Most gymnasts are wildly inconsistent with their nutrition. They skip breakfast or lunch, or they get out of practice so late they skip dinner. But one question I get asked by parents a lot is will a few "good days" of nutrition and fueling help balance out the erratic days of fueling for their gymnasts? There’s a new research study just published in the MEDICINE & SCIENCE IN SPORTS & EXERCISE that highlights a really important concept about fueling gymnasts. I won’t bore you with all th...
Jul 21, 2025•19 min•Season 1Ep. 161
Is your gymnast attending any college camps this summer?! Does your gymnast know how to optimize her fueling at college camps to stand out and make a lasting impression? Summer camps are like a rite of passage for gymnasts. They're usually a fun time to make new friends, try new skills, and train in an upbeat atmosphere. But as they get older, and especially as they progress in the levels and reach the recruiting stage, these camps start to feel more like an audition. At this stage, gymnasts nee...
Jul 14, 2025•15 min•Season 1Ep. 160
In this episode, we’re diving into a hot topic that comes up all the time in conversations with parents and gymnasts: Should you allow your gymnast to drink an energy drink? It's tempting to reach for that quick boost—especially during long summer practices or exhausting meet weekends. But there are some serious concerns we need to talk about when it comes to the gymnast energy drink debate. And it doesn't help that your gymnast is seeing these trendy drinks promoted all over social media. We’ll...
Jul 07, 2025•35 min
If your gymnast is putting in the work—20, 25, even 30 hours a week in the gym—but still not building muscle or getting noticeably stronger, it’s time to take a closer look at what’s really going on. In today’s episode, I’m breaking down one of the most common frustrations I hear from parents and gymnasts: "She trains so much… so why isn’t she getting stronger or putting on muscle?" Spoiler: It’s not usually about protein. Here’s the truth: Most gymnasts are not struggling to get enough protein—...
Jun 30, 2025•26 min•Season 1Ep. 158
Not all sports dietitians are created equal—especially when it comes to working with young, developing gymnasts. In this episode, I’m breaking down why your gymnast needs a pediatric/adolescent sports dietitian , not just any sports RD who’s used to fueling adult athletes. The nutritional needs of gymnasts are not the same as grown adults like college or professional athletes. Your gymnast is still growing, developing, and navigating puberty—all while training like an elite athlete. That’s a uni...
Jun 23, 2025•22 min•Season 1Ep. 157
Does every gymnast need LESS carbs (or food in general) on lighter training days or rest days? This is a HOT topic in the gymnastics world and I have some thoughts👉🏻👉🏻👉🏻 Every gymnast needs a different amount of carbohydrate each day. Every gymnast needs a different amount of total energy (food -> calories -> carbs, protein, fat) each day . But here's the kicker: HOW much they need will vary greatly with health and growth status, training hours/intensity, current performance, etc. So...
Jun 16, 2025•25 min•Season 1Ep. 156
Things are changing rapidly with NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) which has only made NCAA recruiting more competitive in the gymnastics world. Besides NIL, most gymnasts are trying to do NCAA gymnastics to get their education paid for (and if they're smart, they'll pursue a degree that means something and open doors). There are lots of ways to make good money, but getting a good education is a good place to start. A LOT of gymnasts and parents think they have all the time in the world to be in tip t...
Jun 09, 2025•44 min•Season 1Ep. 155
If you haven’t heard the news, The Balanced Gymnast® Program is finally open for enrollment! TBG® Program is Christina's signature nutrition coaching program, perfect level 5-10/elite female gymnasts and parents! Investing in your gymnast's nutrition can feel scary, so this episode features a sample coaching call recorded directly from one of our live program calls all about Performance Nutrition + Hydration. If you join TBG® Program, you'll get access to live calls every other week with Christi...
Jun 03, 2025•6 min
Hey there, gymnastics parents and dedicated gymnasts! Today we’re diving into a super important (and often overlooked) topic— the most common fueling mistakes gymnasts make during the summer months . Summer is supposed to feel like a break, right? But for competitive gymnasts, it’s go time in a different way. Off-season training might mean no competitions, but the grind doesn’t stop. We’re talking upgrades, strength cycles, conditioning, and building that rock-solid endurance needed for a strong...
Jun 02, 2025•21 min•Season 1Ep. 154
When it comes to performance, energy, and recovery, what your gymnast eats matters —but just as important is why and how they eat it. In today’s episode, Christina Anderson, MS, RDN, CSSD—sports dietitian and founder of The Balanced Gymnast® Program—dives into the critical differences between fueling vs. snacking for gymnasts . You’ll learn why not all food choices are created equal in a high-performance sport like gymnastics. While snacks can be fun and convenient, they often lack the strategic...
May 26, 2025•44 min•Season 1Ep. 153
Hey friends, Christina here — your go-to gymnast nutritionist. Today, we’re diving into a super important topic that I talk about all the time with gymnasts, parents, and even coaches and healthcare providers: myths about gymnast growth + development. There are still so many fears and misunderstandings floating around when it comes to how growth, puberty, and performance intersect in our sport. And let me tell you — those fears can be loud . But they’re not based in science, and they’re not help...
May 19, 2025•17 min•Season 1Ep. 152
The season is finally over—and let’s be real, everyone’s exhausted. Gymnasts are sore, parents are tired, and coaches are running on fumes. Maybe you're not ready to even thing about nutrition and summer training for your gymnast. But here’s the thing… summer training is short. Most gymnasts only have 14–16 weeks before pre-season ramps up again, and what happens now sets the tone for the entire next year. In this episode, we’re talking all about nutrition and summer training for gymnasts—how to...
May 12, 2025•26 min
With summer training underway, we’re bringing back one of our most important conversations. In this episode, we dive into how denial can interfere with a gymnast’s nutrition — and why addressing it head-on is crucial for performance, growth, and injury prevention. Whether you’re a parent, coach, or gymnast, this is a must-listen as you prepare for the demands of summer training season. (Originally aired as Episode 118) Today's podcast topic is all about how sometimes parents and athletes are in ...
May 05, 2025•25 min•Season 1Ep. 150
In this episode of our Coaches Series, we’re diving into a topic that sparks a lot of debate in the gym: snack breaks vs. performance fueling . Should gymnasts have snack breaks during practice? What’s the difference between snacking and fueling? And what responsibility does a coach have in ensuring their athletes are fueled and ready to perform at each rotation? We explore how nutrition strategies can vary dramatically between gyms, but the goal remains the same— helping gymnasts show up at eve...
Apr 28, 2025•24 min•Season 1Ep. 149
What's appropriate when it comes to coaches trying to help gymnasts with their nutrition? There is a lot to unpack here, including thoughts from both school's of thought when it comes to this subject. Often coaches feel like they have to be everything for their gymnasts, or, parents expect them to know everything even when it's outside their scope of practice. In this episode, we dive into one of the more delicate aspects of coaching: supporting gymnast nutrition . While performance and recovery...
Apr 21, 2025•45 min•Season 1Ep. 148
In today's episode, we dive into a common trap many athletes and parents fall into—trying to copy gymnast nutrition . It's an easy mindset to fall into: “I’ll just do what she does—it’s working for her!” Sound familiar? We have clients that are killing it in practice and in competitions. So I get it. It's super tempting for teammates and parents to look at these gymnasts and try and emulate what they're eating, drinking, what supplements they're taking etc. While it can look like a shortcut to s...
Apr 14, 2025•16 min
Over the past few years, I've had the privilege of connecting with countless gyms, coaches, owners, and booster clubs through our Team Talk series. The interest and support have been incredible, and we’re grateful for the opportunity to be part of your teams’ journeys. Along the way, we’ve made some key discoveries. About what truly resonates, what creates lasting impact, and where we can do better. Through the development of the TBG® Program and how we support our clients now, we've learned how...
Apr 07, 2025•23 min•Season 1Ep. 146
Why do parents wait so long to get nutrition support for their gymnast? No parent has ever told us they started working on nutrition with us and their gymnast "too early". In fact, it's almost always the opposite. When they learn how "off" their gymnast's nutrition was, how their underfueling (or not eating the right things at the right times) played a role in their performance issues and injuries... There is so much regret for not working on nutrition sooner. Bottom line, basically about 99% of...
Mar 31, 2025•35 min•Season 1Ep. 145
If you’ve been following me on Instagram or tuning into my podcast lately, you’ve probably heard me talk about HTMA testing and how it’s transforming the way we support gymnasts. But what exactly is HTMA, and why should you care? Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA) is a powerful tool that measures mineral levels in the body by analyzing a small sample of hair. This test provides a long-term view of how minerals are being utilized, stored, and excreted—offering insights that traditional bloodwork...
Mar 24, 2025•48 min•Season 1Ep. 144
Does your doctor really know what condition your gymnast is in when evaluating their nutrition and injuries? Working with pediatric/adolescent athletes is VERY different than working with professional athletes or the general population adults. Child and adolescent gymnasts train as much as professional athletes (20-30 hours/week) and yet their bodies, their physiology, their psyche is vastly different. They are not just "mini-adults" and shouldn't be treated like one. Something that really troub...
Mar 17, 2025•30 min•Season 1Ep. 143
Hopefully this is never something you encounter as a gymnastics parent. But, what do you when a gymnastics coach makes a comment about your gymnast's weight to you? Or worse, directly to them? But, it's 2025 and we're STILL having issues with coaches making inappropriate comments about gymnast's weight, body, etc. And while it might be coming from a place of "well-intentioned advice", it's ALWAYS inappropriate to tell a gymnast she needs to lose weight. There are some INCREDIBLE coaches out ther...
Mar 10, 2025•26 min•Season 1Ep. 142
TW: This is geared more towards parents + coaches If you are a gymnastics coach, health care provider, parent, etc today's podcast is crucial because I'm talking about a question that runs rampant in our sport. Specifically, how do we prevent disordered eating in gymnastics? Unfortunately, there are still WAY too many out there with outdated (and false) ideologies and beliefs about food + nutrition. And these incorrect teachings are perpetuated in too many gyms around the world. These beliefs, w...
Mar 03, 2025•56 min•Season 1Ep. 141
When it comes to fueling your gymnast, is there an advantage based on what type of school they attend? Here at The Gymnast Nutritionist®, we have clients from all walks of school life: private, public, hybrid, homeschool, you name it. And we have seen the advantages and disadvantages each situation can present. In an ideal world, your gymnast would be waking up at the same time every morning (after 9 hours of sleep of course), eating breakfast, having a mid morning snack, lunch, preworkout snack...
Feb 24, 2025•30 min•Season 1Ep. 140
This biggest mistake we’re seeing high level gymnasts make right now is… Only eating WHEN and IF they “feel hungry enough”… “my gymnast eats well” is 100% subjective This can lead to "acute" underfueling. And a lot of gymnasts are already chronically underfueled, so this is a double whammy to acutely underfuel on competition day as well. Here's what we're seeing from gymnasts right now: 🤸♀️If the comp is early afternoon, they try to sleep in as late as possible and have 1 meal before getting d...
Feb 17, 2025•16 min•Season 1Ep. 139
It's a significant topic in sports nutrition, particularly for endurance athletes, so today's podcast episode is all about understanding iron deficiency in gymnasts. In the sports nutrition world we’re super keen on screening for iron deficiency and/or iron deficiency anemia, because we know this can have major detrimental impacts on performance in all athletes. Most coaches, parents and athletes have an understanding of why iron is important in regards to endurance, stamina, power etc. But.... ...
Feb 10, 2025•39 min•Season 1Ep. 138
I hear it from parents all the time. They KNOW their gymnast isn't fueling enough for their training...BUT they worry if they bring up nutrition, they'll either give their gymnast a complex OR it'll just turn into another battle. And they just can't deal with one more thing. I totally get that it's a sensitive topic. Parents worry that if they bring up nutrition that it will cause problems with either the gymnast's relationship with food in their body...or it will cause relationship issues betwe...
Feb 03, 2025•29 min•Season 1Ep. 137
Meet season is in full swing and we're already seeing the same five mistakes gymnasts are making with their nutrition. I know competition season is already stressful enough with nerves, travel, weird session times etc. BUT too often I see gymnasts and their families IGNORE nutrition during season (except for the night before or day of) because of everything else going on. Unfortunately, this is why so many gymnasts get MORE burned out/injured as the season progresses. Why routine endurance gets ...
Jan 27, 2025•28 min•Season 1Ep. 136
Is it a rebuilding season for your gymnast this year? It’s hard to sit on the sidelines when everyone else is competing. We have a LOT of gymnasts in this situation right now, and honestly I am so grateful we get to support them. They are taking advantage of an unfortunate situation to dial in their fueling to support health and a strong comeback). And for many, it was wakeup call to the fact their nutrition wasn't adequate to support everything they were trying to do in and out of the gym. If y...
Jan 20, 2025•34 min•Season 1Ep. 135
Did you watch a real-time implosion this weekend at one of your gymnast's first big meets this competition season? If so...You're not alone! :) Comp season is just kicking off for most gymnasts so it's totally normal for first meet jitters to be making an appearance. But if your gymnast looked like a COMPLETELY different kid than the one at practice, could there be more going on? These gymnast implosions at competitions can feel like they're coming from left field...but were they actually preven...
Jan 13, 2025•24 min•Season 1Ep. 134
Is it “too late” to start working on your gymnast’s nutrition this competition season? Short answer: “NO” SO MUCH can happen in just a few weeks of proper, adequate fueling to support your gymnast’s health, recovery, and performance. Some things can improve really quickly ✅ Heavy legs/muscles (often from inadequate carb intake/poor recovery) ✅ Fatigue/lethargy ✅ Headaches/stomachaches ✅ Poor mood/emotion regulation ✅ Energy, power, endurance during long workouts Other things take more time ❌ bon...
Jan 06, 2025•29 min•Season 1Ep. 133
