Eating Disorders and Athletes
While many people feel pressure to look or eat a certain way, that pressure is often amplified for athletes. Athletes are already navigating expectations to perform, improve, and measure up; sometimes in front of a live audience, sometimes down to a photo finish.
Whether you are a professional, collegiate, high school, or “weekend warrior” athlete, the pressure is real. Athletes are frequently under intense scrutiny, and the general public often doesn’t understand what goes on behind the scenes. We’ve all heard commentators, friends, or family members say things like “They should have gone faster” or “I could have done that.” What’s missing from those comments is any understanding of what is happening inside the athlete’s body, or their mind.
It makes sense that athletes begin to internalize this pressure. Often, it shows up through disordered eating, eating disorders, or compulsive exercise.
When Control Becomes a Coping Strategy
For many athletes, food and exercise can start to feel like things they can control. Eating less may feel like discipline. Exercising more may seem like the logical next step to improve performance or body composition.
At the same time, athletic fueling is nuanced. Athletes often do need to be intentional about nutrition:
Avoiding certain foods before competition
Eating even when not hungry to adequately refuel
Increasing carbohydrates or protein to match training demands
The challenge is knowing where intentional fueling ends and disordered patterns begin.
Athletes deserve support that recognizes this nuance. We want to ensure bodies are fueled sufficiently, not just for performance, but for overall health. We also want to make sure that exercise isn’t overtaking life itself. Missing important events, feeling anxiety around rest days, or avoiding foods out of fear are signs that something deeper may be happening.
You Deserve Support That Understands Athletic Pressure
Athletes deserve care from someone who understands the mental, emotional, and physical demands of sport, not just in theory, but in lived experience. The pressure to perform, to improve, and to measure your worth through outcomes can quietly shape how you see your body, your food choices, and yourself.
My path to this work began with a deep interest in movement and the human body. As an undergraduate, I studied Kinesiology, drawn to how bodies adapt, endure, and perform. Over time, that curiosity evolved into a calling to support the whole person, and my work as a therapist became the place where those two passions naturally intersected.
I share this because it informs how I show up for athletes. I participate in endurance sports and have completed two Ironman races, experiences that taught me far more than physical limits. Being inside the sport has taught me invaluable lessons about nutrition, perseverance, identity, and self-worth.
I know what it’s like to want to quit. To feel like you’re falling short. To believe you don’t “look” like an athlete, even when you’re doing everything you can. Those moments matter. They offer insight into the complicated relationship between athletics, body image, and eating disorders, and they allow me to meet athletes with depth, nuance, and genuine understanding.
Finding Peace with Food, Movement, and Performance
I am deeply passionate about helping athletes find peace in their bodies and joy in movement and achievement. Achievement does not have to mean winning. It can mean sustainability, connection, and feeling at home in your body again.
If you are struggling with your relationship with food, exercise, or your body as an athlete, you don’t have to navigate it alone.
Signs You May Be Struggling with Food or Exercise
An athlete doesn’t have to “look sick” to be struggling. Some common signs include:
Increasing anxiety around food, meals, or fueling
Rigid food rules or fear of certain foods
Exercising despite injury, illness, or exhaustion
Difficulty taking rest days or feeling guilty when resting
Skipping meals or under-fueling while training intensely
Using exercise to “compensate” for eating
Avoiding social events due to food or training schedules
Feeling disconnected from joy in sport or movement
A sense that performance or body image defines self-worth
If this sounds familiar:
You’re not broken, weak, or failing. Many athletes struggle quietly with their relationship with food and movement. Support can help you reconnect with your body, your values, and the reasons you started your sport in the first place. If you’re ready to explore this, I invite you to reach out for a consultation at Transformation Counseling and Wellness.
