Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

  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, ...

Picture source Body positivity challenges the ways in which our society presents, celebrates and views bodies.  Sadly, far too many body shapes and types have been shunned by the mainstream media or not classified as beautiful. Our society has a fixation on the "tiny" ideal and encourages everyone to fit the social standards of being lean. This is why there are so many movements promoting body positivity. Because many people feel discriminated against because their body doesn't meet the "ideal" image, the body positive movement challenges social norms and promotes the belief that all bodies - regardless of size, shape, gender, physical abilities or skin tone - should be accepted. The body positivity movement is a necessary movement but it can also be controversial - can you have a positive relationship with your body and desire weight loss/a change in your body composition?  First off, it is a myth that large bodies are unhealthy. Being bigger doesn't mean b...

Becoming more body positive is a necessary step in developing better physical, mental and emotional health. A positive body image ensures proper nutrition and fueling to support the intentional training stress that you place on your body. To move closer to your athletic goals and dreams, you must recognize that all bodies are normal bodies. In 2022, I challenge you to unlearn the messages from decades of social conditioning that only certain bodies are worth acceptance, love, happiness, success and praise. The media has created a narrow, unrealistic and inaccurate definition of healthy, athletic and beautiful. You deserve to embrace your body no matter your size, shape or appearance. We live in a world that constantly tries to tell us that our body is wrong and needs to be fixed, but just think how inspiring, empowering and encouraging our society would be if we celebrated body diversity! You may not love your body today but you can accept it and appreciate all that it does for you.

Winning my first Ironman as overall amateur female at 2017 IM Chattanooga and giving my body a huge thank you for being oh-so-amazingly strong and healthy. What do you think about your body? 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 ...

The New Year is flooded with ways to improve your health - specifically through diet and exercise.While there is nothing wrong with embarking on a new journey, the first step to improve your health is to learn to be kind to your body. To start the New Year, I wanted to share a few of my thoughts on the topics that I feel athletes become vulnerable to as it relates to diet and exercise. Athletes are very disciplined, dedicated and hard working individuals but tend to function on the side of extreme. Many athletes are so focused on an outcome that they forget to be kind to the body. Most diets and exercise plans require a lot of willpower and discipline. People fall in and out of programs because they are exhausting - mentally and physically. In turn becomes body shaming, critical judgement, self-hate and unrealistic body ideals. In other words, in a quest to become healthier, you lose sight on the first step of improving your health - being kind to your body. I hope you find the...