Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

Coaches: Words matter. Telling an athlete to “lose weight” might seem performance-focused but it can trigger disordered eating, damage confidence, and negatively impact performance. Even if the intent is well-meaning, athletes don’t hire a coach for body criticism. They need someone who cares about strength, power, skill, effort, energy, fatigue management, recovery, consistency, confidence, joy, longevity and mental and physical health. Strong and successful athletes come in different sizes, shapes and weights. Coaches: don’t put your focus on making your athletes smaller. Make their potential bigger.

  Every four years, the Winter Olympics remind the world that athletic excellence comes in many shapes, sizes, and stories. From curling, ice skating and short-track speed skating to cross country skiing and hockey, one truth stands out:  your body is your greatest strength, not something to be minimized for someone else’s approval. At the Milano-Cortina Winter Games, athletes understand that to rise to your best, you need to keep your body fueled. Thousands of competitors are eating with purpose, not restriction. Olympic dining halls have served enormous quantities of pasta, pizza, eggs, cheese, and pastries - not as indulgence, but as high-performance fuel to meet the incredible energy demands of needing to compete at the highest level. Organizers of the games estimated athletes consumed the equivalent of 1,800 meters of pizza over the course of the Games, essential calories for rigorous competition. Olympians know something important many of us often forget:  your body...

In a world where elite athletes push the limits of human performance, people still feel entitled to comment on the bodies of athletes. From social media to sports commentary, athlete bodies are constantly judged, praised, picked apart, or criticized. Too often, weight and appearance overshadows performance.Here's the truth: this obsession with how athletes look is harmful and needs to stop. Athletes Are Not objects Athletes train to perform, not to conform to body image standards. Their bodies are shaped by the demands of their sport, proper fueling, and genetics, while maintaining optimal health - not by trends or ideals. Commenting on how those bodies look— muscular, lean, heavy, not "feminine" or "masculine" enough—devalues their hard work because of superficial judgment. Focusing on an athlete's appearance or weight detracts from their performance, leading to a skewed perception of what success truly means. Damaging to Mental Health No athlete is immune ...

In a world where elite athletes push the limits of human performance, people still feel entitled to comment on the bodies of athletes. From social media to sports commentary, athlete bodies are constantly judged, praised, picked apart, or criticized. Too often, weight and appearance overshadows performance. Here's the truth: this obsession with how athletes look is harmful and needs to stop. Athletes are not training to meet beauty standards. They’re training to compete, to excel, to inspire, to protect their mental and physical health and to maintain joy for the sport that they love. Athletes deserve respect without conditions. Stop obsessing over what athletes’ bodies look like.  Let’s shift the focus from appearance to achievement.

  It's World Championship season for triathlon. Over the next three months, athletes from around the world will be competing in the Ironman World Championship in Nice, France (men), the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii (women) and in the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Marbella, Spain (men and women). There are also other events like the T100 in Qatar and the World Triathlon Championships in Australia. With the excitement of World Championship season comes extra attention on podcasts, YouTube videos, articles and forums. With so much hype around these sporting events, it's acceptable to discuss athlete favorites and dark horses as well as making assumptions for how the races may unfold. However, there's growing attention and discussion around the weights of many notable athletes.  Commenting on an athlete's body image carries a significant risk of damaging mental and physical health. Publicly discussing an athlete's weight, size, or general appearance, ...

In today’s culture, we are bombarded with artificially-produced, highly edited imagines of flawlessly sculpted bodies. As a result, achieving the “perfect” body has become the dominant measure of self-worth. Thinness has become a symbol of power, moral superiority, and even a measure of fitness/wellness. We have been taught that we can assume someone’s health status based on how they look or their weight. Weight stigma and anti-fat biases continue to strengthen these harmful beliefs. For example, how many times have you praised a friend or family member for losing weight? Are you more likely to follow health, diet and fitness advice from a fitness influencer who is lean or defined than one who may not have an “ideal” body? Has a doctor ever told you that losing weight will improve your health? Society has very strong views on how we should look, which impacts our thoughts about ourselves, which can then influence our food and exercise behaviors. Poor body image is often linked to dieti...

  Photo credit: Brittany Bevis What do you think about your body when.... Standing on the podium in first place, yet you feel "too fat." Achieving a personal best time, yet your legs/butt feels "too big." Doubting your abilities because your stomach feels "too heavy." Blaming your subpar performance on your weight.  Lacking self confidence because you don't look like other athletes. In each of these scenarios is an athlete who believes one of two things: That looking differently will improve athletic success or a current look is the reason for lack of athletic success. Despite putting in the training and being physically prepared for an event, actual acceptance of one-self can be a major athletic limiter. Inside, you have internalized feelings of being inadequate because of a look, a comparison or an assumption. Poor body image can wreak havoc on performance, physical health and mental well-being. There are great consequences to trying to conform to r...

Representation Matters                 These are pictures from 2021 Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga. These pictures were taken on the same day, of the same body.  I share these pictures side by side as it's a reminder how the media and advertising has brainwashed athletes to believe that there is an ideal body type for sport. And without good self-esteem, body love and confidence, it becomes normal to be ashamed, embarrassed and disgusted by the body on the left. As a result, your body becomes something that you need to "fix" often through overexercising and undereating.  I came across this IG post from  Katie Moon   and it got me thinking about representation.  How many times have you been proud of your athletic performance or workout but ashamed of how your body looked? As a result, you didn't share the picture of yourself performing. Or, perhaps you blamed a poor athletic performance or workout on your body? Or, your awesome a...

Whether you are an athlete or coach, you know there are constant conversations in sport discussing weight and performance. The constant narrative says that you must lose weight in order to improve as an athlete.  It's as if the only way to be a successful athlete is to be a smaller version of yourself. Although there are truths in the weight and performance discussion, there are also many false beliefs and misunderstandings. While there are healthy ways to optimize body composition and to improve health, the influence and pressures of diet culture, social media, old school coaching methods and beliefs and sport body sterotypes make it difficult for many athletes to maintain a healthy relationship with food, the body and exercise.  Self imposed beliefs about being "too heavy" for sport are reinforced by the media, coaches, influencers, "experts" and commentators who often highlight an athlete's body shape, size or weight over skill, performance or effort. The...

  These are pictures from 2021 Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga. These pictures were taken on the same day, of the same body.  I share these pictures side by side as it's a reminder how the media and advertising has brainwashed athletes to believe that there is an ideal body type for sport. And without good self-esteem, body love and confidence, it becomes normal to be ashamed, embarrassed and disgusted by the body on the left. As a result, your body becomes something that you need to "fix" often through overexercising and undereating.  I came across this IG post from Katie Moon  and it got me thinking about representation.  How many times have you been proud of your athletic performance but ashamed of how your body looked? As a result, you didn't share the picture of yourself performing. Or, perhaps blamed a poor athletic performance on your body. Or, your awesome athletic performance was dismissed because you didn't look like an athlete.  When it comes to women i...

  As an athlete, you may not realize how much your thoughts influence your actions.  How you think about your body matters. As I begin a new style of training for my upcoming events, I am focused on two things from my body - strength and health. But well before I decided to take on the new challenge of XTRI (think Ironman distance but more extreme weather conditions, elevation and terrain), I've always focused on developing a strong body in motion. In our body image and appearance obsessed culture that has encouraged us to place too much importance on how we look, I want to make it clear that a 'strong' body is NOT a look. Strength is something you feel. It's an action. It's not a look, a size, shape or number. The reason for this is because your body is functional....it's not an object.  When you think about or see your body and your mind immediately focuses on your flaws, what you wish looked differently or what you feel you need to fix, you are objectify...

Trigger warning. This post talks about dieting, weight and body image. You may have noticed that your wardrobe changes from season to season. Warm weather often means less or lighter clothing compared to the layers that keep you warm in the winter. Although we are still a few months away from summer, it's worth the discussion of how your body image impacts a warm weather getaway. If you struggle with body image issues, you may find yourself hyper aware of your body in anticipation for your upcoming vacation. You may fear wearing a swimsuit or having your photo taken. You may worry about systemic fatphobia issues during travel and begin to internalize messages that your body isn't good enough. You may begin to "body check" things like your weight, size or shape. You may suddenly begin to compare yourself to other people, likely making you feel inadequate. Anytime you feel heightened awareness of your body, you may feel the urge to diet or overexercise in order to chan...

For many people, November begins the season of gratitude. Starting with Thanksgiving - whcih literally has THANKS in the name, it's important to ask yourself how often do you thank your body? Learning to quiet the body bashing and negative body thoughts is not easy. The mental picture you have of your body is constantly compared to an image of what you think you should look like. This is due to the social impact of body image. Seeing images over and over again is linked to poor body image and feelings that your own body is not normal. As a result, you may shame, criticize and hate certain parts of your body.  Body image refers to how you see your body. What you believe about your appearance, how you feel about your body and how you move, nourish and use your body.  Gratitude is the expression of appreciation for what one has. It involves being thankful.  The human body is incredible. Just think about all your body can do and has done for you - crossing finishing lines, br...

  With so many ways to enhance performance and to optimize health, two of the most popular sought-after strategies include diet and body composition changes. When done correctly, performance may improve. However, it’s not uncommon for athletes to engage in unhealthy weight control methods, resulting in great emotional and physical consequences. Whether for aesthetics, competitive leanness, body dissatisfaction or in pursuit of an ideal “race weight,” athletes often place unrealistic expectations on performance and their bodies. What may start as an innocent attempt to lean-up or to lose a few pounds, can easily spiral out of control, undermining health, training, recovery, performance and mental well-being. If you are a coach, you have a responsibility to take care of your athlete - physically, emotionally and mentally.  When your athlete feels pressure to achieve a leaner body composition, an increased fascination with nutrition, body fat, weight and calories can develop into...

After spending several weeks in Europe, I find it challenging to adjust to the American food culture. When I return, I am quickly reminded of the dysfunctional eating habits of many Americans. Now you may be assuming that I am talking about the oversized portions, heavily processed snacks and convenient fast food that have become normalized in the USA and are commonly contributed to obsesity and health problems. Although the food industry is partly to blame, it's actually the diet industry that I despise. As we accumulated cycling miles and elevation in the French Alps, I spent very little time on social media. When I eventually opened my Facebook app and started scrolling, I was quickly reminded of our nation's unhealthy obsession with healthy eating. After a few posts talking about intermittent fasting and low carb diets, I had to close the app as I became so frustrated to see what I was reading. Certainly, my situation is a bit unique in that Karel's family lives in Cze...

I love my body and what it allows me to do. However, it wasn't always this way.  It took a long time to recognize, appreciate and acknowledge my strengths. Trying to look like someone else is pointless. Once I started to focus on my own needs, things started to change. I started to get stronger, fitter and healthier.  When dealing with insecurities about the body (often as a result of wanting to look like the societal norm of 'athlete body') the common approach for athletes is to undereat and underfuel. But not giving the body what it needs to perform (and to stay healthy) shows a lack of respect for your body. And it certainly doesn't make you a better athlete.  When you register for an event and commit to training for that event, you are an athlete. As an athlete, you have a responsibility to take care of your body. This means paying attention to your needs, respecting your body and not letting others affect how you feel about and fuel your body. As an athlete, you ne...

  Today is International Women's Day. A day to celebrate women's achievement, raise awareness against bias, stereotypes and discrimination and to take action for equality. A day to move closer and to eventually achieve a gender equal world.  Although every day should be an important day to celebrate women's achievements while calling out inequality, today is an important day to remind female athletes that the power to change starts from within. When you take this approach, the world is better off.  Far too many young girls, teenagers and young adults believe that the external view of their body defines their perception of their physical self. And when a female doesn't feel good about her looks, she may be hesitant (or refuse) to participate in sports, try out for a club, join a team or lack confidence in a professional setting. Many little girls grow up idealizing certain celebrities, athletes and influencers with the idea that they must look a certain way. These girls ...