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Comparison v. Competition: How to Develop Positive Body Image on Teams

  • June 1, 2020
  • Body Image, Mental Wellness
Coaches

Young asian man sitting alone in locker room.Content Warning: This article contains mentions of bullying and eating disorders.

For young athletes, maintaining a positive body image is difficult at the best of times, but when a competitive team atmosphere is added into the mix, that positivity can become even harder.

No matter how much you talk about the importance of pulling together as a team, your athletes are going to naturally compete with each other, as well as with rival teams, explains Melissa Streno, a clinical psychologist who specializes in athletic performance and its intersection with disordered eating and body image issues. This isn’t unhealthy, but it can go too far. “Teammates start mimicking each other’s behavior,” says Streno. “So, once you notice a problem with one athlete, know that there’s likely going to be a trickle-down effect.”

As a coach, you may not notice the subtle ways your team is creating an unhealthy environment when it comes to body image, eating patterns, and other habits. Below, Streno explains some of the warning signs to watch for as your athletes try to find success in competitive sports and how you can help foster a body positive image culture on your team.

 

Warning Signs

1. Changes in performance: “First, I would keep an eye out for a big shift in performance, where physically or psychologically, something seems off,” says Streno. “Physically, I think one of the easiest things to look for is a change in weight or body shape, or a major change in fitness.” Keep in mind that not all physical consequences of disordered eating or eating disorders are visible to the eye.

“Psychologically, we might notice a difference in their mood, more conflicts with teammates and coaches, and more isolative tendencies or less desire to be part of the team as they try to hide concerning behaviors.”

2. Behavior around meals: Streno recommends watching out for kids avoiding meals or changing their behaviors around mealtime. Are some kids making constant excuses to skip meals?

3. Overtraining: Body image isn’t just about changes in caloric consumption, Streno warns. “Pay attention for when athletes start to train beyond the prescribed amount or try to push through injury.”

4. Need for validation: When an athlete who hasn’t previously come to you for constant feedback or praise is reaching out for validation, that can be a warning sign, say Streno. “Coaches might see an athlete shifting how much they communicate and starting to ask, ‘Am I doing this right? Am I doing enough?’ when they haven’t done so in the past.”

5. Need for control: Often, disordered eating and overtraining are linked to an athlete’s need for control. Between parents, school, and sports, their sphere of control is limited, and their body is one of the few things that they can ‘control.’ “Very few athletes dealing with body image issues are merely concerned about performance,” says Streno. “It’s often about a need to control things.”

6. Bullying others: “Food shaming, or critiquing what other people are doing, is common,” says Streno. “And oftentimes, it’s to make the person who’s doing the critiquing feel better when they’re dealing with a lot of self-consciousness or low self-esteem.” Bullying obviously cannot be tolerated on a team, but remember that the food-shaming student is likely suffering and needs help.

7. Fixation on food trends: “If you constantly hear athletes comparing what they’re eating, talking about new diets, or gossiping about body image and comparing body types, that’s a sign of a team-wide problem,” says Streno. “Try to find the source of these messages.” Research has shown that information provided by peers is more important to young athletes than what they see in the media or read about.

 

How to Help Foster Positive Body Image

1. Your words matter: “Athletes form an idea around even small comments,” says Streno. It may be unintentional, but your words can have dire consequences, so be extremely careful how you speak about eating habits, body type or weight, or any kind of physique-based advice.

2. Focus on strength: Rather than focusing on a specific type of physique, focus on strength. “Ask athletes what makes them feel strong, how can they maintain that level of strength, and what gives them energy,” Streno says. Create a team ethos that focuses on body positivity and what your athletes can do, rather than on flaws or places to improve. In addition to sharing that message yourself, seek out good role models in the community. Research has shown that younger girls are heavily influenced by older peers when it comes to body image.

3. Bring in an expert: If you notice that some of your team members are struggling with body image issues or implementing unhealthy eating habits, you can bring in a sport psychologist or another specialist to address the team, says Streno. This whole-team approach avoids singling out specific individuals, which can make the athletes who are struggling feel less self-conscious. But of course, if you notice an athlete is having extreme food and/or body-related issues, it’s important to get that athlete help immediately, rather than waiting.

4. Find positive outside influences: “I’m always encouraging athletes to filter out their social media, including the people that they follow,” says Streno. Coaches can help steer athletes to positive body image messages and accounts that promote a healthy approach to sport performance.

 

Takeaway

Body image is often influenced by surrounding people and cultures, which means that a competitive team environment can make it hard to maintain a positive body image. By watching out for these warning signs and fostering positive habits, coaches can help develop positive body image on their teams.

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Hi. I’m Trevon, Trey, Jennifer. Team USA wheelchair basketball player, paralympian, and true sport athlete. Today, I want to talk to you about goal setting. And there are three things that I would like you to know. First, successful athletes set goals and a planned roadmap. Second, goals should be written down, assessed over time, and changed if necessary. And third, goals need to be challenging in order to be worthwhile. As a freshmen at Edinboro University, I was a part of a team that made the national championship game. And at that time I recognized I was the low man on the totem pole, but I felt in my heart that I knew my dreams were so much bigger than winning a national title. I wanted to make Team USA. I knew what achieving my lofty goal was not going to be easy and that I would need to work hard every day.

So, as a reminder, I created a pyramid of goals that I kept right above my bed. This pyramid reminded me of the accomplishments that I was working towards and visually represented my need to create a solid foundation underneath me before reaching the top. In the bottom roll of my pyramid of goals I listed goals such as obtaining my bachelor’s degree, becoming a scholar athlete award recipient, and becoming an All-American. The middle row listed winning a national title and playing for a professional team. And at the top row, the most challenging of them all, I listed becoming a gold medalist for Team USA.

By understanding that there are smaller stepping stones to achieving my ultimate goal of being on Team USA, I was able to stay motivated and to stay focused on completing the smaller stepping stones fully before moving onto the next one. Now I’ll be the first to admit that not every goal that I listed on my pyramid was accomplished, but seeing my goals every day when I went to bed, I was able to push through the days that I felt like doing nothing in hopes of achieving the bigger picture. Remember, create a clear goal roadmap, assess your goals often, and continue to challenge yourself. I hope that you never stopped dreaming big or reaching for the stars. And I look forward to seeing where your roadmap takes you.

Body Image Lesson Video Transcript

Hi, I’m Kara Winger, Olympic javelin thrower, and true sport athlete. Today I want to talk to you about body image and I have three things I’d like you to know. First, healthy thoughts often lead to healthier bodies. Second, there are varying body types and no one’s body is exactly like another. And third, true beauty goes deeper than the skin. As a multi-time Olympian, I’ve experienced a lot of variation and progression in my training. My coaches and I adapt to my training frequently, all with the goal of supporting my long-term success and health in the sport of javelin. I’m talking to you about body image today because sometimes even with the best of intentions and a common goal in mind, the changes you make to your training habits can prove to be detrimental if made for the wrong reasons. In the lead up to the 2012 Olympic trials, I was told in order to improve my performance on the field, I should try to become a leaner, skinnier version of myself.

So I changed my diet. I went along with what I was being told to do, even though I’d had great success at a slightly heavier weight and higher body fat percentage, and became much leaner than ever before. It seemed like a successful change at first, but I didn’t have nearly the results I’d had before. And I believe becoming leaner than my body naturally wanted to be was what caused my ACL to tear. In the end, it cost me heavily going into the 2012 London games. The takeaway for me, and hopefully for you, is that it’s important to know what works for you and your body and to not compare yourself to others. You should do your research and experiment with your diet to find what makes you feel the best, rather than focusing on what you look like. Today, if I feel like having a chocolate chip cookie, I have one, just not every day.

I’ve learned what a properly balanced meal for my body looks like and I recognize food as the fuel that keeps me throwing. I hydrate and allow myself time to recover. And I listen to and communicate with my body so that I can be the best version of myself. In the end, you are in control of how you see, treat, and respond to your body. We only get one and it’s amazing to discover how many things our bodies can do. Be a true sport athlete. Love who you are in this moment and get excited for all the places your body will take you.

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I started competing in Modern Pentathlon eight years after my older sister and three-time Olympian, Margaux Isaksen, began competing. I soon realized that people often compared the two of us. I would overhear spectators and teammates asking, “Who’s the better athlete,” and “Who’s going to beat the other.” Instead of letting outside pressures create a negative experience for us, I chose to practice winning and losing with grace and respect. I know that it would have been easy to let our hyper competitive mindset affect our relationship, but instead we decided to support and cheer for each other, regardless of our own performance. My experience of competing against and being compared to my older sister, taught me to focus on how to perform at my best, rather than putting wasted energy into wishing for others to fail.

I believe that sportsmanship reveals true character. So, no matter what situation I encounter during competition, I know it’s important to always treat people with respect and be a good sport. Remember, be a fierce competitor, find grace in all your victories and losses. And I hope to see you out there.

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You have the ability to affect even deeper change, to take what’s in your hands and do something even more extraordinary. You can be both the coach who provides the skills needed to win the game and the coach who helps them learn and succeed beyond the sport, to become all stars wherever they land in the future, and to enjoy their lives more now, because the confidence and courage they find working with you will stay with them when they need it the most. There are games to be won, lives to change. Coaches have the power to do both.

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At first glance, dietary supplements look the same. They seem safe and healthy, but just because the label says a product is a dietary supplement, that doesn’t mean it’s safe. Unfortunately, you can’t tell whether a product is safe or not just by looking at the label. Most vitamins, minerals, fish oil, and other supplements containing nutrients are probably just fine, but supplements are not evaluated or approved by FDA before they are sold. Although it is rare for vitamins or minerals to be contaminated with drugs, there has been at least one case of a vitamin containing an anabolic steroid.

At the other extreme are products that contain drugs, stimulants, anabolic steroids, or other hormones. Even though these are not technically dietary supplements, many of them are labeled as supplements. For example, body-building products sometimes contain anabolic steroids or Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators, known as SARMs, or other hormones. Some pre-workout or energy products contain illegal stimulants like DMAA, ephedra, or other amphetamine-like stimulants. Weight loss products might contain prescription drugs like sibutramine, or hormones, like human chorionic gonadotropin, also known as hCG. All natural or herbal sexual enhancement products might contain hormones or Viagra-like drugs. Products like these can harm your health and career, but they’re for sale online, in some nutrition stores, and they’re labeled as dietary supplements.

When you pick up a supplement, especially one that promises performance enhancement, you don’t know if it belongs in the “Mostly O.K.” pile or in the “Dangerous” pile. After all, two products might look the same, but one might contain just amino acids and other legitimate ingredients, while the other also contains anabolic steroids. Because of this, FDA has issued a warning about certain categories of supplements: body building products, weight loss products, and sexual enhancement products. Be extremely careful when considering a supplement in one of these categories. We strongly recommend that you avoid products in these categories.

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