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.