, and training load ❗ A quick 4-question audit to find out whether your gymnast's crash is a fueling problem, and why patterns are data Links & Resources The Balanced Gymnast® Program (Level 5–10) Connect with Christina on Instagram @the.gymnast.nutritionist Head to www.christinaandersonrdn.com/program to apply for The Balanced Gymnast® today, and we'll help you figure out if the program is the right fit for your gymnast.

"Let's see how she does once season starts." "She's growing, so this is probably normal." "We'll deal with it if it becomes a bigger problem." If any of that sounds familiar, this episode is for you. Christina makes the case that waiting doesn't keep your gymnast at baseline — if there's an underlying fueling problem, and most of the time there is, she keeps accumulating nutritional and physical consequences the whole time you wait. Christina opens up about her own six-month struggle with her infant son's reflux and eczema, and how she kept circling around solutions before finally making a change that turned things around in two weeks and the guilt of wishing she'd done it sooner. It's the exact same regret she hears from every parent who finally gets their gymnast nutrition support: "We wish we had started earlier." From there, Christina walks through six specific costs of waiting until January (the point when most families are already in crisis) instead of getting ahead of things in preseason from harder-to-correct deficiencies to the toll it takes on a gymnast's confidence. In this episode, we cover: ❗ Why "wait and see" isn't neutral your gymnast's nutritional needs keep increasing the whole time you wait  ❗ Cost #1: how an inadequate fueling problem becomes exponentially harder to correct the longer it goes unaddressed  ❗ Cost #2: why pushing harder in the gym often backfires when the real issue is fuel, not effort  ❗ Cost #3: how chronic underfueling sets the stage for preventable bone stress injuries, tendon issues, and recurring strains  ❗ Cost #4: why iron and other nutrient deficiencies take three or more months to correct meaning January is already too late  ❗ Cost #5: why puberty and growth don't pause for comp season, no matter how full the schedule is  ❗ Cost #6: the psychological toll of months spent exhausted, inconsistent, and questioning herself  ❗ Why September and October not January are the real window to get ahead of comp-season struggles Links & Resources Join the Preseason Gymnast Nutrition Challenge (Sept 20–21) The Balanced Gymnast® Program (Level 5–10) Connect with Christina on Instagram @the.gymnast.nutritionist Head to www.christinaandersonrdn.com/program to apply for The Balanced Gymnast® today, and we'll help you figure out if the program is the right fit for your gymnast.

So many parents come to us feeling like they're the only ones struggling like something must be uniquely wrong with their gymnast when nothing seems to be working, despite doing everything "right." In this episode, Christina shares something she's never broken down publicly before: an analysis of the last 30 applications for The Balanced Gymnast Program, and the real reasons families are reaching out for support. Spoiler: almost no one applies because they want their gymnast to "eat healthier." They apply because something isn't adding up a gymnast training 20+ hours a week who still can't get stronger, isn't recovering, keeps getting hurt, or just doesn't seem like herself anymore. Christina makes the case that these are rarely six separate problems they're almost always connected, compounding into the same underlying issue: unintentional underfueling. And she explains why January (mid comp-season) is the worst time to start untangling it, and why preseason is the real window to close the gaps before everything ramps up. If you've ever listened to an episode like this and thought "that's literally my gymnast" this one's for you. That's exactly why Christina is running a Preseason Gymnast Nutrition Challenge on September 20th and 21st, designed to help you figure out if your gymnast is eating enough, where her biggest fueling gaps are, and what to change now before comp season ramps up. In this episode, we cover: ❗ Why almost no parent applies for nutrition support because they want their gymnast to "eat healthier" ❗ The top 6 struggles behind the last 30 program applications — and how often they overlap ❗ Why strength and skill plateaus are often a fueling problem, not a training problem ❗ How chronic underfueling quietly leads to repeat injuries and stalled comp seasons ❗ Why "she's just tired" is often the first sign of underfueling, not a normal teen thing ❗ Why preseason — not January — is the best time to fix fueling gaps Links & Resources Join the Preseason Gymnast Nutrition Challenge (Sept 20–21) The Balanced Gymnast® Program (Level 5–10) Connect with Christina on Instagram @the.gymnast.nutritionist Head to www.christinaandersonrdn.com/program to apply for The Balanced Gymnast® today, and we'll help you figure out if the program is the right fit for your gymnast.

So much of the anxiety, irritability, meltdowns, and attitude we see from preteen and teen gymnasts gets chalked up to "teenage hormones" or being a moody teenager. And yes, puberty is messy — brains are developing, school is harder, friendships are more complicated, and gymnastics only gets more demanding as the levels advance. But what most parents and coaches don't realize is that a lot of that mood and emotion regulation trouble has a lot more to do with an underfueled brain than it does with normal teenage angst. The brain only makes up about 2% of body weight, but it uses 20% of your gymnast's resting energy expenditure — and it needs at least 130 grams of carbohydrate a day just to function, before factoring in a full school day and hours of training. When a gymnast is running on empty by 7:30pm after a long day, her brain isn't being "mental" or uncoachable when she falls apart after a correction — it's simply out of fuel and in panic mode. Christina breaks down the science behind why underfueling hits the brain just as hard as it hits bones and muscles: the hypothalamus constantly senses whether there's enough energy coming in, and when there isn't, it signals the reproductive system (lost periods), thyroid (metabolism), and adrenal glands (stress response) to pull back. Add in the fact that neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine are literally built from protein, carbohydrate, iron, B vitamins, copper, and vitamin C, and it's easy to see how an underfueled gymnast ends up stuck in a cycle of fatigue, frustration, mental blocks, and anxiety that gets labeled as a confidence or mindset problem — when the real issue is that her brain and body simply don't have enough resources to cope. Christina also walks through why "but she eats a lot" often isn't the full picture, especially for gymnasts who've been underfueled for years and are now working against a cumulative deficit — which is why many of the gymnasts she works with need 2,500 to 3,000+ calories a day to actually catch up. In this episode, we cover: ❗ Why mood swings, anxiety, and meltdowns in teen gymnasts are often blamed on hormones when fueling is the real driver  ❗ Why the brain needs at least 130g of carbs a day just to function — before school and training  ❗ How the hypothalamus links underfueling to lost periods, stress fractures, and always feeling cold  ❗ Why serotonin and dopamine can't be made without enough protein, carbs, and key micronutrients  ❗ How the "underfueled → tired → frustrated → labeled mental” cycle leads gymnasts to quit  ❗ Why headaches, stomach aches, and delayed puberty often get investigated by specialists without anyone ruling out underfueling first If your gymnast doesn't seem like herself anymore and you want to make sure underfueling isn't behind it, reach out. Information on how to connect is below. Links & Resources The Balanced Gymnast® Program (Level 5–10) Connect with Christina on Instagram @the.gymnast.nutritionist Episode 138: Gymnast Labs, Endurance, and Iron Deficiency/Anemia Episode 188: Gymnast Mental Blocks and Nutrition Head to www.christinaandersonrdn.com/program to apply for The Balanced Gymnast® today, and we'll help you figure out if the program is the right fit for your gymnast.

So much of the fatigue, skill plateaus, injuries, and burnout we see in gymnasts gets chalked up to gymnastics just being hard—and yes, it is. But that doesn't mean all of these struggles are normal. The problem? You don't know what you don't know. And you can't necessarily look at your gymnast's teammates as the benchmark when many of them are likely underfueling and struggling too. Our most successful gymnasts get their nutrition dialed in before competition season starts. Yet January continues to be one of our most popular times for families to reach out—when everyone is panicking because their gymnast doesn't feel ready for season, is still stuck on skills, is exhausted, or is dealing with an injury that just won't go away. By that point, we're playing catch-up. And issues that have been building for months aren't always going to be fully resolved by Regionals. In this episode, Christina tells the story of two level 10 gymnasts who took very different approaches to preseason nutrition — and had very different comp seasons because of it. The first, a four-time national qualifier with a full-ride D1 scholarship, was struggling badly going into her senior year: constant sickness, injuries, skills falling apart after years of consistency. When her mom joined Christina's preseason nutrition challenge that September, an initial consult revealed underfueling, iron deficiency, and an H. pylori infection. Correcting her intra-workout fueling and hydration made a difference within weeks, and by comp season she was hitting high 38 all-arounds, qualified to the Nastia Liukin Cup, made nationals, and is now competing in college. The second gymnast waited much longer. Injured in preseason, she rehabbed in time to attempt a comeback but had no energy or endurance. She didn't start working with Christina until April, and recommended bloodwork was delayed until summer — which revealed months of undiagnosed iron deficiency anemia. She missed nationals that year, losing an entire season to a fixable problem caught too late. Christina uses both stories to make the case for why preseason, not January or April, is the time to get fueling right. In this episode, we cover: ❗ Why gymnasts shouldn't compare their struggles to teammates who may also be underfueled  ❗ How one gymnast turned her senior year around by fixing fueling in the fall  ❗ Why iron deficiency and H. pylori infections take months, not days, to resolve  ❗ How delaying lab work cost another gymnast an entire competitive season  ❗ The difference between iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia  ❗ Why January is the most popular — and most reactive — time families reach out Christina's takeaway: gymnastics being hard doesn't mean your gymnast's fatigue, plateaus, and injuries are normal. Families who get ahead of nutrition before comp season starts see dramatically different outcomes than those who wait until crisis mode. With four months left before the new year, there's still time to change the trajectory of this season. If your gymnast is heading into preseason and you want to make sure fueling isn't holding her back, reach out. Information on how to connect is below. Links & Resources The Balanced Gymnast® Program (Level 5–10) Connect with Christina on Instagram @the.gymnast.nutritionist Head to www.christinaandersonrdn.com/program to apply for The Balanced Gymnast® today, and we'll help you figure out if the program is the right fit for your gymnast.

Your gymnast needs surgery, and the first fear that shows up for her, for you, maybe for her coaches is that she's going to "get fat" and lose everything she's worked for. Christina is here to tell you that's not the goal, and it's not even the right question. In this episode, Christina walks through nutrition before, during, and after gymnastics surgery, and why this is one of the most overlooked pieces of the recovery process. She opens by dismantling the idea that time off means the body should eat less — surgery actually increases the body's demands, driving up protein turnover, wound healing, immune function, and tissue remodeling, so a calorie deficit is the last thing a healing body needs. She then digs into something most parents never hear from a surgeon's office: chronic underfueling going into surgery compromises the very tissues being operated on, and it's often part of why the injury happened in the first place. Christina shares a client story about intentionally delaying an elbow surgery by two months to get a gymnast out of a chronic deficit first, and explains why she wishes every young athlete got a full nutrition assessment before going under the knife including a look at growth charts, not just a snapshot of height and weight. From there, she covers the ERAS (Enhanced Recovery After Surgery) approach to pre- and post-op fueling, what to actually feed a gymnast in the rough first few days home (think sick-day food: smoothies, eggs, oatmeal, soup), and how bowel function, hydration, and protein timing all play a role in getting back on track. She also breaks down which supplements are worth discussing with a dietitian — collagen, creatine, zinc, magnesium, omega-3s — and which ones are just expensive noise if the underlying diet isn't there yet. Finally, Christina walks through the three phases of return-to-sport nutrition, why a gymnast's pre-surgery nutrition status should change how her return timeline is paced, and why parents need to be especially careful about comments on weight, body changes, or "getting her body back" during recovery. In this episode, we cover: ❗ Why surgery is never the time to diet, restrict, or aim for weight loss ❗ How chronic underfueling before surgery compromises tissue healing and surgical outcomes ❗ What ERAS (Enhanced Recovery After Surgery) means for pre- and post-op eating ❗ Why growth charts matter more than a single height-and-weight snapshot ❗ Easy, tolerable foods for the first few rough days after surgery ❗ Which supplements (collagen, creatine, zinc, magnesium, omega-3s) actually help — and when they're a waste of money ❗ The three nutrition phases of return-to-sport recovery ❗ How to support your gymnast's body image without commenting on weight or body changes Christina's takeaway: surgery is not a time to shrink the body it's a time to fuel it. The gymnasts who recover fastest and most safely are the ones whose nutrition was dialed in before they ever hit the operating table, and parents play a huge role in protecting that mindset at home. If your gymnast is facing surgery or an extended time out of the gym, reach out. Information on how to connect is below. Links & Resources The Balanced Gymnast® Program (Level 5–10) Connect with Christina on Instagram @the.gymnast.nutritionist Head to www.christinaandersonrdn.com/program to apply for The Balanced Gymnast® today, and we'll help you figure out if the program is the right fit for your gymnast.

You packed the sandwich, the fruit, the veggie, the calcium and it comes home half eaten, with the chips and dessert gone first. Sound familiar? Before you assume your gymnast just isn't trying, there's usually a real reason behind it. In this episode, Christina continues the back-to-school series by troubleshooting one of the most common frustrations parents bring to her: the lunch that comes home uneaten. She's clear up front that yelling isn't the answer the goal is figuring out why it's happening. She walks through the most common culprits, starting with the simple stuff: can your gymnast actually open everything you packed on her own, especially younger gymnasts who may be too embarrassed to ask for help? From there, she shares a personal story about her mom's health-food peanut butter experiment gone wrong, and why sending food a gymnast actually likes matters more at lunchtime than sending the "healthiest" option. Christina also gets into some heavier territory: gymnasts on ADHD medication that suppresses appetite right around lunchtime, high schoolers skipping lunch to keep studying for a perfect grade, and the one that requires the most care gymnasts who are purposefully not eating because of struggles with food and body image. She's direct about the fact that eating disorder rates among female high schoolers are alarmingly high, and that this is often where one-on-one support, including a therapist, becomes essential. Throughout, she comes back to one theme: validate first. Gymnasts don't need a lecture in the car or the moment you open the lunchbox they need to feel seen, and a calm, neutral conversation goes a lot further than pushing harder. In this episode, we cover: ❗ Why "she just won't eat it" is rarely the full story ❗ How packaging and container struggles quietly derail lunch ❗ Why sending food your gymnast actually likes beats sending the "healthiest" option ❗ How to talk to your gymnast about fueling and injury prevention without lecturing ❗ Why ADHD medication can suppress appetite right at lunchtime ❗ How perfectionism and school stress can push lunch aside ❗ The warning signs of disordered eating and body image struggles ❗ Why validation, not correction, is the first step to a real conversation Christina's takeaway: an uneaten lunch is a signal, not a failure on your part or your gymnast's. Figuring out the "why" — and getting support when it's needed — matters far more than getting frustrated in the moment. If lunch has been a recurring struggle for your gymnast, reach out. Information on how to connect is below. Links & Resources The Balanced Gymnast® Program (Level 5–10) Connect with Christina on Instagram @the.gymnast.nutritionist  christinaandersonrdn.com   Head to www.christinaandersonrdn.com/program to apply for The Balanced Gymnast® today, and we'll help you figure out if the program is the right fit for your gymnast.

Is your gymnast's schedule about to fall apart the second school starts back up? If breakfast gets skipped, snacks get squeezed out, and dinner turns into whatever's fastest after a nine o'clock pickup, she's not the only one who's going to feel it. In this episode, Christina makes the case that back-to-school success for a gymnast comes down to one thing: the schedule. Whether your gymnast is a natural planner or needs help getting out of bed, the parent's job is the same — build a schedule that actually fits in every meal and snack she needs, and help her stick to it. She starts with breakfast, and why skipping it doesn't just cost calories, it gets in the way of the repair and recovery that's still happening from the last 48 hours of training. Skipping breakfast also means walking into school without the fuel to focus, which snowballs into longer homework sessions and less sleep at night. From there, Christina walks through the rest of the day: the mid-morning school snack (and why "we're not allowed to eat in class" is usually an excuse, not a real barrier), school lunch as often the most important meal of the day, and the specific formulas behind pre-workout, intra-workout, and post-workout snacks. She's firm on one point in particular — there is no scenario where it's okay for a gymnast to skip dinner after a late practice, even if she's exhausted. Christina also tackles the myth that weekends are a break from fueling. For growing gymnasts, especially those still working through a calorie deficit built up during the week, Saturday and Sunday matter just as much as training days. In this episode, we cover: ❗ Why a consistent schedule is the foundation of getting enough nutrition in ❗ What happens physiologically when your gymnast skips breakfast ❗ How to handle the "I can't eat snacks in class" pushback ❗ Why school lunch may be your gymnast's most important meal of the day ❗ The different formulas behind pre-workout, intra-workout, and post-workout snacks ❗ Why skipping dinner after a late practice is never the right call ❗ When a bedtime snack (yes, even dessert) is the right move ❗ Why weekends are not the time to ease up on fueling Christina's takeaway: nutrition doesn't fix itself overnight, and August is the time to build the habits — not January, when comp season panic sets in. If last school year was a struggle, this is the moment to get ahead of it. If you're already dreading how this school year's schedule is going to affect your gymnast's fueling, reach out. Information on how to connect is below. Links & Resources The Balanced Gymnast® Program (Level 5–10) Connect with Christina on Instagram @the.gymnast.nutritionist  christinaandersonrdn.com   Head to www.christinaandersonrdn.com/program to apply for The Balanced Gymnast® today, and we'll help you figure out if the program is the right fit for your gymnast.

Have you noticed your gymnast eating fine on paper but still getting hurt, running out of steam, or feeling behind as fall training ramps up, and assumed she just needs to push harder? It's tempting to think the issue is training, or toughness, or just "kids get tired in summer." But in this episode, Christina breaks down six patterns she's seeing in one-on-one sessions right now, and why nearly all of them trace back to one thing: underfueling. Ironically, many gymnasts eat better during the school year than in summer. School structure means time for breakfast, a mid-morning snack, and a pre-workout lunch. In summer, late workouts and long training days often mean one meal before practice and nothing again until 5 or 6pm, right when the body is trying to repair and recover. The margin for error is thin. It only takes missing about 300 calories a day, roughly 5% of needs, to trigger low energy availability and start breaking down bone. Christina is seeing gymnasts miss 60-65% of their needs this summer, right when the off-season is supposed to be the building season, not the falling-behind season. Christina shares a real example: an elite gymnast recovering from surgery who now weighs a little more than before, and feels stronger than in any past comeback, because her body finally has enough fuel to rebuild muscle. Weight gain during recovery isn't a setback, it's often what makes the comeback work. She also touches on why disordered eating tends to spike in summer, how to fuel through off-season surgeries without setting up the next injury, the truth about energy drinks and random supplements, and why older, post-puberty gymnasts often need a different training stimulus than what's already programmed at the gym. Fixing this takes consistent, adequate nutrition matched to training load, and honest tracking of growth, intake, and performance, not just a glance at her plate. In this episode, we cover: ❗ Why summer schedules quietly wreck fueling, even for good eaters ❗ How missing just 5% of daily calories triggers low energy availability ❗ Why disordered eating tends to spike over the summer ❗ How to fuel through off-season surgery without risking the next injury ❗ Why gymnasts really reach for energy drinks, and how to talk about it ❗ Why random supplements can't fix a shaky nutrition foundation ❗ Why post-puberty bodies need a different conditioning stimulus ❗ The real difference between eating healthfully and eating adequately Christina's takeaway: eating well and eating enough are not the same thing. Gymnasts who are properly fueled through the off-season come out the other side stronger, more resilient, and ready for comp season. If you're noticing red flags in how your gymnast is fueling, recovering, or bouncing back from injury this summer, reach out. Information on how to connect is below. Links & Resources The Balanced Gymnast® Program (Level 5–10) Connect with Christina on Instagram @the.gymnast.nutritionist  christinaandersonrdn.com Head to www.christinaandersonrdn.com/program to apply for The Balanced Gymnast® today, and we'll help you figure out if the program is the right fit for your gymnast.

Have you noticed your gymnast suddenly feeling weaker or struggling with skills she used to hit easily, and wondered if she's just gained "too much weight"? It's tempting to think the fix is simple: get her lighter and the skills will come back. But in this episode, Christina explains why that logic misses something important, and why "just lose weight" almost always backfires. Around age 11, girls enter puberty and their bodies change exactly as nature intends: gaining height, weight, and shifting biomechanics. Trying to stop that with dieting or underfueling does not solve the problem, it makes it worse. You cannot build strength, muscle, or bone in a calorie deficit, and you certainly cannot recover from 20 to 30 hours a week of training in one. Puberty is one of the most anabolic phases in a female's life. The body is building a stronger skeleton, more muscle, a bigger heart, and a mature reproductive system, all of which require energy. Restrict that fuel and the body compromises: performance suffers, recovery slows, hormones get disrupted, and injury risk rises. It's not because the gymnast is weak, it's because physiology always wins. Christina compares two gymnasts: one who loses weight by eating less but also loses muscle, endurance, and recovery capacity, and one who moves through puberty well-fueled, gaining some body fat but also gaining muscle. The second gymnast almost always performs better, because body weight is just one of more than 40 factors that determine performance. She also touches on when body composition changes do reflect a genuinely disordered relationship with food, and why getting fueling right from the earlier competitive levels matters so much long-term. Fixing this takes two things: consistent, adequate nutrition, and well-programmed, progressive strength and conditioning designed by specialists, not leftover conditioning lists. In this episode, we cover:  ❗ Why "just lose weight" seems logical, but doesn't hold up  ❗ What's happening in a gymnast's body when she enters puberty  ❗ Why you cannot build strength, muscle, or bone in a calorie deficit  ❗ A tale of two gymnasts: underfueled weight loss vs. healthy, fueled weight gain  ❗ Why body weight is only one of 40+ factors that determine performance  ❗ What low energy availability does to injury risk, hormones, and recovery  ❗ Why strength and conditioning needs to be specialist-designed, not an afterthought  ❗ When body composition changes do signal a disordered relationship with food Christina's takeaway: puberty is not something to fight, it's something to fuel and prepare for. Gymnasts who are properly fueled and supported through this transition come out the other side stronger and more resilient. If you are watching your gymnast's body change through puberty and want support navigating it, reach out. Information on how to connect is below. Links & Resources The Balanced Gymnast® Program (Level 5–10) Connect with Christina on Instagram @the.gymnast.nutritionist  christinaandersonrdn.com Head to www.christinaandersonrdn.com/program to apply for The Balanced Gymnast® today, and we'll help you figure out if the program is the right fit for your gymnast.

Have you ever heard a coach or well-meaning adult say something like "gymnasts need to watch their weight so there's less pressure on their joints"? It sounds scientific. It sounds logical. And it can make a parent start to wonder if their gymnast should be smaller to protect her joints. But here is the problem: that statement only tells half the story. In this episode, Christina breaks down the physics and the physiology behind gymnast injury risk, and why trying to make a growing gymnast lighter is not the same thing as making her safer. The physics part is true. Landing forces in elite gymnastics can reach six to thirteen times an athlete's body weight, and a lighter athlete does experience less external force on identical landings. But injuries are not determined by physics alone. They come down to whether the body is actually prepared to absorb that force. Christina walks through what does the absorbing: muscles, tendons, bones, ligaments, and the nervous system. Think of it like a truck's suspension system. It is not the weight of the truck that smooths out the bumps, it is the suspension. For a gymnast, her muscles, tendons, and bones are that suspension. And building that suspension requires fuel. When a gymnast underfuels, she ends up with low energy availability, meaning her body does not have enough calories to grow, repair, recover, and adapt from training. The result is earlier fatigue, slower reaction time, worse recovery, and poor training adaptation, all of which increase injury risk rather than lowering it. Christina explains the real framework sports medicine uses: load versus capacity. Load includes things like number of landings, skill difficulty, training hours, and body weight. Capacity includes muscle strength, bone health, tendon health, landing mechanics, sleep, recovery, and fueling. You can lower the load by making an athlete smaller, or you can build her capacity, and the best injury prevention strategies focus on capacity. This matters even more for growing, developing gymnasts going through puberty. Weight gain, body fat gain, and growth spurts during this stage are normal biology, not something to diet against. Restricting a gymnast through puberty interferes with normal growth and bone development, and tends to backfire. Christina also unpacks what the research on RED-S (Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport) actually says, and why the International Olympic Committee identifies underfueling, not body weight, as the biggest nutritional threat to an athlete's health and performance. In this episode, we cover: ❗ Why the "extra pounds equal extra force on joints" statement only tells half the story ❗ How landing forces actually work in elite gymnastics ❗ Why physics tells us how much force hits the body, but not whether the body can handle it ❗ What actually absorbs landing forces: muscles, tendons, bones, ligaments, and the nervous system ❗ Why underfueling leads to low energy availability, and what that does to performance ❗ Why RED-S identifies underfueling, not body weight, as the biggest threat to athlete health ❗ The load versus capacity framework sports medicine uses to think about injury risk ❗ Why strong, well-fueled muscles absorb force and fatigued muscles transfer it to bones and growth plates ❗ Why weight gain and growth spurts during puberty are normal biology, not a problem to fix ❗ Why restricting a growing gymnast's food can interfere with bone development and backfire long-term ❗ Why resilient, well-fueled athletes recover better, train harder, and stay healthier and in the sport longer ❗ How to shift the question from "how do I make her lighter" to "how do I help her body get stronger" Christina's takeaway: the goal is not to create the lightest gymnast in the gym. It is to create a gymnast whose body can tolerate thousands of landings, recover from them, and keep getting stronger. If you have been wondering about this, if a coach has made comments about your gymnast's weight, or if you are watching your gymnast's body change through puberty and want support navigating it, reach out. Information on how to connect is below. Links & Resources The Balanced Gymnast® Program (Level 5–10) Connect with Christina on Instagram @the.gymnast.nutritionist  christinaandersonrdn.com   Head to www.christinaandersonrdn.com/program to apply for The Balanced Gymnast® today, and we'll help you figure out if the program is the right fit for your gymnast.

Have you noticed your gymnast sleeping in later this summer and then heading straight to practice after only one meal? Maybe practice starts at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., noon, or even early afternoon. And because it falls in that awkward window between breakfast and lunch, it can be hard to know what your gymnast actually needs to eat before training. But here is the problem: One meal before a four- to five-hour summer practice is usually not enough. In this quick tip episode, Christina breaks down why gymnasts need more structure with their fueling during summer training, especially when practice starts mid-morning or mid-day. During the school year, gymnasts often get more consistent nutrition because their schedule is more structured. But in the summer, everything shifts. Gymnasts may stay up later, sleep in longer, and wake up with barely enough time to eat before heading to the gym. And while they may be able to “make it through” practice on one meal, that does not mean they are properly fueled. Christina explains why underfueling during summer upgrade season can impact performance, recovery, inflammation, and injury risk. Because the goal is not just to survive practice — it is to come out of summer stronger, healthier, more confident, and ready for preseason and competition season. In this episode, we cover: ❗ Why summer training schedules can make fueling harder ❗ Why one meal before gym is usually not enough ❗ Why “feeling fine” does not mean your gymnast is properly fueled ❗ How underfueling can impact recovery, repair, and performance ❗ Why missing nutrition can increase inflammation and injury risk ❗ Why gymnasts may need to go to bed earlier and wake up earlier ❗ Why upper-level gymnasts with big goals need more structure ❗ Why a custom summer fueling plan can make a huge difference Christina also shares an example of an upper-level gymnast whose summer schedule led to her missing a significant amount of her daily nutrition compared to the school year. And this is the important reminder: If your gymnast only has one meal by 3 or 4 p.m., that is not enough nutrition. Even if she can get through practice. Even if she says she feels fine. Even if she does not seem hungry. Gymnasts need enough fuel before, during, and after training to support performance, recovery, bone health, muscle repair, and long-term success in the sport. This is especially important for upper-level gymnasts training long hours, working upgrades, and trying to stay healthy heading into preseason and competition season. Your gymnast may need help understanding the “why” behind her fueling plan. And that is okay. When gymnasts understand how fueling impacts their goals, they are much more likely to buy in, follow through, and make the changes they need. If your gymnast has a 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 11:30 a.m., or noon summer practice time, there is a good chance she needs more support with her summer fueling schedule. She may need two meals before training, an intra-workout fueling plan, and a better post-workout recovery plan. Because upgrade season is not the time to underfuel. It is the time to fuel well, recover well, and set your gymnast up to feel stronger, healthier, and more confident for the season ahead. Links & Resources The Balanced Gymnast® Program (Level 5–10) Connect with Christina on Instagram @the.gymnast.nutritionist  christinaandersonrdn.com Head to www.christinaandersonrdn.com/program to apply for The Balanced Gymnast® today, and we'll help you figure out if the program is the right fit for your gymnast.