49: Olympians struggle with food and body image too! With Katie Nageotte

Female Athlete Nutrition

In this episode, I speak to the 2020 Olympic Champion in the pole vault, Katie Nageotte. She touches on her bumpy build up to the Olympics and how she overcame adversity along the way to capturing the gold medal. This adversity included her losing weight following an episode of food poisoning that she felt was detrimental to her performance: lighter is not better!

Katie details her steady progression in the pole vault from high school beginnings to NCAA D2 success and into her professional career. College was a big transition, and Katie opens up about the fear and anxiety that she’s dealt with for years. She explains how going back to the basics and focusing on the process allowed her to reach higher heights.

Katie speaks of her nutrition journey from days of underfueling and underperforming to now adopting a more flexible and relaxed approach. Her fueling struggles began in college, and into her early professional career Katie fell into the comparison trap, competing on the pro circuit in a sports bra and buns and not feeling like she matched up to her competitors. By obsessing less on food, weight and appearance, and focusing more on fueling for performance, staying full and satiated, Katie started to jump higher and have more success. To reach higher heights, Katie has had to gain strength: yes, that meant gaining weight! Her fear about body image was flipped: gaining weight resulted in her leaning out and looking stronger rather than “softer”. Katie advocates for the support of a dietician, coach, physician and a healthy environment that cultivates good habits around food, weight and training.

We can all learn from how Katie has improved her body image, by caring more on performance and what the body can do rather than on what it looks like. Katie now embraces weight fluctuations and body changes throughout the year, and enjoys eating without restrictions.

Katie’s Bio

Katie Nageotte 2020 Olympic Champion in the Women’s Pole Vault. Katie grew up in Olmsted Falls, Ohio – a suburb of Cleveland. She was a Division 1 State Champion in 2009 and a D2 national champion in 2013 at Ashland University. The 2x US champion, Katie has the 4th highest jump in the history of the sport of pole vault at 4.95m (16ft 2inches)

Follow Katie on Instagram @ktnago13

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