Natalie Tyner on disordered eating and performance anxiety as a collegiate runner

This conversation is published in full on the Lane 9 Podcast, episode 44.

“I had lost my period for a year. I was definitely not eating nearly enough, eating healthy to an extreme point…it was a very unhealthy relationship with my body,” shares Natalie Tyner, who was a North Carolina State Champion in high school and went on to compete collegiately for University of North Carolina (UNC). Tyner is now focusing her work on supporting high school athletes who are preparing to compete at a higher level, navigating mental health, performance nutrition, and balancing their training with adequate rest. She’s doing this work because she knows how hard it is to compete at the D1 level, and wants future athletes to be more prepared than she was. 

This episode also covers: 

• the knee injury Tyner has been navigating for a few years
• feeling wholly unprepared for the college athlete experience, and running at a higher level, during her freshman year of college
• the disordered eating, and hypothalamic amenorrhea she experienced in high school, and how a cookbook can sometimes feel like a rule book
• the performance anxiety that plagued her running experience for years
• the culture around food, body image, and periods that she experienced during her collegiate experience
• and both why and how she came into the work she does now, supporting high school athletes as they prepare for the collegiate athlete life

Follow Tyner @NatSportPrep on Instagram to connect with her. 

Follow @Lane9project on Instagram.

If you are also struggling with disordered eating, hypothalamic amenorrhea, and/or performance anxiety (or other mental health issues), our directory of women’s health and sport clinicians are here to help. We’ll match you with a provider in your area.