Dear FitPros: Your Coaching is Causing Eating Disorders
By: Rachael Babiracki
Tags: Health, Body Liberation, Eating Disorders, Fitness, Wellness

As we come to the end of National Eating Disorder Awareness Week, I want to share my perspective around the industry I work in, as someone with a history of an eating disorder and a full time fitness professional. Everything I write is my own opinion, and I encourage any reader — especially my fellow fitpros — to engage with curiosity and an open mind.

Because your fitness coaching is likely causing eating disorders in your clientele.

Let me start by saying that I believe most people are good and want to leave a positive impact on this world, so I am not saying this is a deliberate choice or that my fellow fitpros are causing harm intentionally. Most fitness professionals I know would be horrified to realize their good intentions could lead to something so negative as an eating disorder. It’s important to point out that the wider culture normalizes so many harmful behaviors that many of us engage with them without realizing the harm being caused. I myself have absolutely used coaching methods throughout my career that have been harmful, and at the time I had no idea that what I was doing was hurting people, including myself. Most of us are taught and encouraged to use these methods, and told it is the right way to engage with fitness. But just because something is common does not mean it is right, healthy, or ok.

First, let’s establish what causes an eating disorder. Like most things human, it is complicated. Risk factors include genetic factors, a history of trauma, a history of anxiety disorders, a history of dieting, a history of intentional weight loss, perfectionism, body image dissatisfaction, weight stigma, experiences with teasing or bullying, and appearance ideal internalization. Speaking from my own experience, I definitely have a personality that was built for an eating disorder — high perfectionism, high achiever, wanting to control all I could to make sure things were done just right. This was tied to a yearning for acceptance and a false belief that if I was perfect, I wouldn’t be rejected or hurt. What triggered my eating disorder into action, though, was not my demanding academic schedule or the desire to win affection through perfection. It was the messaging I got, seemingly everywhere I turned, that to be perfect, to be worthy, to be accepted, I must be thin.

I started working in the fitness industry at a young age—my parents opened their gym on my 12th birthday and I have been involved with fitness as a certified professional since I was 16. I am profoundly grateful to my parents for introducing me to my love of movement and the joy of exercise; I found my passion young and this means that I have been involved in the industry for over 20 years, have earned countless certifications and a degree in Exercise Science, and have spent my entire professional life engaging in fitness. I also developed an eating disorder in my teens and actively struggled with it through my 20s. So I feel confident speaking to the culture of the fitness industry and how what we are taught and what we teach encourages eating disorders.

Diet culture is the overarching societal structure that encourages this focus of thinness. It is the fact that the average model weighs 23% less than the average woman, that the the top body editing app has more than 100 million users, that upwards of 80% of women and 40% of men are dissatisfied with their bodies, that kids as young as three show signs of body dissatisfaction. It is the fact that children in the USA are 242 more times likely to have an eating disorder than type 2 diabetes, yet dieting in children is so encouraged that by the age of 10, 80% of girls have dieted at least once. The messaging is everywhere — books, movies, TV, social media, advertisements, in conversations with family and friends, at the doctor’s office, in government agencies, and absolutely within and throughout the fitness industry. Thin is held up as the best thing a body can be. And the metrics that define thinness are amplified in the fitness industry. Speaking from experience, my own body is seen as thin in most places, but in the fitness industry I have been told I am too big and that I need to lean out multiple times throughout the years, including at the height of my eating disorder.

The reality is, fitness is deeply entrenched in diet culture. There are absolutely exceptions to this rule, and it seems that more and more fitpros are pushing back against the status quo. But for now, the state of the nation is diet culture. And diet culture creates environments for eating disorders to thrive. What does this look like for fitness professionals? Much of what we commonly practice is fertilizer for our clientele to nourish eating disorder risk factors (dieting, intentional weight loss, perfectionism, body image dissatisfaction, weight stigma, and appearance ideal internalization, for starters). But there is hope. We can reject diet culture and reframe our coaching to be rooted in body liberation and radical self acceptance, which are frameworks where healing can thrive.

Here are some specific ideas to engage with. Again, I ask you to approach this with curiosity and an open mind. Changing the world isn’t easy, and asking ourselves to challenge the way that things have always been done is uncomfortable. But we are brave and we are capable, and we can do hard and uncomfortable things.

Motivation based in body image. Giving coaching that speaks to extrinsic motivation is not good motivation. Not only is it short lived, but it increases feelings of shame, body dissatisfaction, and weight stigma. But clients love it, you say! My classes react positively to my cues of beach bodies and 6 packs! Here’s the thing: we humans sometimes like things that are not good for us. At the peak of my eating disorder, I loved this type of coaching. I told my peers it was great motivation. I taught other fitpros that it was a great way to coach. And I definitely was committed to exercising for hours a day. I also was throwing up after every meal and was completely at war with myself. And my peers had no idea. As fitness professionals, we don’t know who in our classes or amongst our clientele might be struggling. Eating disorders thrive in isolation, so those of us that have them get very good at hiding them. You may never know that someone close to you currently has or has had an eating disorder. I only started publically discussing mine in the last year, despite being in recovery for almost a decade. And because eating disorders affect at least 30 million people in the USA, there is a good chance someone you work with has struggled with one. It is best to assume that your words and actions could affect someone in this space. (Although as an aside, I do not recommend trying to diagnose those you work with — leave that conversation to eating disorder specialists.)

Rooting out diet culture from our coaching is a great way to ensure we are not triggering the most vulnerable among us, and it benefits everyone else, too. You don’t have to have a full blown DSM-5 eating disorder to be affected negatively by diet culture. And if changing our coaching could help everyone have a better relationship with their bodies and fitness, why wouldn’t we do this? A great first step is to notice your coaching. If you teach classes, try recording your coaching on your phone and play it back to yourself. If you work with clients, take mental note throughout session. When does body image focused coaching show up for you? What does it sound like? Write it down and reflect on it. If you see shame based coaching (ex. we work triceps so we don’t have chicken wings, we squeeze our butt so someone else will want to), take note and make a commitment to stop saying those cues. Be gentle with yourself; if it is something you have said for years, you won’t likely change it overnight. Keep noticing it and challenging yourself to shift. If you see body image coaching that seems positive (ex. we are excited to get ready for summer, we love this burn because the results are worth it), ask yourself how that might sound to someone with an eating disorder. Sure, saying, “the results are worth it,” could mean any number of things, but in a culture entrenched in diet culture, most people —especially those struggling with body image — will interpret results to mean thinness. Is your good intention worth fighting for if the impact could be reinforcing diet culture? Could you shift your coaching slightly to make it clear you are not encouraging thinness at all costs?

I find coaching focused on intrinsic motivators significantly more powerful. Speaking to how great we feel and how awesome it is to see what we are capable of creates a sense of empowerment and celebration. All bodies can fit into this space of motivation and all people can find connection to fitness through this perspective. Allowing our clients to be proud of their here-and-now body by speaking to intrinsic motivators (ex. how great does it feel to get our heart rates up? we love the challenge of seeing how high we can jump, we know this workout is giving us energy to carry throughout our day) creates a space that encouarges connection to fitness that is liberatory and expansive. It challenges weight stigma and negative body image and creates opportunity for our clients to engage with their bodies without shame. Shifting my own coaching and connection to fitness has been integral in my own recovery, and when I motivate my classes in this way, I can see a difference. Their faces light up, the feeling in the room is joyful, and we all find ways to move our bodies that results in confidence and compassion for the state we are in, today.

Shift our nutrition advice. There is another conversation here about scope of practice, but as a fitness industry veteran, I know we offer nutrition advice even if we shouldn’t. Our class members or clients ask, and so we share because we want to help. Even if this is offered with the caveat of, “you should really talk to a specialist, but here is what I do,” it is still a fitness professional offering nutrition advice, and we should acknowledge the potential impact this can have. The amount of diet culture nonsense that shows up in this space is astronomical. So again, first thing to do is to bring awareness. Do you offer nutrition advice through your services? Even if it is high level, or offered casually in one-off conversations? Chatting before or after class or session counts. What kind of advice do you offer in these spaces? Diet culture is sneaky because it is the status quo, so we don’t often recognize that our own nutrition behaviors may be a form of disordered eating, so even sharing what we do to eat can have unintentional consequences. Here are some common eating disorder symptoms and how they might show up in the fitness industry:

Skipping meals or making excuses for not eating — intermittent fasting anyone?

Adopting an overly restrictive vegetarian diet — yes you can be vegetarian or vegan in very healthy ways, and these diets are commonly used to restrict and hide eating disorders

these diets are commonly used to restrict and hide eating disorders Excessive focus on healthy eating — clean eating, going gluten-free or dairy-free or whatever-free without a legitimate allergy or sensitivity

Making own meals rather than eating what the family eats — meal prep

Withdrawing from normal social activities — talking with clients about ways to avoid being tempted during the holidays

Persistent worry or complaining about being fat and talk of losing weight —this happens at literally every gym or fitness center everywhere

Frequent checking in the mirror for perceived flaws — *stares in weight floor and fitness studio*

Repeatedly eating large amounts of sweets or high-fat foods — cheat days

Use of dietary supplements, laxatives or herbal products for weight loss — how often have you encouraged a client to try a supplement to help support their goals?

Excessive exercise — are we celebrating our regulars for doing two-a-days and missing a sign of something wrong?

Eating much more food in a meal or snack than is considered normal — how often have you had a client binge and told them that is common when we are trying to lose weight?

Expressing depression, disgust, shame or guilt about eating habits — again, this type of talk is common at every fitness business I have worked at

Eating in secret — how often have clients seemed to hide eating habits? Have you ever accused a client of lying about their eating habits?

Once you notice how nutrition talk shows up for you, the next step is to work to change it. I highly encourage all fitpros to become familiar with Intuitive Eating and implement that philosophy into your coaching. I would also encourage us to challenge the way we talk about food and nutrition, even and especially in casual conversation. Sometimes this means changing what we are saying and how we are saying it, and sometimes this means not saying anything at all. That may seem like an extreme bit of advice, but if my choice is between saying something that could cause harm and not saying anything, I would rather enjoy my silence.

Change how we talk about bodies. The last area I encourage fitpros to reflect on is our language around bodies. This can show up in our coaching, in casual conversations, on social media, and in our personal lives. As fitness professionals, we need to recognize that the way we talk about bodies carries more weight than your average person. We are seen as experts on bodies, and especialy as experts on body image, so our opinions can land heavier than someone outside of our industry. We have a responsiblity to talk about bodies in a way that builds those around us up and contributes to positive relationships with bodies and fitness. And too often, we are the worst offenders of diet culture.

Again, the first place to start is with curiosity and awareness building. How do you talk about bodies? How do you talk about your own body? What words do you use? Which bodies do you praise? Which bodies do you pity? Which bodies do you personally want to avoid — meaning, is there a body type that you would be unhapy to inhabit? Take some time to reflect on these questions. Journaling is always a good way to dig into our own thoughts and feelings. Once you have clarity on how you talk about bodies, can you acknowledge where diet culture shows up? It could be something like celebrating weight loss whenever you see it. Or giving compliments that are predominately body aesthetic driven, ex. you look so skinny today! What words do you use around larger bodies? If you see someone in a larger body working out, do you assume they are trying to lose weight and offer encouragement? What message is that sending to them and anyone within earshot? How do you talk about health? It is common for fitpros to equate thinness with health (thanks diet culture) and I often see fitpros concern trolling fat people online. Can you challenge your definition of healthy and expand it to include more than thin people? This is a space where often what we are taught is not the whole story, so maybe you can make a goal to explore the Health at Every Size movement and read the research in this space. Lindo Bacon’s books are a great place to start. What we assume to be true is not the full picture, and using our expertise as a weapon only upholds the ugliness of diet culture. Get curious and challenge what you think you know.

Try to shift your language around bodies to release judgement and make space for all bodies. Can we celebrate every body type? Can we describe any body as beautiful, attractive, and wanted? Can any body be capable and strong? Can we honor each body we encounter and focus on empowering every body?

As fitness professionals, we have an opportunity to be the change. We can be a force for good in the world and help shift our society away from diet culture and away from a place where eating disorders are rampant. Or we can keep doing what we are doing and cause harm in those we work with. The choice is our own, and we get to make it every day. I have hope that more and more of us will wake up and choose body liberation.