28/02/2024
Athletes 💫 Fuelling The Body.
Many athletes feel the pressure to look a certain way due to being in the spotlight. Instead of fuelling their bodies to allow them to perform at optimum levels, some may under-nourish (not always purposely) to look a certain way.
🍏 Nutrition is imperative for such a demanding job, and under-fuelling can lead to poor recovery and even injury.
Unfortunately, this is a familiar story for many athletes, including and striker Alessia Russo.
Last year in an exclusive interview with , she openly spoke about hitting a low point with her relationship with food during lockdown, when players had to train and fuel on their own.
⚖️ She admitted to tracking all of her food and calories on an app, and lost a lot of weight during the pandemic.
🩺 It was when she then signed for Manchester United that she tore her hamstring – her first muscle injury which she relates back to this restricted food intake.
🗣 Russo: ‘There’s a bit of a stigma because, of course, you want to compete and be the best on the pitch, but you want to look a certain way as well.’
‘As a lot of young girls [do], I wanted to be
skinny and compete at that kind of level,’ she shares. “[Now] my body is still a huge priority. But I understand I need to eat a lot more than I thought I did at the start, and now I don’t want to be skinny, I want to be strong. Food plays a huge part in how you feel and how your body reacts.’
💪 Looking back, Russo reflects that athletes shouldn’t be eating to look a certain way, but rather should be giving their bodies enough energy to allow them to perform at their best.
Whether you’re an athlete or not, fuelling the body is incredibly important! ✨
Read the article ‘Boot The Stigma: National Eating Disorder Awareness Week’ on SportingHer.com.
🔗 https://sportingher.com/boot-the-stigma-national-eating-disorder-awareness-week/
If you wish to seek advice or help, please call Beat Eating disorders on 08088010677 🇬🇧.