Ep 104: Dietitian & Athlete Let’s Go of Diets & Disordered Eating

Feb 9, 2022


Are you an athlete, a pro athlete, or somebody who just goes to the gym?

Do you find yourself obsessing with sports and counting calories most of the time?

Regardless of what you are and whatever situation you are in, there is much more of you than just sports. And your body deserves the care, the food, and the nutrition it needs.

And exercise and sports must be something that gives you joy, not a chore that drags you down.

Lindsey Elizabeth Cortes MS RD CSSD is a Sports Dietitian, entrepreneur, and lifelong runner. Her mission is to help female athletes overcome disordered eating and use food as fuel to perform at their highest level.

As a former Division 1 Track & Field athlete and still lifelong athlete, Lindsey knows the importance of fueling to perform. But unfortunately, far too many female athletes fall into the trap of underfueling, overtraining, disordered eating, and more. She is on a mission to stop that – to empower female athletes to understand food, have fun with food, and of course, fuel their athletic dreams.

She has worked as a sports dietitian for collegiate athletes at schools including the University of Georgia, Florida State University, and University of Texas San Antonio. She also worked as the tactical dietitian for Air Force Special Operations for many years and continues to support the US military through various contracts. But now, Lindsey focuses solely on her business Rise Up Nutrition. She provides 1:1 and group nutrition coaching programs. Lindsey is very active on social media @female.athlete.nutrition and is the host of the Female Athlete Nutrition podcast to educate and empower other female athletes to become fierce in their mindset, fit in their bodies, and fueled to perform!

In this episode, Lindsey Elizabeth shares how important it is for you to give your body the right food and nutrition it needs; how can you become the best athlete or the best at what you aspire to be when you fail in that aspect? She also talks about red flags that something is wrong with your eating habits and what you must do about it.

She also made it a point to say that food is good, and it is actually neutral and that you must have an empowered choice to choose food according to your physical, financial health, and even social setting. It’s about choosing food that makes you happy at the moment.

“When I look back on my college, I was so like, how come I’m not performing? After all these years of training so hard and controlling my diet, how come you’re not performing well? Because maybe you need not to push your body so hard and not control your diet so much.”
– Lindsey Elizabeth Cortes

What you will learn from today’s episode:

  • 03:45 – What it was like every day having a disordered eating and how it led her to become a dietitian from being an athlete
  • 11:20 – Making a pivot in sports nutrition, what made her do it, and the best thing about it
  • 18:03 – Sports, the drive, perfectionism, undereating, and taking care of oneself
  • 23:31 – Are you having a Ph.D. in calorie-counting?
  • 28:58 – Becoming the best athlete and treating your body right
  • 36:49 – The two biggest things people come to her for as a result of undereating or underfueling
  • 39:28 – Talking about the red flags of disordered eating
  • 42:45 – There is so much more to you than just sports
  • 44:18 – Stepping away only to come back stronger
  • 47:55 – What defines an athlete
  • 52:04 – The right mindset around food for people with health concerns
  • 57:07 – Looking at your life as a canvas and being empowered by your choice

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