122: Eating Disorder Recovery as a Pro Athlete

Female Athlete Nutrition

In this episode of the Female Athlete Nutrition podcast, I talk with professional runner, YouTuber, and eating disorder advocate, Allie Ostrander. Allie is a middle distance runner specializing in the steeplechase, and she shares her journey in sport growing up in Alaska to becoming a 3x NCAA Division I champion in college. Allie opens up about her nutrition struggles, starting early in middle school and continuing through high school, college, and beyond into her professional running career. She discusses the physical and mental impacts of her eating disorder on her health, running, and social life. We highlight the importance of raising awareness of eating disorders and early intervention by parents, coaches, and medical professionals to support young athletes. We speak to why athletes are at increased risk of disordered eating, as well as the nuances of fueling for athletes. Allie shares about her recovery and experience in an intensive treatment program, as well as how she learned to fuel independent of running. She speaks about the importance of stepping back from running during recovery and how she learned about her own unique nutrition needs.

Allie answers a few listener questions, including handling setbacks and challenges during eating disorder recovery, relapse prevention, dealing with injuries and getting out of injury cycles. We leave listeners with advice for navigating eating disorders and injury recovery, and Allie touches on what’s next for her running career. She’s certainly not done yet!

Follow Allie on Instagram and YouTube @allie_ostrander and me, your host Lindsey Cortes, on Instagram @female.athlete.nutrition

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In this episode we talk about:

3:00 Allie’s introduction to running and college transition

7:30 Early nutrition struggles during puberty

11:00 When healthy eating becomes unhealthy; physical and mental signs of disordered eating

17:00 The importance of nutrition education and eating disorder awareness among parents, coaches, and medical professionals

21:00 Disordered eating team culture in college; the impact of Allie’s eating disorder on her college experience, social life, and relationships

24:00 Eating disorder risk in competitive, high achieving athletes

26:00 Committing to eating disorder recovery and the realities of treatment programs

30:45 Athlete fueling needs

37:30 Eating disorder recovery is an ongoing process; combining recovery with elite athletics

42:30 Stepping back from pro running and breaking free from injury cycles; tips for dealing with injuries

48:30 Relapse prevention and ongoing recovery challenges

54:00 Allie’s future running plans

55:15 End of the podcast questions