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Welcome to The Gymnast Nutritionist® podcast, a free resource for gymnast, parents, and coaches to learn to fuel the gymnast optimal performance and longevity int he sport. Christina Anderson MS, RDN, CSP, CSSD is a board certified pediatric/adolescent registered dietitian nutritionist, former gymnast, and current nationally rated gymnastics judge. She helps gymnasts and their parents take a proactive approach to fueling, without the stress or overwhelm. This podcast is all #realtalk where she tackles tough subjects about nutrition, body image, and more in the sport of gymnastics.
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Is it a rebuilding season for your gymnast this year? It’s hard to sit on the sidelines when everyone else is competing. We have a LOT of gymnasts in this situation right now, and honestly I am so grateful we get to support them. They are taking advantage of an unfortunate situation to dial in their fueling to support health and a strong comeback). And for many, it was wakeup call to the fact their nutrition wasn't adequate to support everything they were trying to do in and out of the gym.&n...
This biggest mistake we’re seeing high level gymnasts make right now is… Only eating WHEN and IF they “feel hungry enough”… “my gymnast eats well” is 100% subjective This can lead to "acute" underfueling. And a lot of gymnasts are already chronically underfueled, so this is a double whammy to acutely underfuel on competition day as well. Here's what we're seeing from gymnasts right now: 🤸♀️If the comp is early afternoon, they try to sleep in as late as possible and have 1 meal be...
Is it really a food allergy or something else entirely? Are stomach aches, bloating, and food fears always caused by specific foods? And how do parents know when eliminating foods is helping… or quietly making things worse? In this episode, we’re tackling one of the most confusing topics in youth athletics: food allergies vs. food intolerances and how both intersect with under-fueling in gymnastics. I’m joined by a repeat guest and allergy-immunology nurse practitioner (and fellow...
Is it really normal for a gymnast to not get her period until much later? Are painful cramps, extreme PMS, or mood swings just “part of being a teenage girl”? And is birth control truly the best — or only — solution? In this episode, we’re asking the questions most families were never taught to ask about periods, nutrition, and hormonal health in gymnastics. Because missing periods, severe cramps, intense PMS, and being put on birth control “to manage symptoms” aren’t rites of passage — they’...
When parents hear “fueling,” they often assume their gymnast is doing okay—but our recent gymnast fueling audits revealed a very different story. Here’s what we found: 2 out of 3 gymnasts had already fallen off their growth curve.Most were missing 25% or more of their daily nutrition needs.Many were already at moderate to high risk for RED-S, not because they were training 30 hours a week like elites—most averaging closer to 20 hours per week.And the scary part? A lot of these gymnasts alread...
If you’re honest, you’ve probably asked yourself this at least once: We’re trying so hard… so why does nutrition still feel so confusing? In this episode of the Gymnast Nutritionist Podcast, I break down one of the biggest disconnects I see with families of competitive gymnasts: parents believe they’re fueling well, but key pieces are missing that directly impact health, growth, and performance. Nutrition advice is everywhere, and much of it is designed for adults not growing, training ...
If you’re honest, you’ve probably asked yourself this at least once: We’re doing all the things… so why isn’t it working? You can work hard and still not get results. In this episode, we’re asking the hard question: are you and your gymnast really putting in the work for results you want? What does this actually looks like and why so many families are stuck despite “doing everything right”? If your gymnast can’t stay healthy even though you’re “working on nutrition,” it’s time to look closer....
As competition season approaches, many parents are suddenly seeing more fear, anxiety, and mental blocks in the gym. What’s surprising is how often these struggles show up right as families start asking about fueling. This episode explores the connection between gymnast mental blocks and nutrition, and why emotional challenges often intensify when the body is under stress. First, this is common. The pressure of upcoming meets can absolutely trigger mental blocks, and many gymnasts benefit fro...
If you’re listening to this episode, there’s a good chance you’ve been there... standing in a hotel room, a gym lobby, or in the car on competition morning while your gymnast says, “I’m not hungry,” or flat-out refuses to eat anything. And you’re left wondering, what do I do with this gymnast who refuses to eat before a competition? Is this normal? Am I overreacting? And… is it actually safe for them to compete? So today we’re going to talk through exactly what to do when yo...
“My gymnast just wants to feel light when competing.” If you’ve heard this phrase, or your gymnast has said it herself, this episode is for you. When a gymnast says she wants to feel light when competing, she might THINK she's talking about a number on the scale. But she’s really trying to describe something deeper. She wants to move faster. She wants to feel powerful and explosive. She wants skills to feel effortless instead of heavy and stuck. She wants to look dynamic, confident, and sharp...
Is it “too late” to start working on your gymnast’s nutrition this competition season? Short answer: “NO” SO MUCH can happen in just a few weeks of proper, adequate fueling to support your gymnast’s health, recovery, and performance. Some things can improve really quickly ✅ Heavy legs/muscles (often from inadequate carb intake/poor recovery) ✅ Fatigue/lethargy ✅ Headaches/stomachaches ✅ Poor mood/emotion regulation ✅ Energy, power, endurance during long workouts Other things take more time ❌ ...
Does your gymnast really need to eat less when she’s injured? This is one of the most common and most damaging assumptions parents make during time off from the gym. In this episode, we break down gymnast nutrition needs during injury and why cutting food, especially carbohydrates, often does the opposite of what parents intend. When a gymnast is injured, her body isn’t “doing less.” It’s working overtime. And 99% of high level gymnasts have no business eating less during recovery. Under-fuel...
Gymnast parents have been joining me for a FREE weekly webinar each week of December: the FUELED Comp Season Series. Each Tuesday this month at noon MT, I’m covering a key topic your gymnast needs to navigate competition season successfully. So today let's talk about Competition Nutrition Strategies from Level 5-10 and Elite gymnasts With the 2026 competition season upon us, we're going to focus on the varying needs for competition nutrition strategies for gymnastics at the ...
Gymnast parents have been joining me for a FREE weekly webinar each week of December: the FUELED Comp Season Series. Each Tuesday this month at noon MT, I’m covering a key topic your gymnast needs to navigate competition season successfully. So let's talk about how every tenth matters...would your gymnast’s nutrition score an 8.0 or a 9.5+? Your gymnast SAYS she wants to do well this competition season...but does her nutrition really reflect her goals? Most gymnasts' f...
ICYMI… this week we launched our new, FREE, 4-week Zoom webinar: the FUELED Comp Season Series. Each Tuesday this month at noon MT, I’m covering a key topic your gymnast needs to navigate competition season successfully. First up: injuries, immune health, endurance/performance issues, and REDs during comp season. In this episode, we’re diving into the overlooked connection between why so many gymnasts struggle with injuries, illness, and performance decline right when it matters most and REDs...
In this episode, we’re having an honest conversation about gymnast bodies, growth, and the persistent (and harmful) belief that adults can (or should) control how a gymnast develops. You cannot tell where a gymnast is in their growth trajectory just by looking at them or comparing them to their teammates. Growth is completely individual. It's shaped by genetics, prior growth patterns, and the adequacy of nutrition. And yet, the sport continues to act like height, weight, or body type de...
Welcome back to Fueled Gymnast Fall, a podcast series on what you need to know about fueling your gymnast as we move into this next competitive season. Today, we’re tackling a major issue I see EVERY. SINGLE. YEAR: the mid-season implosion. A lot of gymnasts start the season in one of two places: ✔️ Looking strong but already running on fumes, or ✔️ Already dealing with nagging injuries, chronic fatigue, or inconsistent training. By January or February, the wheels start to ...
Welcome back to Fueled Gymnast Fall, a podcast series on what you need to know about fueling your gymnast as we move into this next competitive season. Today I'm addressing a sensitive subject for those gymnasts who are injured and not quite sure what season will look like this year. If your gymnast was injured last season or is struggling with an major injury this preseason, it can feel frustrating and discouraging. But this doesn’t have to be a wasted time in her gymnastics journey. I...
Welcome back to Fueled Gymnast Fall, a podcast series on what you need to know about fueling your gymnast as we move into this next competitive season. Today I'm answering a question constantly asked around this time of the year, "Should a gymnast “Clean Up” their diet before comp season starts?" As competition season approaches, many parents and gymnasts start thinking about “cleaning up” their diet; cutting out sugar, eating more salads, or trying to be “extra healthy.” Maybe the gym or coa...
Welcome to Fueled Gymnast Fall, a podcast series on what you need to know about fueling your gymnast as we move into this next competitive season. And on today's episode, we're diving right in with the question, "Are so many gymnasts really underfueled?" Yes, yes they are… Why do parents and coaches not believe us? Maybe it's because we are so conditioned to seeing “teeny, tiny pre-pubescents gymnasts” especially at the upper levels that we assume this is normal. So many parents a...
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