Trigger warning: this article contains references to eating disorders, which some people may find distressing.
Shockingly, up to 45% of elite female athletes, and up to 85% of US collegiate athletes, don’t fuel their bodies enough for sport. The problem is mostly caused by disordered eating, and further US studies have found that 95% of athletes who experience the problem aren’t being treated for it.
Disordered eating is an issue that can happen to anyone, and research shows it can have a profound impact on sport, health and personal lives. NSW Swift and Diamond invitee Teigan O’Shannassy is helping to shed light on this subject, through her work as an athlete and nutritionist, her passion project “Tossed Together” and sharing her story.
The science in brief
If an athlete uses more energy than they take in by mouth, they risk developing Relative Energy Deficiency Syndrome (RED-S) in which their bodies don’t get enough fuel to support the needs of their daily lives. It can be commonly caused by an eating disorder, a form of psychological illness that can have serious consequences. REDS is often seen as part of the Female Athlete Triad, along with low bone mineral density and menstrual dysfunction.
The issues caused by the Female Athlete Triad are wide ranging, and can include not having enough energy to meet training and game day needs. Physically, muscle strength can be lost, while coordination and aerobic function can suffer. Athletes may be more prone to injury, fractures and illness, and they might take longer to recover or for fractures to heal. The cardiovascular system might be impacted with abnormal heart rhythm.
Hormones can also become disordered with possible changes to the menstrual cycle. Menstrual dysfunction can include the partial or complete loss of periods, altered oestrogen production and ovulation, all of which may impact fertility. Up to 65% of some athlete groups, such as distance runners, can experience menstrual irregularities.
The impacts on the brain are also profound – it operates at a high metabolic rate so changes in brain chemistry can lead to poor decision making, problem solving, emotional control and even anxiety and depression. The changing brain function can in turn catapult the body into an increasingly vicious cycle.
Returning to adequate refuelling can reverse most of these changes over time.
O’Shannassy said, “At the beginning of my career I was unaware that I was under fuelling, and I did struggle with an eating disorder. I was injured a lot, and when you feel out of control, you try and control something. For me that was food.”
“With injury after injury, it affected my mindset. I’d think, ‘I’m not training, so I can’t eat as much. I’d come into training under fuelled, and get injured again. So I was just stuck. I really got caught up in that whole cycle.”
Teigan O’Shannassy takes a screamer over Shimona Nelson. Image: May Bailey/Clusterpix
How Teigan’s under fuelling story started
“Growing up and coming into the elite pathway, I was tall, I was lanky, I wasn’t as athletic as others and I really struggled with that.”
As an outstanding 17 year old defender, O’Shannassy was selected for Australia’s Netball World Youth Cup team that took silver in 2017, and she was also a training partner for Giants Netball. She remembers that she wasn’t getting her period, and was unaware of the relationship between under fuelling and her changing menstrual cycle. She mentioned it to the Giants’ dietitian who flagged that there could be a problem, but before it could be addressed, her body deteriorated.
She said, “I ended up getting a stress fracture in my back, because my bone density had been affected.”
As O’Shannassy healed, she signed a contract with the Giants for the 2019 season, but then ruptured her Achilles. Food became one of the few aspects of her physical condition she could control.
“I was very vulnerable, and thought that I couldn’t take my body for granted any more. I became almost over determined to be the fittest I could be, the best kind of athlete.
“As part of that I began to restrict and control my food on purpose. At the time I thought I knew what I was doing, but ended up breaking my wrist very badly because of my bone density, and that shouldn’t have happened.
“I was also getting sick a lot, and developed glandular fever and chronic fatigue syndrome, because I felt like I couldn’t stop. I became obsessed with exercise, and I was so scared of getting injured again, but without knowing it I was putting my body at more risk of getting those injuries.”
During those couple of years, O’Shannassy felt constantly drained. “I was in a state of weakness and fatigue. I remember we would have this big session on a Tuesday, and I would always call Wednesday ‘death day.’
“I would wake up and feel horrific. Like absolute shit. My glands in my neck would be swollen, but I thought that was all normal. What an athlete feels like.
“I used to get home and just feel like I couldn’t do anything. I wouldn’t go out and see my friends because I was scared of eating food that I couldn’t control.
“In the gym, I just wasn’t putting on any muscle, and fitness wise, strength on court, I just wasn’t there.”
O’Shannassy also noticed some impact on her brain. She struggled with concentration and focus, and felt very isolated.
“Because I didn’t talk about it, I felt like I was the only person having problems. I was never diagnosed with anxiety or depression, but I do remember being very emotional. I cried to mum all the time, and my levels of anxiety were increased.
“The constant feeling of not being good enough, it was all linked, and that’s what I was chasing.”
Teigan O’Shannassy has always been strong on intercepts and rebounds. Image – May Bailey/Clusterpix Sports
Breaking the cycle
During her time as a Giant, O’Shannassy had very little court time – the first year due to her ruptured Achilles, the second due to her glandular fever and fatigue. For an athlete who just wanted to be out on court, it was devastating.
“When I got glandular fever, I thought I’d just need a week off then be able to come back to play. They basically said, ‘No, you’re done for the season.’
“It was heartbreaking. I felt like I’d given so much of my life to netball. The best part is playing and I felt like I wasn’t ever getting to play. I was making all of these sacrifices, and most of them were impacting on my body.”
While O’Shannassy didn’t understand what she was going through, the Giants certainly did. She was called into a meeting with the coaching and medical staff. She reflects, “They sat me down and said that I needed help.
“I was still in denial. I still had glandular fever and was trying to push myself. But I didn’t know what to do and was scared of letting myself rest. In hindsight, it was counteractive to what I needed.
“The Giants told me they wouldn’t be taking me up to the (Covid) hub.
“While I felt like the Giants didn’t want me, that wasn’t on them. It was me. They just wanted me to get help.”
While losing her contract was a massive ordeal for O’Shannassy, it was also the wake up call that she needed. She finally understood that she needed to make changes, and while she initially found it embarrassing to open up, she needed to accept the help that was on offer.
Teigan O’Shannassy snaffling a ball against the Firebirds. Image Danny Dalton.
Becoming a Swift
O’Shannassy started to work with a therapist, and there was also dawn on the playing horizon. Late in 2021 she got a message from the Swifts’ head coach, Briony Akle, asking what her plans were for next year.
“That really sparked something in me. I thought, ‘My God, yes, I want to get better so that I can do this.’
“It was almost like a fresh start for me, and I knew that I needed to make changes.”
O’Shannassy challenged herself to seek help, and to take all the steps she needed to return to good health.
While she was coming off two injury and illness interrupted seasons, Swifts were prepared to support her return to court. For O’Shannassy one of the biggest breakthroughs came when she decided to talk about her situation.
She said, “A lot of people can try and help you, but in my experience, it has to start from within. For me, part of that was sharing my story.
“The more I spoke about it, the more I opened up about it, the more I realised eating disorders are so prevalent and many people were experiencing similar things.
“So not feeling so isolated really helped in my healing process, and hopefully speaking out can in turn help others in similar situations.”
Teigan O’Shannassy playing in the Swifts’ Heritage dress against the Vixens. Image Danny Dalton/Tah Dah Sports
Breaking new ground
O’Shannassy started to develop a healthier relationship with her eating. While studying for her degree in nutrition, she gained a better understanding of what her body needed for fuel, and lost her fear of eating processed foods.
She explained, “Society deems a lot of foods as being unhealthy, but it’s important to see them in balance. For example, there’s often a real stigma around lollies and processed food. And while they might not be suitable to eat regularly for someone with a desk job, they’re really important for an athlete.
“They’re great to have right before training or a game because they digest well, they give you a quick source of energy which helps you to perform.”
It took time, but O’Shannassy returned to better health and improved performance.
“I remember waking up after a heavy training session and actually feeling good. And I was like, ‘Wow, I never thought that could happen!’
“That feeling of goodness was enough for me to keep going. And in that week I got to play a game, and I played well enough for me to think, ‘Okay, I can still do this!’
“I’ve still had a number of injuries at Swifts, but I feel like how I’ve responded and coped with that voice in my head – I just don’t let it control me anymore.”
O’Shannassy continues to work with a therapist, and while it’s taken a couple of years for her body to return to normal, a quick measure of how she’s going is her menstrual cycle. Eating disorders go hand in hand with a loss of periods, and the return of the menstrual cycle can be a sign of recovery and healthier energy balance.
“When I first got my period back it would come and then disappear, which was my body adjusting to more food,” said O’Shannassy.
“It wasn’t a quick fix, it was very up and down.
“Not having a period as an athlete, and the reasons behind it didn’t used to be spoken about much, but now with better education, I’m more aware of it.”
Getting some decent airtime – Teigan O’Shannassy against the Mavericks. Image: May Bailey/Clusterpix
Tossed Together
O’Shannassy and her friend and fellow netballer Claire O’Brien had regularly shared recipes on Instagram, and Tossed Together became an extension of that. A play on her nickname, Tossy, the site offers nutritional consults, workshops, training sessions, recipes and cookbooks.
She said, “I’ve found that sorting out my nutritional issues has helped me to be a better athlete.
“So doing my workshops, giving people the tools and information they need, is a massive passion of mine.”
The key message, according to O’Shannassy, is that nutrition is individual. People shouldn’t compare what they eat, because what works for one person isn’t necessarily right for another.
With a sweet tooth, and banana bread her favourite go to, O’Shannassy loves experimenting in her kitchen. She regularly posts new recipes online, and she’s also written eight e-cookbooks which are available for sale on her website.
And while food now fuels her body, it also serves a greater purpose in her life. It’s become a social event that she shares with friends, rather than staying home and being isolated through fear of eating out.
“When I’m going out with friends to eat this amazing food, I’ll dive straight in, because I’m fuelling my soul as well as my body. That’s something so important about food that we often overlook.”
In her work as an athlete, O’Shannassy has found that fuelling her body involves as much trial and error as developing a new recipe does.
“It’s so individual. I’ve found some foods work better in giving me energy or making me feel good before training or a game. Some foods are less effective for me.
Learning through experimentation has inspired O’Shannassy to write another book, this time in print, which will be available through her website in a few weeks. As well as including recipes from netball players around the league, it’s an interactive workbook that people can use to record their intake before training and how it made them feel.
“It’s probably the book I am most excited about, because people, from children right through to adults, can use the tools to find what food works for them as an individual.
The 2026 NSW Swifts. Image: Danny Dalton/Tah Dah Sports
Looking ahead
O’Shannassy’s determination to return to better eating habits and good health has paid off. She was in strong form for the Swifts last season, which saw her rewarded with an invitee role to the Australian Diamonds. It’s also allowed her to dream big – a premiership, and an eventual breakthrough into the Diamonds squad.
“People do make sacrifices to play sport, and for me they’ve come at the expense of my body.
“But in the last two years especially, I’ve just gone out on court and enjoyed myself. I’ve tried to take my opportunities with both hands.
“Now that I have more balance, I honestly think it’s helped me to play better.”
Resources are available at:
www.ais.gov.au/disorderedeating
www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/eating-disorders-athletes
