06/14/2026
Want to know one of the biggest myths in sports nutrition?
👉 If an athlete isn't losing weight, they must be eating enough.
But that's not how physiology works.
The body is incredibly adaptive.
When energy availability stays low for too long, it starts making trade-offs to protect survival:
→ Metabolism slows
→ Hormones shift
→ Recovery declines
→ Performance suffers
And all of this can happen while body weight remains completely stable (or even going up a few pounds!).
In fact, some of the athletes struggling the most with REDs have:
✔️ Stable weight
✔️ A "normal" BMI
✔️ No obvious signs of underfueling
Yet they're experiencing fatigue, GI issues, poor recovery, hormonal disruption, and declining performance.
This is exactly why we need to STOP using weight as our primary marker of athlete health.
In my newest article, I explore why weight stability does NOT equal adequate fueling, the hidden adaptations that occur with REDs, and the signs providers should be looking for instead.
👇 Read the full article below and let me know: Have you seen athletes whose symptoms were missed because they didn't fit the stereotypical picture of REDs?
Lindsay Werkhoven Patrick
Stacy Bates
Kudos to McConville for this excellent post.
One of the most common misconceptions in sports nutrition is that if an athlete’s weight hasn’t changed, they must be eating enough. At first glance, it seems logical.