One of the major reasons for a massive shift in how athletes eat is an overwhelming obsession with energy, performance and body image. Athletes are also hungry for direction, guidance and quick fixes.
In addition to fasted training and intermittent fasting, there is a wide spectrum of diet ideologies these days - ketogenic, vegan, clean eating, Gluten free and Paleo to name a few. What's interesting is the culture around these diets and their "communities."
The dieting behaviors embraced by followers is worth discussing for eating ideologies is very cult-like. It's almost as if athletes are joining a movement and you are either in or you are out. Behind every diet is a number of extremely passionate individuals. The more rules, the greater the devotion among followers. Advocates of certain diets (or styles of eating) can often get very defensive when methods are questioned. Sadly, within every diet is a lot of unhealthy and unethical information. Question your dedicated followers and you'll quickly be attacked.
Interestingly, those who are successful with a diet often become more credible when it comes to offering advice. It's almost as if those who can succeed the best are given higher authority to promote the diet. Sadly, this is almost always independent of nutrition background. Often, those who lose the most weight, can fast the longest or perform the best on a certain diet quickly become an expert and chief advocate of the diet. As a very important reminder, what works for one person doesn't give that person a right to give advice on nutrition.
As a professional in this field (with a license to prescribe dietary advice), I find it important to not be tied to one diet belief. While there are healthy eating components that everyone should follow, dietary choices and patterns can differ. There's no one-size-fits-all approach to eating - especially when it comes to health, weight loss, body composition or performance. Genetics, metabolism, culture, emotions, economics and health status all influence eating patterns and should be concerned when personalizing a diet that is sustainable and health and performance promoting.
If you are following a diet hot topic and its working for you - that's wonderful. But if you are questioning if you should be doing fasted workouts, putting your body into ketosis, going vegan or giving up sugar, dairy and grains, be mindful that diet does play a role in health and performance but food is not the answer to every health and performance concern. There's great power in food but food isn't the be all end all. Your diet needs to be flexible and shouldn't take over your life. If you experience shame, guilt, anxiety or stress because you can't be perfect with your diet, you are falling into a dietary trap that isn't right for you or your body.
Diet hot topics will never go away - especially when athletes are eager to find the "next best thing" to help improve performance or body composition. Athletes are overwhelmed by choice so it makes sense that athletes will seek a style of eating that has strict rules and a diet "leader" to reduce confusion. As a human being, you have a responsibility to your body and that means not believing everything that you hear. There's a lot of bad (and sometimes dangerous) advice out there - especially on the internet, in forums, on Youtube and from podcasts. When you are vulnerable for a health change (or performance boost), it can be difficult to decipher good from bad advice.
It's important to take charge of your health and find ways that work for you to help you reach your performance goals. That being said, be cautious with online diet communities, forums and podcasts as the advice you receive may be counterproductive to your health and performance goals.
If you have a health or performance concern or question, consult with a knowledgeable and credible professional, such as a Board Certified Sport Dietitian.