Aspire guide
Team Resources
Team Resources manual
How to Talk About Weight Without Causing Harm
Coach-facing scripts and guardrails to address fueling and performance without harmful weight talk or body-focused messaging.
Why this matters
Coach-facing scripts and guardrails to address fueling and performance without harmful weight talk or body-focused messaging.
Read time
3 min
Audience
Coach + Parent
Use it for
Team Resources
Start here
The safest weight conversation is usually a fueling and health conversation instead.
Coach prompt
Rewrite one risky phrase your staff uses into a performance-based version this week.
Print & share
Printable handout preview
One-page sheet
How to Talk About Weight Without Causing Harm
Read time
3 min
Audience
Coach + Parent
Start with the printable
The safest weight conversation is usually a fueling and health conversation instead.
Best next move
Use it this week
Rewrite one risky phrase your staff uses into a performance-based version this week.
Quick reference map
Use the guide like a structured handout
In the library
Format
Read the full ebook here, then jump to the one-page handout when you need the shareable version.
Best use
Open the sections you need, print the handout, then send both to coaches, parents, or athletes.
Quick start
Start here
Coach-facing scripts and guardrails to address fueling and performance without harmful weight talk or body-focused messaging.
Better script
Comment on what the athlete can do, not how they look
- Use language like low energy, poor recovery, missed meals, or repeated flat sessions.
- That keeps the focus on performance and health instead of body surveillance.
What to avoid
Never turn body size into team currency
- Avoid public comments, comparisons, weigh-ins, or praise for visible shrinking.
- Even casual jokes can shift the whole team toward harmful interpretation.
When you need to talk
Use private, direct, low-drama check-ins
- Ask about breakfast, lunch, pre-practice fuel, recovery, sleep, and stress first.
- Stay curious and concrete instead of leading with assumptions.
TL;DR Card
- Never coach body size. Coach behaviors.
- Replace weight talk with fueling, recovery, and training consistency.
- Public weigh-ins and body comments create risk and liability.
What Coaches Can Say
Your energy looks low late in workouts. Let's fix pre-practice and recovery fuel.
I want your fuel and recovery to match your training load.
We do not talk about body size in this program.
Let's bring in a sports dietitian and keep this focused on performance.
Unlock the rest of the manual
Full access opens every section, the ebook PDF, and the printable handout companion.
What to do next
Use it this week
Rewrite one risky phrase your staff uses into a performance-based version this week.
Source topics
coach communication • weight talk • disordered eating prevention • team culture • RED-S