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 to create the most successful environment for our gymnasts to reach peak performance and longevity in the sport.

With that in mind, we’re excited to share that the Team Talk series is evolving in a big way. We’ve reimagined the experience to make it more intentional, engaging, and aligned with what teams and gymnasts really need right now for health and performance.

In this episode you'll hear about how we're revisioning Team Talks and what that looks like moving forward.

Listen in to today's episode to learn more about:

• The challenges with team talk lectures and engagement
• Why building awareness is crucial to parent and gymnast buy in
• How we will be working with gyms moving forward

Links & Resources

• The Balanced Gymnast® Program for level 5-10 female gymnasts
• Episode 04: Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport and Gymnastics
• Episode 119: Spilling the Tea with Gymnast Parents who went All In with Nutrition
• Connect with Christina on Instagram @the.gymnast.nutritionist or christinaandersonrdn.com

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 the people who go through our 1:1 program all say the same thing. They all say that they wish they had worked with us directly on their gymnast's nutrition years prior.

I will never stop talking about underfueling in this sport. It's the number 1 career killer and is so so preventable. We have a lot of free content addressing this topic (podcast, blog, instagram etc) which I know a lot of parents appreciate, follow, and try to implement. And I will always continue to provide this free content to spread awareness. But reality is, medical advice is nuanced and most gymnasts need a deep dive into what's working and what isn't. And that's not going to happen through an IG post.

In this episode you'll hear the 5 most common reasons parents wait to get nutrition support and WHY I can't just make general, medical recommendations without knowing your gymnast's specific situation. Hopefully you'll feel inspired to take early action (even if you're nervous or unsure!).

Listen in to today's episode to learn more about:

• The importance of early nutrition intervention
• Misconceptions about nutrition needs
• Overcoming barriers to nutrition support for your gymnast

Links & Resources

• The Balanced Gymnast® Program for level 5-10 female gymnasts
• Episode 04: Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport and Gymnastics
• Connect with Christina on Instagram @the.gymnast.nutritionist or christinaandersonrdn.com

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 often misses

So many of the gymnasts we work with are underfueled (or have been) AND depleted in the major minerals involved in proper energy production, hormone regulation, and stress resilience. Most upper level competitive gymnasts have been training 20-30 hours a week for 5-10+ years and underfueling which puts them in a precarious spot and can lead to a lot of health issues that are not just coincidence.

If you want to learn more or do HTMA testing with your gymnast, this is something available to our 1:1 clients inside The Balanced Gymnast® Program.

Learn more here about HTMA and gymnasts

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 troubles me is the lack of awareness around underfueling, poor growth, and injuries. That a vast majority of doctors just don't know or understand the true condition of a gymnast who is in the thick of injuries.

If I were a sports medicine doctor or orthopedic doctor/surgeon, the VERY first thing I’d want to know when a gymnast sets foot in my office is

1. Are they growing in a way that’s right for them

2. Are they getting ENOUGH nutrition to support normal growth/development and healing

3. Are they getting ENOUGH micronutrients to signal all the vitamins/minerals where they need to go in the body.

When I worked in Pediatric Endocrinology, the growth/hormone/metabolism specialists, one of the most important parts of the doctors workup was the dietitians nutrition valuation.

If they’d get a kid referred for poor growth on ADHD meds—first question, are they eating enough?

When they get a child with celiac who still isn’t growing well after going GF…are they getting enough?

When they have an infant not growing properly weight or length-wise…are they eating enough and ABLE to eat enough?

Listen in to today's episode to learn more about:

• Understanding growth and nutrition needs
• Common injuries and nutrition's role
• Systemic issues in gymnasts' nutrition

Links & Resources

• The Balanced Gymnast® Program for level 5-10 female gymnasts
• Episode 04: Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport and Gymnastics
• Connect with Christina on Instagram @the.gymnast.nutritionist or christinaandersonrdn.com

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 there who never say a thing and truly understand that the journey through adolescence for the female body is a wild ride. They know how to coach athletes through the growth spurts, body change, etc. They understand that every gymnast needs to go from point A to point B. And that a 16 year old should not look like they did when they were 10, 11, 12 etc.

And yet, in the minority, we have coaches who I want to believe mean well. But, they are misguided in their thoughts + beliefs around weight gain, body change, and the gymnast body. They don't realize that instead of helping, that when that gymnastics coach makes a comment about your gymnast's weight, it's potential to cause harm cancels out everything else.

Today's episode should serve as a guide on how to navigate these tough conversations in a way that helps reduce harm to your gymnast.

It only takes one comment to spark a lifelong eating disorder, so this is something we have to take very seriously to protect our gymnasts.

Listen in to hear more about:

• How to look at the objective data if a coach makes a comment about weight
• What other factors could be affecting performance
• When you should seek out for nutrition support from a Pediatric & Adolescent Registered Dietitian Sports Nutritionist

Links & Resources

• The Balanced Gymnast® Program for level 5-10 female gymnasts
• Episode 04: Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport and Gymnastics
• Connect with Christina on Instagram @the.gymnast.nutritionist or christinaandersonrdn.com

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, which translate to comments, statements, and advice are often rooted in disordered eating, misinformation, and personal body image issues.

The #1 thing missing? Education and awareness. And that's why today's episode about how to prevent disordered eating in gymnastics is a MUST LISTEN for every adult working or participating in the sport.

Listen in to hear more about:

• How detrimental it is to have a good vs bad mentality when it comes to food
• The body comments and expectations around puberty need a hard stop and here's why
• Parents being proactive about their gymnast’s energy needs and actually closing the recovery gap

Links & Resources

• The Balanced Gymnast® Program for level 5-10 female gymnasts
• Episode 04: Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport and Gymnastics
• Episode 62: When trying to get your gymnast to eat "healthy" backfires
• Connect with Christina on Instagram @the.gymnast.nutritionist or christinaandersonrdn.com

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, and ending with dinner at a decent hour. And nothing would interfere with that schedule (bathroom hall passes, peer influences, packing food etc).

Reality looks different. Late morning start times can affect getting enough fuel throughout the day, and late nights can mean consuming the majority of their calories at the end of the day. Not wanting to eat lunch because none of their peers do. Or just the sheer hectic schedule of trying to get it all done and pushing fueling to the back burner.

So is there an ideal school situation when it comes to fueling your gymnast?

Listen in to hear more about:

• Public and Private school benefits and challenges
• Hybrid and Homeschool pros and cons
• Nutrition needs and performance in gymnasts

Links & Resources

• The Balanced Gymnast® Program for level 5-10 female gymnasts
• Episode 111: The role nutrition plays in your gymnast's sleep this school year
• Episode 110: Navigating school lunch nutrition for your gymnast
• Connect with Christina on Instagram @the.gymnast.nutritionist or christinaandersonrdn.com