When "healthy" eating goes too far

The bagel might help.

“Carbon-plated shoes are great, but have you tried a bagel?” is one of my favorite quotes from our recent podcast episodes. Shout out to Amanda Katz, an Equinox trainer and running coach based in NYC for this gem.

I love how this quote succinctly highlights the ways in which athletes tend to look for the quick (and expensive!) fix before looking at the simplest (and often much cheaper) practices they could change for better performance. And it touches on a sometimes sensitive subject: eating a BAGEL.

I wish I was exaggerating when I say that almost every client I’ve worked with has some story about why, for weeks or months or sometimes years, they wouldn’t eat bagels. So many carbohydrates! Not enough protein or fiber or vitamins and minerals! A bagel couldn’t possibly be “healthy”, they thought. So they avoided them like the plague—lower-carb options felt healthier to them, like a slice of toast or a high-protein-low-carb snack bar, or fruit only, or anything to avoid the carb content of a bagel. When really, the bagel could have provided adequate carbs to support their training, all along.

Where is the line drawn between what’s healthy and what’s not?

How often is that line moving out to further extremes?

At what point is “healthy” eating actually unhealthy?

Up to 55 percent of exercisers show signs of Orthorexia.¹

Orthorexia is a preoccupation with eating healthy, to the point that it leads to negative health outcomes. Losing your period, trouble sleeping, delayed soreness and recovery from workouts, GI distress, headaches, trouble concentrating, nutrient deficiencies, injuries, food anxiety…any or all of these things could be the result of a hyper-fixation on eating ‘healthy’. Doesn’t quite paint the picture of health we have in mind, though.

It’s possible that over half of the people in your running/training group, or on any given sports team, are so concerned with healthy eating that their nutrition habits are actually negatively impacting their health and performance.

It’s possible that’s happening to you, too.

I’m a dietitian; I care about nutrition, and I know that with all the information we have easy access to, it’s easier than you may realize to take it all a little too far.

I struggled with this for years² as I literally studied nutrition and got a bachelor’s degree in nutrition science. I had too much information, and not a lot of guidance on what to do with it, while navigating tough seasons of change and stress.

This personal experience is a huge part of what led to the start of Lane 9—wanting athletes in women’s sports to have access to a different set of information, one that highlighted the risks with this type of restrictive, rigid eating, and how to fuel their bodies for sport and life without an intense set of rules.

Eating enough to sustain your body through a training cycle or season while also just, you know, being a human? That’s nutrition 101. That’s the foundation.

Then, is there a place for focusing on micronutrients and macronutrients that could improve performance? Sure. Of course! The thing is, though, that so many people are skipping step 1. Eat enough. That’s performance-enhancing, and life enhancing.

What’s healthy for you is unique, and could certainly include a bagel.

(Or not!) Take this as a gentle reminder that health is subjective and personal and not usually found in a set of rigid food and diet rules. That if your healthy nutrition habits are impacting your mental or physical health, and/or sport experience, it’s likely that the rigidity is harmful, not helpful.

And that there are so many clinicians and coaches out here who can support you!

Our Lane 9 Directory and resources are places to start, if you feel ready.

P.S.

I can’t write this without adding that to be in a place where we have abundant access to food and information and healthcare and movement is a massive privilege. Let’s not take it for granted by spending precious time, energy, and resources on the quick fixes or whims of healthism that want us to believe that being “healthier” is superior or better or more valuable.

For example: Companies removing food dyes from their products isn’t a win when we’re looking at US legislation that will remove access to healthcare and food access for millions of people. Health starts with the basics, and sometimes the bagels.

1. https://jeatdisord.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40337-023-00739-6

2. And talked about it on national TV! A wild time.