A coach tells female athletes to fuel for performance, not size. She lost her period, broke bones, and stayed miserable chasing extreme thinness. Eating more and building strength actually improves what matters: how you play.
Female athletes, please start fueling for performance, not for size. I can't tell you the number of girls who come into my coaching programs and tell me, I need to lose a little bit of weight, I need to lean up a little bit, I need to get smaller. Usually this is for one of two reasons. Reason number one is they think that getting smaller or shrinking down is going to somehow make them perform better. And reason number two makes me super sad, and I've been in this boat. It's usually that female athletes are being constantly fed these possibly airbrushed health and wellness fitness models models who are constantly lifting up their shirts to show their shredded 12-pack. And these athletes are thinking, to be healthy, to be fit, to be attractive, that's what that looks like, that's where I need to get. So first, let me squash the idea that being smaller helps you perform better. That is not the case. Sure, there's always going to be some athletes who actually maybe need to lose a little bit of fat, and that's okay. But most of you, 95% of you, you're great. Chase strong, don't chase skinny. And I promise you're going to feel so much better, and you're gonna— and you're going to perform so much better. College coaches ain't looking for a attack here. They're looking for you to be able to put that ball in the hoop. I promise you're going to perform better the more you eat, not by continually cutting and restricting food. And now number 2, when I was a younger athlete, I've been in that spot. I chased being small, I chased being shredded as possible, and I promise you it doesn't bring happiness. It actually can result in a loss period, which will result in more brittle bones, injuries, stress fractures. It's okay to want to be strong, it's okay to want to be fit, but please don't let these models on Instagram working out 10 hours a day who have no goals of athletic achievement tell you what to eat and tell you what to do. My girls, chase strong over skinny any day.
