How can we help teenage girls to fuel their bodies?
In this mini series, Sam Gold (Optimise Foundation Trustee, Nutritionist and Mum) shares her experience of helping teenage athletes navigate the pressures of school, society, and sport.
We spend so much time asking teenage girls to train harder, get stronger, and perform better. But are we giving their bodies enough fuel to do it?
When my girls were little, I was that mum. I was slightly obsessed with making everything from scratch, avoided ultra-processed foods like the plague, and would quietly panic when they went to someone else’s house. What if they give them freezer food!?
Thankfully, for both their sake and my sanity, I’ve relaxed. I still believe in nourishing our bodies with good, wholesome food most of the time, but I’ve learnt that there is a much bigger picture and when it comes to teenagers (particularly, active teenage girls) fuel is the key.
It doesn’t have to be perfect. It needs to be enough.
Enough carbohydrates, protein, fats, vitamins and minerals to support a body that is growing, developing, menstruating, learning and in the case of my girls, training hard too!
That’s where things get really interesting and sometimes really challenging when you’re helping to fuel a teenage athlete.
Because feeding a teenage girl is one thing, but feeding a teenage girl who trains hard, competes, has a busy school life, is growing and going through puberty is something else entirely.
School. Homework. Training. Matches. Early mornings. Late finishes. Friends. Exams. Periods. Tiredness. Changing appetites. Changing bodies.
Sitting quietly in the background of all of this, is the enormous amount of messaging teenage girls receive about their bodies and food.
Eat less.
Watch your carbs.
Look like the Instagram models.
At exactly the time when we should be encouraging girls to eat, grow, develop and become strong, they can be receiving the opposite message and feel the pressures to often do the opposite of what their bodies actually need.
As a Trustee of the Optimise Foundation, and as a mum who has experienced this first-hand, I think this is something we need to talk about.
Teenage girls aren't just small adult athletes.
One of the biggest things I want parents, coaches and teenage girls themselves to understand is that a teenage athlete has very different nutritional demands to an adult athlete.
She isn't simply training.
She is growing, developing, learning, menstruating and building bone mass, while also asking her body to run, swim, dance, cycle, lift, compete, recover and repeat.
Food has to support all of that. Teenage athletes need:
Enough to support healthy hormones.
Enough to build strong bones.
Enough to support muscle repair and recovery.
Enough to concentrate at school.
Enough to support the immune system.
Enough to sleep and recover.
And enough to train again tomorrow!
This is why I think we need to change the conversation around food and teenage athletes.
The goal isn't to get girls to eat perfectly. The goal is to make sure they eat enough.
The tricky bit? They don't always realise they aren't fuelling enough.
So what is ‘enough’?
Under-fuelling doesn't necessarily look like a teenage girl who is consciously dieting. Sometimes it's completely innocent, like rushing to school and skipping breakfast, and other times it’s a worry that carbs are unhealthy, or training right after school without time for a snack.
But when you add these things together over time, the gap between what her body needs and what she's actually eating can become significant.
Sometimes the first signs that a teenage athlete isn't fuelling adequately are subtle.
She might be constantly tired.
Her concentration might dip.
She may pick up niggles or injuries.
Her performance might plateau or decline.
She might get ill more often.
Sleep can suffer.
And her menstrual cycle can change.
For me, this last point is particularly important.
A period isn't just something teenage girls have to put up with. It's a really useful health marker.
If periods become irregular, very light or disappear altogether, we shouldn't automatically assume that it's because she's sporty, stressed or "just like that".
Sometimes it's the body's way of telling us that it doesn't have enough energy coming in to support everything that is being asked of it.
And the consequences aren't simply about performance.
We're talking about health and wellbeing, as well as sport.
That's why we've created resources at Optimise Foundation to help parents, coaches and young athletes understand what good fuelling can actually look like.
In Part 2, I’ll share more tips on exactly how to help teenage athletes in your life to fuel their bodies in safe, supporting ways.
Check out our members’ area, where you can access our toolkits and resources. If you think you could benefit from more personal support, we also offer workshops and individual support sessions.
Blog by Sam Gold
