REDs Is More Than a Buzzword — For Many, It’s the Diagnosis That Finally Made Everything Make Sense.
For athletes who’ve lived with unexplained fatigue, stress fractures, irregular periods, or burnout masked as "grit" — REDs can feel like the answer no one ever gave them.
Finally, a model that says:
No, it’s not just in your head.
Yes, your exhaustion does matter.
And no, more discipline is not the solution.
But REDs is also complex — not always black-and-white.
It’s multi-systemic, multifaceted, and deeply personal.
Which begs the question: how do we support those on the front lines — the coaches, GPs, dietitians, and physios — when time is tight, training loads are high, and REDs isn’t always visible?
So What Can We Do to Better Support Coaches and Practitioners?
1️⃣ Give them tools that are fast, not fluffy.
Most GPs don’t have time for deep diagnostic criteria.
What they do need are:
Simple symptom screeners - like AHaRC (The Athlete Health and Readiness Checklist) or REDs flags checklists including LEAF-Q (Low Energy Availability in Females Questionnaire), EDE-QS (Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire Short), POMS (Profile of Mood States, RESTQ-Sport (Recovery-Stress Questionnaire for Athletes), DALDA (Daily Analysis of Life Demands of Athletes)
Referral guides for who to loop in and when
Quick fuel (our RED-Scue energy restoration bites) & recovery conversation starters/templates they can actually use
2️⃣ Create safe language, not fear-based scripts.
Telling an athlete they might lose their period, break a bone, or “wreck their future” creates shutdown.
Instead, we can:
Emphasise performance longevity
Frame fuel as a tool, not a threat
Normalise talking about energy availability like we do hydration or sleep
3️⃣ Train coaches to observe, not diagnose.
Coaches shouldn’t be clinicians — and they don’t need to be.
But they can be trained to look for:
Sudden mood shifts
Loss of menstrual cycle
Excessive training or training in secret
Obsessive behaviours around food, training, or rest
Declining performance with no clear explanation
And then ask the question that matters: “What’s going on under the surface?”It’s important that coaches tailor training/competition schedules to the individual - each body is different and responds to mileage differently
Appreciate that low weight does not equal a “better” or “healthier” athlete
Our #REDsAlphabet campaign is trying to erase bodyweight restrictions/guidelines, including weighing athletes in sports where this is NOT applicable.
4️⃣ Value stories over labels.
REDs isn’t just about missing nutrients — it’s about missing support, safety, and balance.
When we listen to the athlete's whole story — we often find the answers before the diagnosis ever lands.
We are currently curating age-specific conversation starter templates for coaches and practitioners to use with their athletes - especially around injury, nutrition, disordered eating, and appropriate training volume.
At RED-Scue, we’re building tools athletes can actually use — not clinical pathways, but daily check-ins, resources, campaigns, RED-s specific snacks, and conversations that don’t require medical training to start.
Because for so many of us, REDs wasn’t just a diagnosis.
It was finally a name for the pain we’d been living with for years.
And now?
We’re building solutions — together — that nourish the body and the system around it.
Let’s keep shifting athlete care from a reaction-based system to a readiness-informed one. What would you add?
A human-first, athlete-first approach is often the best way to navigate REDs - as athletes, we just want to be listened to and supported. Our symptoms are not just “clinical” - they’re career-altering and life-changing - and that needs to be appreciated.
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At Red-Scue, we’re the first energy restoration bites for athletes with RED-s (Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport). Award-winning nutrition: we've won the 2025 SETSquared UK Product Innovation Award!
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