In Conversation with FED Collaborative's Mel Lodge
ICYMI Mel is doing the real work by translating REDs research into digestible takeaways and *doing* the REDs research we need
Tune into this episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your shows.
Melissa (Mel) Lodge, an elite runner and PhD candidate researching Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs) joined us on this week’s episode of the Lane 9 Project podcast. You may know her from her informative Instagram account, FED_collaborative. In this conversation we covered everything from her entry into competitive running, puberty, how she actually wasn’t ashamed of her period thanks to a house full of menstruating older sisters, and yet, the way her struggle with disordered eating began around that time.
As a young athlete, she resisted the body changes that came along with puberty, and it triggered changes in how she was eating and training. This would follow her through her collegiate running years, along with a string of bone stress injuries.
She had a solid team around her, having fortunate proximity to Dr. Kate Ackerman (IYKYK!), and a coach who sensed what was going on. And still, it took years for her recovery to settle in, and for her health to improve.
Awareness helps, but doesn’t solve the problem
“I think that more awareness is needed because I think that my experience around the menstrual cycle and periods was actually pretty unique,” Mel shares. But even with her comfort around bleeding, competing, and being a menstruating athlete, she wasn’t ready for all the things that come along with puberty for female athletes. And that’s true not only for the athletes themselves, but also the coaches and providers who work with them, most of whom aren’t equipped (or willing) to start or have these conversations.
The more conversations we have with providers and coaches who are interested in the provider network we’re building, the more we hear that, sure, REDs is more widely known than it was maybe even just a few years ago, and still, there are few if any standard processes within team cultures and athletics when it comes to treating it.
Mel is working on the solutions.
ICYMI: Just a few years ago, Mel created FED Collaborative, an Instagram-based resource (linked above), to break down scientific insights on menstrual health, REDs, and nutrition for the rest of us. She spends her days reading and conducting research, but even as a PhD candidate, the language is sometimes indigestible.
“I wanted to make that process easier for people,” Mel explains. So she spends her spare time translating academic findings into easier-to-read, actionable information for athletes, parents, providers and coaches. And we’re all benefiting from it!
What She’s Learning
Mel’s current research aims to deepen our understanding of REDs, especially in collegiate and elite female athletes1. Coming soon, a we talk about in the episode(!): A paper on the prevalence of REDs, suggesting (at least for now, with this data set) that it’s most common in collegiate athletes. It makes sense, of course, when we consider the whole picture of that time in an athlete’s life. And, it’s worth noting, we see REDs across the lifespan of an athlete, regardless of whether they ever compete at a high level. (That’s, you know, why we’re here!)
We’re so grateful to Mel for the work she’s doing, and, maybe even more so, how she’s shedding a light on it. There are so many ways we hope to collaborate with her in the future, this is just the beginning.
Hey! If you haven’t yet…
Leave a rating and review of the podcast! We know you hear this all the time, but that’s because it’s TRUE: Podcast apps love when shows get some love. Give us some stars, leave a note, and we assure you those ~2 minutes will help us tremendously. So, TYSM!
Tap the heart on this post! Because, as with all things, Substack loves to see the engagement, y’all.
Share a comment! We love to hear from you. Or, go here and send us a note through our contact form, especially if you’re a provider working with female athletes.
Though, of course, this issue is present across the gender and sex spectrum.