196. Look Good, Feel Great, Perform Better Without Changing Your Body with Marina Paul

This episode of the Female Athlete Nutrition podcast is with former NCAA Division I soccer player, author and founder of SPRHRA, Marina Paul. Growing up in a sporty family, Marina shares how athletics was always part of her life. However, this came with misinformation about diet and health that impacted Marina’s relationship with food. Pressure to maintain her spot as a star player, coupled with negative environmental factors, led to Marina developing an eating disorder in high school that continued on into college. With better fueling, Marina was able to have an outstanding athletic career at Georgetown University while studying business. Now an entrepreneur, Marina merged her love of sports with business to found women’s sports apparel brand SPRHRA, pronounced “superhera”. We discuss some of the problems with the fashion industry not being designed for female athletes and how SPRHRA is trying to change that. Marina talks about what makes SPRHRA clothing unique, as well as the importance of proper fitting and feeling clothing for peak performance.  Marina is also the author of “Becoming a Superhero: Awaken Your Superpowers and Inspire the Magic in Others”, a book based on countless interviews with incredible women leaders and role models. You can check it out here! We discuss her book and the stories that inspired it, including her own. Interested in SPRHRA or want to learn more? Get in touch with Marina at [email protected]  TOPIC TIMESTAMPS: 5:30 Introducing Marina Paul and her athletic family background  12:20 The impact of family and environment on food and body image 16:20 Marina’s eating disorder story: athletics pressures, family and high school culture 19:10 Realizing you have an eating disorder and need help 23:00 Physical and performance consequences of undereating 29:00 Marina’s book: “Becoming a Superhero”, all about women leaders 35:00 Making women’s fashion and activewear more inclusive 43:30 What makes SPRHRA activewear unique; Why fit and feel matters to performance 48:40 How to work with SPRHRA; Medical and recovery benefits of SPRHRA activewear 54:55 SPRHRA (Superhera) brand story 56:30 End of the podcast questions  Check out SPRHRA and Marina’s book “Becoming a Superhero”. Follow Marina on Instagram @marinapaul SPRHRA @sprhra_ and me, your host Lindsey Cortes, @female.athlete.nutrition  SIGN UP FOR EMAIL LIST: https://riseupnutrition.activehosted.com/f/6  Check out our NEW website with resources, blogs, and more: www.FemaleAthleteNutritionPodcast.com Join our amazing "FANS": Female Athlete Nutrition Supporters by considering a contribution of just $5 a month: https://www.patreon.com/femaleathletenutrition Health Practitioner or Dietitian? Check out ThatCleanLife for recipes & meal planning software: https://get.thatcleanlife.com/femaleathletenutrition Check out more brand partners and affiliates at: https://www.femaleathletenutritionpodcast.com/affiliatepartners We are so grateful to our FANS and listeners! I hope you enjoy the episode.