100th Episode Compilation

[00:00:00] Stef: Welcome to the 100th episode of The Voice and Sport Podcast, and thank you so much for being on this incredible journey with us. We're so excited to share so many amazing stories of incredible women athletes, experts, and advocates. Today as we celebrate the 100th episode, our amazing producers have put together a compilation of our favorite quotes from around our four core principles at Viz Mind, body Nutrition and Advocacy.

We're gonna have the three creators on our podcast team, Elizabeth Zoia, and Kate introduce their favorite sections and quotes and explain why the episodes resonated so much for them as young women athletes. Before we get started, we wanted to share some of the amazing statistics of the guests that we've had on the Voice and Sport Podcast.

In the past 99 episodes, we've hosted 48 omp. 20 Olympic medalists across 20 different sports. We hope that as you are listening to today's episode that you're inspired to check out some of the incredible episodes and women that we've had conversations with over the last year. We have exclusive episodes on the voice and Sport platform, so be sure to sign up for free and join our community.

At Voice and Sport, we are committed to providing content and stories from a holistic perspective to help young women athletes build the best version of themselves, both in and out of sport. We know that having the right mindset is essential to giving an athlete the confidence she needs to succeed. In the NCAA reported, 30% of women athletes struggle with at least one aspect of mental health, but only 10% of all student athletes who report mental health conditions seek help from a professional.

here at Voice and Sport, we are looking to change the narrative and the dialogue surrounding mental health and mindset. We strongly advocate for student athletes to seek help and guidance because we believe that a healthy mind and a healthy body are the most important part of being an athlete.

By providing resources at Voice and Sport like our 80 plus vis experts who range from sports psychologists to nutritionists to registered dieticians and women health experts. We continue to empower women in sport with information on how they can improve their bodies and their. our content is made by and for women athletes who share similar stories and struggles in the pursuit of bringing both visibility and actionable solutions to these widespread challenges.

Now we're gonna have our viz podcast producer Elizabeth Martin, introduce her favorite episodes from The Voice and Sport Podcast, talking all about mindset.

[00:02:41] Elizabeth: Hi, my name is Elizabeth and I'm a VIS creator. Throughout my time here at VIS and especially in listening to the Voice and Sport podcast, I've learned that mindset is something we continue to build as athletes over time, like we develop our physical strength Mindset is a muscle we must exercise to develop over time.

Over the course of the podcast, I've most enjoyed the episodes where athletes got real and relatable about the challenges they faced, whether it was performance, anxiety, setting attainable goals, and learning how to generate positive self. Through their experiences, I've resonated with several pieces of advice.

In episode number 29 with Colleen Quigley, she talks about the disparity in mental health treatment as compared to physical health.

[00:03:19] Colleen: Olympic athletes are struggling a lot with mental health, and then they either don't have access to the help or they've asked for it in the documentary there's athletes who have asked for it and they're not taking seriously.

You know, if you say "My leg is broken," you'll get care right away. And it's very serious. But, if you say like "My heart is broken" or "My brain is broken," they're like, "We'll figure it out eventually." (laughs) There's just not that same sense of urgency in finding a solution, but it's equally as important to you as a person but also to your success as an athlete. So, we're going to hope to try to make a dent on that and just in general help as many people as we can learn basically what I've learned over the past couple of years, about how important it is to treat your mental health as seriously as you treat your physical health. as you treat your physical health.

[00:04:09] Elizabeth: I love this quote because in sports culture, our physical health needs often overshadow the mental. I appreciate how Colleen is giving these Olympic athletes visibility and advocating for better treatment. Additionally, having heard this advice from such an accomplished runner who is so committed to building the whole athlete, I appreciated how much she prioritizes mindset.

And another episode, episode number 62, Gwen JSON says,

[00:04:31] Gwen Jorgensen: Yeah. So for me, I like to set really ambitious goals of what I want, and I'm not afraid to say them out loud or say what I want to do. And I think that's because I'm so comfortable not caring what other people think, which is very difficult, but if you can master it, you will be so happy in life. And so for me, I want to win gold in the marathon in the Olympics.

And that is so audacious. And I said that I wanted to do that. Tokyo. And I failed to do that. I didn't even go to the trials in the marathon. And for me, I think it's really important when you set goals to have these big goals that maybe are out of reach, but that you want. And I think it's important to share them with the people that you're on your journey with so that they can help you and guide you along the way.

[00:05:11] Elizabeth: I love how undeniably bold Gwen is and the way she declares her goals. She's not afraid to set her mind to something grand because she has grown into not caring about what other people think of her or her progress. I love how she believes in the power that sharing goals as a way to create a supportive environment and web of people around her in order to help her pursue her goals in sport.

her confidence emboldens me to strive and to achieve highly in and out of sport. Oftentimes, historically, women have been encouraged to remain more quiet or passive. But here at VIS we are here to speak out and Gwen proudly sets an example for women athletes. And another episode, episode number 55, with professional soccer player Lynn Williams, she says,

[00:05:49] Lynn: Forget what everybody else says you believe in yourself and don't doubt yourself. You are an amazing player. but even more important. You're a good person. And If this is something you want to do believe in yourself and don't let anybody else deter you from that.

[00:06:04] Elizabeth: I love how Lynn reinforces the importance of internalizing positive self-talk. We as women athletes will continue to grow and succeed, and part of the rescue for success starts with our own unequivocal self-belief. Similarly, Olympian Lydia Jacoby in episode number 57 reinforces this introspection in positive self-talk.

[00:06:22] Lydia Jacoby: once you get to a certain level, people, all of a sudden they're noticing you and they all want to have a little bit of what you have. Remember what you came to do and remember who you are and what your goals are and not change those based on what other people are telling you.

during the Olympics We're all Olympians. We're all pretty much the best at what we do. We're all there together as equals. The way that we look at the Olympics is the same way that we imagine different settings of books that we read about. You have this image built up in your head. It was just interesting to go and see, how much of the image that you built was actually real and how much of it wasn't. There was a lot of pressure.

but the more I grow through the sport, the more I learn about personalizing everything that you do and finding what works both mentally and physically. Finding your type of confidence, finding your type of training remembering to take breaks and recognizing that that's all okay.

[00:07:14] Elizabeth: From this quote, we learned that having an internal positive dialogue helps us as women athletes in the pursuit of success. And we also learned that taking a moment to remember why we are competing in training can be incredibly grounding and motivating. Lydia also speaks about her experience at the Olympics, which gives us an open and honest recollection about the immense pressure, but also how all of the expectations and dreams of going into the Olympics shapes one's mindset.

Additionally, Lydia shares how important personalizing her training was key in finding strategies and mindset exercises to build her confidence physically and mentally. And finally, when it comes to performance mindset, volleyball player, Jenna Gray, said it best.

[00:07:49] Jenna: Instead of thinking of it as a bad thing, I think of it as more of a privilege. And they always say that diamonds are made under pressure so you might as well enjoy it.

but make sure that you enjoy it and you're having fun. I would not be able to put in the amount of hours I have. it just, isn't fair to make your body goes through that if you don't really love it and enjoy it. So find the fun in the little things. I know practices are hard, but make jokes because there's no point in forcing yourself in doing all of this if it's not fun for you.

[00:08:21] Elizabeth: I love this quote because it reminds us that though the pressure we face may feel burdensome, this very pressure can help us to become better versions of ourselves. As athletes, we are privileged to compete at such a high level with pressure because we are accomplished and because we have worked hard and because we are skilled at our sports.

So it's about how we can harness this pressure and use it to our advantage to better ourselves. And of course, at the end of the day, remind yourself why you enjoy the sport, and remind yourself why you return to practice day in and day out, which is for the love of the game. I hope you enjoyed these highlights from our episodes focused on mindset.

[00:08:51] Stef: Nutrition is another critical element of health and performance as women and as athletes, but it is also an incredibly complex topic. There are a lot of misconceptions surrounding eating and fueling that can negatively impact our performance and our health As athletes. We know that 62% of women athletes in aesthetic sports like figure skating, suffer from eating.

And over a third of women athletes in the NCAA division, one reported attitudes and symptoms placing them at risk for anorexia nervosa at voice and sport. We wanna break down the misconceptions and the myths surrounding nutrition and show girls and women in sport that it's okay to ask for help, and that fueling correctly is one of the most important elements for performance.

At Voice and Sport, we have over 20 different sports nutritionists and registered dieticians to make sure that we are providing our community with robust science backed information about how they can eat a healthy life and perform well in sport. Head over to voice and sport.com and check out all of those sessions with our incredible vis experts.

Now we are gonna have our Viz Lead podcast producer Soja Hawk, introduce her favorite episodes from the Voice and Sport Podcast, talking all about nutrition.

[00:10:09] Zosia Bulhak: Hi, my name is Sasha and I'm a vis creator. Throughout my time here and listening to the Voice Support podcast, I've learned that nutrition is not a measure of self-worth, but a tool that I can use to help myself perform better and lead a happier life. I loved listening to all the podcasts for professional, olympians and world champions share their vulnerable journeys with nutrition. These stories show us that we are never alone in our struggles, and it really is okay to ask for help. For example, in episode 19, vis League mentor, Elise Cranny talks to staff about fueling her body and her mind, and she shares her journey with relative energy deficiency syndrome.

Red s. In this episode, Elise says,

[00:10:52] Elise: what I've tried to do is, focus on the parts of my body that I feel are most strong and kind of changing the perspective a bit. focusing more on how you feel in training or when you're. Running instead of how you look, do you feel strong doing this workout? It doesn't matter what your body looks like compared to someone else. Cause you feel strong doing it. Yeah. And you're completing the workout and you're running the best you have. so not trying to have a body that looks like someone else. If you're feeling that strength and power and you're improving for yourself.

[00:11:25] Zosia Bulhak: I love this quote because it shows that we can always improve in our mental and nutrition game. In another episode number 42, viz Expert and registered dietician, Maddie Elm demystifies some of the most common myths surrounding nutrition for athletes. There are so many great takeaways from this episode, and I would really recommend it to every athlete.

For example, Maddie.

[00:11:45] Maddie: The way that I look has nothing to do with performance and doesn't make me a good athlete.

[00:11:50] Zosia Bulhak: And she also highlights that ultimately nutrition is about caring for your body.

[00:11:54] Maddie: if you're under fueling now, you're probably going to be experiencing things like loss of bone density, which down the road can increase your risk for things like osteoporosis. You're only given one body. So it's important that you understand that the feeling choices you're making now are effecting that body and could potentially have negative consequences down the road. So you're not just feeling for your time as an athlete. You're feeling for this body that you have. It's really important that you make that a priority.

[00:12:22] Zosia Bulhak: This is so important to know! Another incredible vis expert and performance physiologist. Dr. Stacy Sims makes a similar point in episode number 93 where she and Steph discuss how our periods can enhance our performance.

She points out .

[00:12:36] Stacy: Well, if I was whispering to myself, I would tell myself to eat because of the sports that I was in and not to worry about it. But if I were to whisper something to a young girl, now I would tell her that being in sport and having her period is empowering. And it doesn't matter what other people think, because if we're in sport for ourselves and have fun, our body is really able to take on all the hits that come in. If we're healthy.

[00:13:05] Zosia Bulhak: In that episode, she also gives us so many tools for making sure that we are fueling correctly. Finally, one of my favorite episodes on the Voice and Sport Podcast surrounding nutrition is episode number 82 with professional runner Ali o Strand. Allie has had an incredible story as a three-time NCAA champion, and in this episode she shares her journey with disordered eating.

It is such a powerful episode and resonates so profoundly throughout the running community and the women's sports community in general. Allie reminds us that we are so much more than the food we eat.

[00:13:38] Allie O: Have confidence in your ability and trust that your body will be the best at the place where it. has everything that, it needs and it's healthy. And. You're not good because of your body. You are good because you're talented and driven and you work hard and those things won't go away just cause your body changes. I think the biggest thing that I always try to tell myself is that I don't look at other people and immediately judge them because of the way that they look, I care so much more about everything else about them. And that's definitely true for the way other people look at me and it should be true for the way that I look at myself as well. One of the things I have to keep in mind is that it's not about how I look on the outside. It's the thoughts that I have on the inside and the actions that I take that are actually What, matter.

[00:14:39] Zosia Bulhak: I hope you enjoyed these highlights from our nutrition episodes. Thanks.

[00:14:43] Stef: Here at Voice and Sport, we will not only strive to bring light to women athletes, but we wanna support all women, including non-binary athletes and women athletes of color. Advocacy is so important in order to gain equal access for everybody in sport. Unfortunately, male athletes still benefit way more than women with collegiate male athletes receiving 179 million more in athletic scholarships each year than women athletes do.

And professional women athletes receiving 15% to almost 100% less in salaries of prize money than male athletes. Additionally, those who identify as non-binary and compete in women's sports don't get the support they deserve and women of. Get only 17.5% of total opportunities that women in sports receive with some of the podcast guests highlighted in this section.

Voice and sport has worked really hard to increase the awareness of these issues in hopes that we can continue to break down these barriers to equality. Now one of our vis creators, Kate Tugman, is here to share some of the things she learned about advocacy from the Voice and Sport Podcast and her favorite episodes.

[00:15:55] Kate: Hi everyone. My name is Kate and I'm a creator here at Voice and Sport. I wanna emphasize that advocating for what you believe in and things you think should change are so important. A lot of the time we may point out things that are unjust, but never quite do anything about them.

At voice and sport, I've learned the importance of using your voice and actions for the. In episode 53, a World Champion's fight for women's sports, Hillary Knight reminds us that asking for change is not criminal. Women deserve to be recognized for their excellence.

[00:16:26] Hilary: To start it off, I wasn't the only one in the movement. It was years and years of conversations around training tables and meals and shared bus , rides, and traveling around the world together and listening to the veteran speak. And then finally, Coming into this room with my teammates and we're like, oh my gosh, like we're the old ones, there's so many things that we sit here and we complain about and we get upset about, because we know we deserve better.

We've earned better. We're the number one seat in the world better. And we don't have them. And you look over to the guys and it just seems so easy. we want that. We need that, our next generation needs that. So I think it was a culmination of all these things aligning.

[00:17:13] Kate: Similarly in episode 41 be true to yourself.

Nikki Hiltz, a non-binary track and field star, shows us the importance of coming into yourself and how this can not only be helpful for you, but positively influence those around you as well.

[00:17:25] Nikki: sometimes showing up as your true self can be really scary and really terrifying but it's always worth it. And I've found in my own experience that. It's definitely less terrifying than the idea of staying in the closet or not being your true self.

I said it earlier, but once I was open and honest, my times took off and my running just really took off and I don't think there was there's that's not a coincidence at all. And so yeah, just don't be afraid be herself, even if it is really scary.

I think, as a queer athlete with some sort of a platform I feel like I have this privilege and a responsibility, to do my part in raising up voices that are, underrepresented like the black community the trans community. And it is so important to me to use my platform to do that.

And I think sports should be a place for everyone. And I think right now it's not. And I really think, you know, trans women are being discriminated against and, I don't have all the answers, but , I feel like I do have this responsibility to try to you know, let's, see change. And I would just love for the culture and narrative of trans woman in sports , to change and for everyone to just be open-minded and kind, and just really dive into try to make sport a place for all. Because that's what it is, it should be a place, a melting pot of different cultures and races and gender identities and sexualities. And so I think right now, that's my number one and like what I want to see change in women's sports.

[00:18:54] Kate: In episode 34, be The Change. Lynn Williams shows us how important it is to advocate for black women. She highlights the importance of providing them with equal opportunities and positions of power, and inspires us with her amazing story.

[00:19:06] Lynn: Well, I think there needs to be some diversity training for sure. I don't know if it exists right now. I know it doesn't exist at the, the club level, but I think it needs to exist in all the levels the people who are up above working in management and also at the team level.

So that would be the biggest change I would have-- diversity training. And then also back to my point of getting women of color in higher positions of power, because then you'll have a voice, and somebody who knows what you need or the struggle you've gone through to get to that

point. And I would encourage coaches to be receptive to that. And I think that maybe once a month, maybe a couple of times a year, you have discussions about race. Within your team. I think that for some reason, race is this uncomfortable topic. And, it's probably because of the history about race and what we've done to black people in this country.

And so we don't talk about it and I would encourage coaches to talk about it and if a player's not feeling included going to the coach and saying, Hey, I would really like to implement this into our program, into our team.

[00:20:13] Kate: Another amazing story we've had on the podcast is that of Silver Olympic medalist Emma Wyant. In episode 63, staying composed Under Pressure, Emma emphasizes the importance of women supporting women on and off the field. The power that women possess is incredible, and we truly can do anything we put our minds to with the right tools in our box, such as a strong support system.

[00:20:32] Emma: I think one of the best pieces of advice that I got before that, one of the coaches on staff for team USA at the Olympics had told me "pressure is a privilege". And I think that was one of the coolest things I've ever heard, because, even though it might be hard to deal with you put yourself in a situation where you're able to have pressure and you're able to be in a place and perform under stress, but that's honestly the coolest place you could be.

Like, Even though it might be hard, I really wouldn't want it any other way, because that's where you've been dreaming of being your whole life.

I think when you're swimming with the flag on your tap, you're swimming for something much, much bigger than yourself. There's something for your team, your country, your family, and that comes with a lot of pressures in itself. And I think that once you're actually behind the blocks, just looking over in the stands and seeing team USA and knowing they have your back is the best feeling in the world.

[00:21:31] Kate: Finally in episode 23, transcend with confidence. Kendall Ellis shows us the grace of being the bigger person, even in unfair situations. As long as we continue to advocate for equality in an appropriate way and work hard as women athletes, we can hope to gain what we desire.

[00:21:47] Kendall: The three words I would use to describe my journey in sports so far would be transition, transform, and transcend. And I say transition because. everything in life is transitional going from AAU sports to middle school, to high school, to college, and then professional, there have always been new levels and new things to achieve.

And it's a bit of a process. You have to get used to the new things that are introduced at each level sport. And then transform because sometimes you don't have to become an entirely new person. But you learn so much more about yourself at every new level and they're just new things that you never would have discovered before.

And it's kind of a little bit of a transformation. Going from a seven year old, just having fun on the track to now a 24 year old professional who has other people looking up to her and other people she would like to make an impact on. Transforming into a woman and a role model for others.

And then transcend because a lot of times you just have to rise above. You have to rise above certain situations that may not be fair, or it may not seem like you're getting equal treatment. And you just have to rise above it and be the bigger person, understand that everything happens for a reason at the end of the day.

It'll all be good.

[00:23:07] Kate: I hope you enjoy these highlights from our advocacy episodes and stay tuned for future content.

[00:23:13] Stef: we're now gonna share some of the highlights from our episodes discussing our relationship with our bodies and body image. This is another really important topic that we know a lot of young girls and women in high school, college, and professional sports struggle with.

A study in the Sport Journal found that up to 30.7% of NCAA women athletes were either very dissatisfied or mostly dissatisfied with their overall appearance at Voice and Sport. We wanna make sure that our community knows that everybody's body is beautiful and that what matters most is that we are all strong and healthy and not how we.

On our platform, we work with amazing experts like Dr. Holly Thorpe to give you the best tools to learn about loving your body and overcoming body image challenges. We know that if this is something that you're struggling with, it's not possible to just flip the switch and immediately love your body unconditionally.

But if you can begin to appreciate your body, And what it represents, all the hard work that you put into your training and into your sport, that's a win. We're bringing back Soja to introduce her favorite episodes from The Voice and Sport podcast, focused on athlete's journeys with their bodies and body image.

[00:24:26] Zosia Bulhak: Hi again. Like Steph said, body image is something that affects so many women athletes across all levels of sports. I've struggled with it very much throughout high school and to this day in college, and listening to the stories of other women on the Voice and Support podcast has helped me so, It's made me feel like I'm a part of a community of women that understand what I'm going through, and it's made it so much easier to have that internal dialogue with myself Every time negative thoughts come up.

Feeling uncomfortable in your body can be such an isolating experience, but we are never truly alone in it. One of my favorite quotes that has helped me see how much my body does for me is all the way from episode number one with volleyball player Kelsey Robinson, where her and Steph talk about finding your power.

[00:25:12] kelsea robinson: Who you are is completely unique. There's nobody else like you and all the girls, like there's nobody else like you. And so find your power in that and like find the power in those little skinny legs and those scrawny little arms and you're going to grow into your body and you're going to get incredibly strong and, that's really powerful.

[00:25:31] Kelsey: Before my first Olympics, I was, you know, a gym rat. I lived and breathed volleyball. It was volleyball tunnel vision, like I'm going to do everything possible to get there and forget the rest. And , sitting here now and looking back, I mean, that's just an unsustainable way to live your life. And so, I prioritized my mental health, my emotional health moving forward because I knew that I wouldn't be able to keep going if I didn't, and kind of redefining who I am as person and what that actually means. So it's been a long journey, but the biggest lesson that I've learned is just how impactful creativity is to me and my health. And it allows me to feel joy, to feel presence and give me happiness in a way that volleyball can't. And so together, those things make me a full person.

[00:26:32] Zosia Bulhak: I really love that Kelsey encourages us to find our power. Another athlete whose message was similar and really resonated with me was pro mountain biker and World Champion Kate Courtney. , Kate and Steph talked in episode 68 where they dived into building mental toughness, and Kate shared her story with her body image.

[00:26:53] Kate: I don't train to be skinny. I train to be awesome at biking. And I train to be fast, and I train to be strong and I train to be a badass. I feel like personally, you know, in the media, there's a lot of conversations about females' bodies in a weird way. I feel like if you get really strong as a female athlete, all of a sudden you're big and bulky. And if you get really strong as a male athlete, you're strong. So, you know, there are a lot more things involved externally in that because it's something that other people see and comment on. My best advice is to get a nutritionist, have a sports psychologist, have even a parent or friend that someone you really trust and that you can talk about it with. I think when you talk to elite athletes, all of them have these moments where you question what you're doing, and if you find an answer that's really powerful and that propels you forward, that you skate on that answer for a long time. It's kind of that redefining of why.

[00:27:51] Zosia Bulhak: This is such a powerful message. I really love that quote. I don't train to be skinny. I trained to be awesome at biking. And I trained to be fast, and I trained to be strong, and I trained to be a badass. I think that's such, such a powerful quote. I also really loved episode number 54 with Olympic medalist and nine time Team USA gymnast Jordan childs. Jordan shared such a strong message of accepting and loving yourself, and I really encourage everybody to listen to her episode.

[00:28:20] Jordan Chiles: girl, be you. You're beautiful. You have every right to show what you want to show and express what you want to express. Don't let anybody else tell you something different. I do have to say for young girls out there, even girls like me now, speak up. It's all about speaking up because if you don't speak up, you're going to go through a time like the time that I went through, I felt like I was looking at the same wall every day. I was just in a box dark. I had no light to shine. I had nothing. But I realized that I needed to speak up.

[00:28:52] Zosia Bulhak: Finally, I also wanted to highlight some of the incredible vis experts who have come on the Voice and Support podcast to talk about body image, and they taught us how to fuel, recover and perform at our highest levels. One of my favorites was Dr. Emily Kraus in episode number 69, where she talked about preventing BR s and bone injury.

As somebody who has struggled with bone injuries quite a bit in my past, this was really important to know. Dr. Kraus really showed us how important recovery is and that we need to respect our body and take care of it correctly.

[00:29:23] emily_kraus-2021-10-6__14-49-22-1: I think it's important for those athletes to realize that tomorrow is one day, but we need to think about the future and the next year, the next five years, the next 10 years of their active life, and what habits they're doing now actually can have an effect in 10 years.

And that's hard for that athlete to really process because they're thinking about tomorrow's game they may not be able to participate in, but there are going to be more games, and if this injury is handled properly and if we can really get to the root of the problem, which sometimes requires peeling the onion quite a bit, they'll get back and they'll get back stronger.

[00:30:08] Zosia Bulhak: We also had Dr. Georgie Brownville on in episode 48, where she talked about how our period is a superpower and taught us how to best take care of our body at every stage of the menstrual cycle to perform on our.

[00:30:20] Georgie: They had no idea about. all of these myths that are out there saying you can't do this when you're on your period, you can't do a hands-down when you're on your period, you shouldn't be running when you're on your period. Or the best thing you should be doing is curling up in bed with a hot water bottle. And there are all these myths and questions that people had, they really just. Didn't have the understanding around what is going on in their body. Managing any anxiety and stress and just bringing your, a game to your recovery and sleep. And if you get all of them right then. I just really, really, really believe you're going to reduce your risk massively of having bad symptoms. So what does that mean? So again, anti inflammatory foods, antioxidant, so fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds, oily fish, chicken, and things that aren't too hard for your body to process. And again, everyone is different, but I think the key thing is to make sure you're fueling enough, but make sure you're fueling enough of the right things. It's all about learning about you and what to do. And actually we know, and I've seen time and time again, you can perform on any day of your cycle if you're proactive, if you eat right, if you sleep well and if you're doing all you can to recover, then actually there should be a superpower.

[00:31:31] Zosia Bulhak: I think this is such a cool message to send out to our community because a lot of the times our menstrual cycle is seen as something that inhibits performance rather than allowing us to be the best athletic version of ourselves.

And so I really appreciate the message that Dr. Brownville shared with us.

And finally in an exclusive episode for the Voice and Sport community, we had Dr. Megan Rohan. She shared so much incredible advice and information on Red as, but her most important message was one of self-love, regardless of everything else that is going on in your athletic, academic, personal, or body image.

[00:32:06] Megan: Every body type has a place in sport and there's not one body type at all that is perfect, or that is ideal for sport. There are so many different ways to be successful in sport. And to me, that's a really powerful and exciting thing for female athletes.

You are enough. You are enough as you are. You're perfect as you are. There is no reason to try to change into something that you think, you know, is this idealistic version of yourself or comparing yourself to someone else. And I would take that saying, I am enough and write it on a post-it note and stick it on your bathroom mirror and touch it every morning. It's going to be hard some days to believe that. I certainly know. I have days when I look at that and I'm like, well, I don't know if I'm enough today, but if you can get yourself to believe that just one more day or one more week, that to me is a big win. Just understanding that you are enough as you are.

I am enough and knowing that I am enough is not conditional on body weight. It's not conditional on appearance. It's not conditional on race result. It's not conditional on anything. It's that you are enough as you are. You're perfect as you are.

[00:33:01] Zosia Bulhak: Thank you for listening, and I really hope you enjoyed the selection of our best body episodes. Thanks.

[00:33:07] Stef: To conclude this section, we wanted to share seven expert backed ways that you can support a teammate or friend going through an eating disorder. Number one, don't comment on their body or what they eat, or even what you eat and how you feel about your body, even if it is compliments. Number two, listen to how they feel and what they are struggling with.

Validate those feelings without comparing them to. Number three, encourage them to ask for help and try to find resources that can make the process easier. Remind them that they are not alone. Number four, be mindful of how they are feeling and how other people's comments could impact their own thoughts.

Number five, ask questions to find out what support they would like and if there are triggers or behaviors to look out for. Number six, learn about what they're struggling with and how you can best support them. Number seven, take care of yourself.

It can be hard to support someone who is struggling with an eating disorder. Remember to look after your own mental health in the process.

Thank you for being part of the community at Voice and Sport, and for support over the last 100 episodes. While we interview some of the most incredible athletes and experts, if you are a girl in sport, in middle school, high school, or college, and interested in joining our community, you can sign up for free@voiceandsport.com to get started.

This week's special episode was produced and edited by three Viz creators, Soja Hawk, a track and CrossCountry athlete from the University of Houston. Elizabeth Martin, a soccer player at Emory University, and Kate Tugman, a track and CrossCountry athlete at u c. Help us celebrate the 100th episode by leaving us a rating and review on Apple and Spotify.

If you would like to support the girls at Voice and Sport, please consider gifting a membership to a girl in sport. You can head to voice and sport.com/sponsorships or as the end of the year nears, donate to the Voice and Sport Foundation at Voice and Sport Foundation dot. Voice and Sport Foundation is a public charity 5 0 1 , which supports research, education, and advocacy for women in sport.

If you are a coach, head over to voice and sport.com/team and request a demo with our team. We offer team sessions with our VIS experts and vis mentors.

And if you're a parent, consider gifting your daughter a premium membership in fueling her VIS card to unlock mentoring and experts. This is a great way to support her through the new year and make sure she starts 2023 off by prioritizing her mental and physical health with the guidance from the best experts and mentors when you join the Voice and Sport Premium Plan for $2 a month, you gain access to all of the amazing episodes we shared with you today, including exclusive podcasts from our vis experts.

Happy Holidays, and we can't wait to see you in the new year on the Voice and Sport Podcast.