145: Overcoming Eating Disorders As A Dietitian + Athlete

Female Athlete Nutrition

In this episode of the Female Athlete Nutrition podcast, I talk with Heidi Strickler, a fellow Registered Sports Dietitian specializing in female athletes, eating disorders, REDS and amenorrhea. As well as being an athlete herself, Heidi has overcome her own nutrition and mindset challenges, and uses these experiences to benefit her work today. Here, Heidi vulnerably shares her personal 12-year battle with an eating disorder during high school, college, and her early career as a dietitian. Beginning with an obsession with healthy eating and restriction, Heidi’s struggles morphed into binging and purging, alongside a disordered relationship with movement competing as a top collegiate athlete. Heidi talks about reaching rock bottom and how treatment helped her climb her way out, gaining newfound mental freedom and inner peace. We discuss eating disorder recovery, its nonlinear trajectory and the danger of unrealistic expectations. For Heidi, and many of our clients, recovery is a practice of actively questioning your motives for your food and movement choices, identifying disordered thoughts, and maintaining healthy habits, like always fueling before workouts.

A lifelong athlete, competing in a variety of sports from cycling and trail running, to snowshoeing and climbing, Heidi talks about how her relationship with movement has evolved. We explore what a healthy exercise relationship looks like, one motivated by joy and curiosity rather than punishment and a desire to change your body. We contrast the consequences of under-fueling, like injuries and menstrual changes, with how good running in a well-fueled body feels! Heidi shares her business, Heidi Strickler Nutrition, before we finish off with our usual end of the podcast questions.

Check out Heidi’s website (coming this Fall): www.heidistricklernutrition.com

Follow Heidi on Instagram @hkstrickler_sportsrd and me, your host Lindsey Cortes, on Instagram @female.athlete.nutrition

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In this episode we talk about:

5:00 5:00 Heidi’s personal nutrition struggles; the impact of studying to become a dietitian

10:50 12 years of eating disorders: from restriction to binging and purging

16:30 Reaching rock bottom and eating disorder treatment

18:30 Being a dietitian with an eating disorder

25:00 Recovery is worth it! The realities of recovery: body acceptance and disordered thoughts

29:40 Being an athlete vs looking like one; injuries and underfuelling

32:45 Redefining your relationship with movement; running in a well fuelled body

39:00 Recovery expectations: performance, physical health, mindset, and body image

41:30 Identifying disordered food and exercise thoughts and behaviors; being curious and learning to trust your body

46:50 Why ED recovery is so hard: eating and exercising can be both healthy and unhealthy!

53:45 Heidi’s practice helping athletes fuel better: Heidi Strickler Nutrition

56:30 End of the podcast questions