Case Study - a nutrition change to improve the triathlon run

Running does not require a gym membership, it's fairly inexpensive and you can do it almost anywhere (and anytime). It comes with a list of benefits including body composition changes, fitness gains, stress relief and improved self-confidence. Plus, when you run outside, you get to explore nature with your senses. Running is also a great way to feel connected to your community. 

While running can provide you with a great endorphin-rush, making you feel like you are capable of tackling everything on your to-do list after you finish your workout, running does come with a few downfalls.

Running is very corrosive on the body and comes with a great risk of injury. Running requires good range of motion as well as exceptional cardiorespiratory endurance and muscular strength. Injuries due to overtraining, poor biomechanics and improper shoes or increasing mileage too quickly are very common in runners of all fitness levels.

For triathletes, aside from injuries, one of the biggest concerns that I hear time and time again is the complain of nutrition issues. Those dreaded side stitches and gut-related issues like bloating, belching, diarrhea/loose stools and vomiting are no fun during a run workout or running race. 

A while back, I started working with triathlete Joel, who is a well-experienced long-distance triathlete. Joel and his wife Ali are accomplished triathletes and love to race. Joel was frustrated that he was unable to put together a solid marathon off the bike in an Ironman. Physically he felt like he was able to complete the distance but as the miles progressed, he consistently suffered from fatigue - turning his run into a walk.

To learn more about what Joel changed with his nutrition to help him excel on race day, you can read the full article here on Triathlete.com or on page 47 of the August 2018 Triathlete Magazine Issue in print.

If you are interested in incorporating a hydration belt into your workout (or race day) wardrobe, here's a recent blog post on the topic and a discount code for the Naked Running Belt: Benefits of wearing a hydration belt

The Celiac Athlete - nutritional needs

Picture source

For any athlete with Celiac disease, it may feel overwhelming to meet daily and athletic nutritional needs with a gluten-free diet. But just because you have Celiac disease, your diet doesn't have to adversely affect performance or sabotage health IF you plan appropriately.

As a Celiac athlete, you should not feel embarrassed or frustrated with your dietary situation. With proper education and guidance, you can stay healthy and optimize performance to meet your athletic goals. 

In the May 2018 issue of Triathlete, you can check out my latest case study article. I featured a Celiac triathlete that I worked with and his struggles relating to meeting his nutrition and energy needs while training for long-distance triathlon events and what we changed to help him find athletic success in training and on race day. 

Here are a few tips for the Celiac athlete: 

• Read ingredient labels and avoid cross-contamination. When it doubt, go without. 
• Stick with your go-to "safe" foods before key training sessions and races. Avoid eating out and be in charge of what you cook and eat. 
• Plan ahead for traveling, meeting, events and busy days. Make sure to have snacks available so you can stay nourished and fueled with gluten-free options.
• Prioritize real foods that are naturally gluten-free to meet your nutritional needs for meals and snacks. 
• Utilize processed/convenient gluten-free foods for energy density when you need to bump-up your caloric intake on higher volume training days. 
• Be mindful of your caloric and carbohydrate intake to make sure you are eating "enough" as it's easy to fall short on your needs when avoiding gluten containing foods. 
• Carefully select your foods as many gluten-free foods are poorly fortified. Common nutrient deficiencies (which may result from malabsorption) include iron, zinc, calcium and B12. Keep an eye on your fiber intake to keep your digestive system healthy. 
• As you put your energy into a gluten-free diet, don't forget about your protein and fat needs. 
• If you suffer from pain, headaches, fatigue, GI issues, chronic sickness or injury or a decline in performance, reach out to a sport RD for nutritional help. 

Should you go Keto?

It seems like every week we hear of an endurance athlete thriving on a ketogenic diet. While advocates boast about endless energy, bonk-free training/racing and rapid weight loss, there are several limitations beyond strict dietary compliance, bad breath and digestive issues.

What is Ketosis?
Under normal physiological conditions, glucose is the primary energy source of the brain. When dietary carbohydrates are restricted and insulin drops, the body becomes stressed and requires an alternative energy source to maintain normal brain cell metabolism. Fatty acids are subsequently mobilized and broken down in the liver to produce ketones. The liver then releases ketone bodies into the bloodstream where they travel to the brain to be used as the new fuel source. Although the ketogenic diet was originally developed as a drug-free way to treat epilepsy, athletes are now voluntarily putting the body into a state of ketosis in order to oxidize fatty acids and use ketones for energy. To achieve ketosis, dietary carbohydrate intake must be restricted to less than 50 grams per day, which is equivalent to one small banana and potato. In a ketogenic diet, around 75% of calories are derived from fats, 20% from protein and the remaining 5% from carbohydrates.

Ketosis and performance
From a performance standpoint, triathlon involves relatively short-duration, high-intensity efforts to boost your anaerobic threshold and as you quickly transition from swim to bike to run, climb hills, accelerate past a competitor and sprint to the finish line. These high-intensity efforts are highly dependent on carbohydrate metabolism and a ketogenic diet may reduce the capacity to utilize carbs, thus compromising your specific energy needs during training and racing. Since you don’t need to be in ketogenic state to improve your fat-burning abilities (thankfully, endurance training will naturally do this for you), focus on a nourishing diet to keep your muscles and liver stocked with glycogen. A well-balanced diet should contain 4-10g/kg/day carbohydrates, 1.5-1.8g/kg/day protein and 1g/kg/day fat.

Final thoughts
You probably know that one athlete who has athletically succeeded on a ketogenic diet but there’s far too many athletes who have overhauled the diet to induce ketosis, only to disrupt other body systems which consequently wrecked metabolic and hormonal health and impaired race day performance. As a reminder, your race day performance is influenced by much more than what is occurring inside of you on a cellular level.

Since real life athlete applications have failed to consistently show promising sustainable improvements in endurance performance, more research is needed to establish the effectiveness of a ketogenic diet for triathletes.

To read the article in print, check out the May 2018 issue of Triathlete Magazine (pg. 48).

Should you swish or swallow?

When was the last time you felt a sudden drop of energy during a workout but after a quick sip of a sport drink, swig of a gel or chop of a chew, you felt an instant pick-me-up?

Because skeletal muscle glucose uptake during exercise is not an instant process, it's important to consider the practicality of sport nutrition products as it relates to meeting your fluid, electrolyte, carbohydrate and motivational eeds.

Because of the time that it takes to digest and absorb nutrients (nutrients must move from the mouth to the small intestines, where absorption occurs), this is one of the primary reasons to rely on well-formulated sport nutrition products (instead of real food) in a convenient/portable form, to supply your body with a steady intake of "fuel" regularly throughout training/racing.

Ironically, when you consume sport nutrition, your muscles don't receive a quick jolt of energy, but instead, your brain was rewarded by something sweet (glucose), giving you a well-needed motivational/energy boost.

Although fatigue can be delayed through regular consumption of sport nutrition products during training/racing, it's the perception of glucose, rather than the metabolism of glucose in the body, that often gives you the instant energy boost as soon as you sip your sport drink or put some type of sugar in your mouth. In other words, in addition to ingesting calories, electrolytes and fluids, you can keep your brain communicating with your muscles to keep you moving during moments of low energy/motivation by swishing and spitting your sport drink (or sucking on an energy chew).

A lot of athletes question our strong desire to wear a hydration belt/pack when running - regardless of the volume/intensity of the workout/race. 

Well, it doesn't take much (sugar) to keep you going when you could be giving up due to low energy/motivation in training and racing and your low moment can be very unpredictable. I can't tell you how many times during a long distance race or intense workout that I was glad to have my fuel available around my waist when I needed it (between aid stations/intervals) due to a sudden drop in blood sugar or just a low moment. Just a sip, swish and either spit or swallow, and I found myself with an instant boost of energy to keep me going in the face of fatigue.

To learn more about this topic "Swish or Swallow" you can check out my article in the March/April issue of Triathlete Magazine.

Don't be afraid to share your struggles

In our social media obsessed world, it's very easy to scroll through Facebook or Instagram and feel like everyone but you is succeeding in life - diet, training, family, relationship, career......

Living a failure-free life is not possible nor is it worth striving for. We all struggle at times. Furthermore, setbacks bring value to life as they give life greater meaning when things go well. A failure makes you appreciate the successful moments and forces you to learn how to react to unfavorable situations.

Although it's normal to use social media to post/share your highlighted moments in life, it's important to acknowledge your setbacks and not hide your feelings when you are in a tough place. Instead of avoiding your feelings or pretending that you are ok, accept sadness, embarrassment, guilt, frustration, depression and fear in your grieving process.

For almost every athlete, a setback is bound to occur at some point in your athletic career, if not at least once per season. Sickness, injury, a life transition or a pivot from structured training can be difficult to accept, not to mention the disruption to your normal flow of life. But don't let it get you down - take action and stay strong.

As an athlete, important part of self-discovery is embracing the setbacks and struggles that you encounter and learning from the past. Accept that your road to athletic excellence will not be smooth sailing and struggling is a normal part of your journey. Fighting through obstacles and not giving up is an awesome way to write your comeback story.

In an effort to normalize setbacks as an important part of the triathlon (or any athletic) journey, I am excited to announce my new "Case Study" column in Triathlete Magazine, where I will share an athlete that I worked with on nutrition and discuss the "problem" and "treatment" plan. I am excited to share these athletes and their authentic, real, raw life- failures and all.  I am not sure how many articles I will write and for how long but I can share that my first article is out in the March/April issue of Triathlete Magazine.

I am very honored to share Heather's incredible story as my first case study column as I feel many athletes can identify with her past struggle with race day nutrition and feel inspired and motivated by her incredible comeback story. She was one incredible athlete to work with and her determination to overcome her setback was incredible. 

You must not let a setback define you or convince you that giving up is the best option. 

Sharing your struggles makes you stronger. Be real, be raw, be authentic, be you. 

No person should feel shame or guilt from failure. Instead, embrace your setbacks and don't forget to celebrate the good moments in life. 

If you can't figure out the answer to your problem on your own, reach out to a professional for help. 

Proper recovery nutrition for every type of workout

As a sport dietitian who specializes in endurance sports, one of the most common questions I receive from athletes is, “what should I eat after a workout?”

For the performance-focused athlete, effective refueling strategies can help optimize recovery so that you can achieve the desired training adaptations from your workouts. But recovery nutrition is much more than drinking a smoothie after your swim, bike, or run. 

Specific refueling recommendations vary based on fitness level, volume, and intensity of the workout, body composition goals, menstruation (for females), and daily energy intake needs.

To help you get the most out of your training sessions and to reduce the confusion on what, when and how much to eat post workout, check out this recent article I wrote for Triathlete magazine online. 

To read more: The proper recovery fuel for every type of workout

Do you need fuel during a sprint triathlon?

When you think of a "sprint" you may imagine feeling out-of-breath with an uncomfortable lactic acid burn, going as hard and fast as possible for a very short period of time (perhaps 10-60 seconds). Although the intensity at which you race a sprint triathlon dictates how much you will suffer, a sprint triathlon is not technically a "short" race when it may take you over 60 minutes to complete the swim/bike/run distance.

I find that many triathletes, especially newbies, assume that a "sprint" triathlon does not require the need for calories or fluids during the race because the race is completed in a quick amount of time. While you can complete the distance sans sport nutrition and you won't fully deplete your glycogen stores enough to sabotage your performance, ingesting carbs during a sprint triathlon may still give you the competitive edge. 

You can learn more about my nutrition/fueling strategies and tips for performing at your best in a sprint distance triathlon in the January/February 2018 issue of Triathlete Magazine, Pg. 47.
Any questions, just send me an email.

And while we are talking about sprint triathlons, I'll share a throwback to my very first sprint triathlon circa 2004......

                                                   

And now today.......still smiling, thanking my body and enjoying the journey.

How I fuel - Triathlete feature

A few months ago, I saw an email in my inbox from my contact at Triathlete Magazine. I assumed it was a request for an article so I opened it to see what topic I was asked to write about. Well, to my surprise, the email was to inform me that Triathlete magazine wanted to feature me in an article! I was shocked, surprised and honored. Although the article was just one page, I found it to be a fantastic opportunity to share my messages on how I fuel my body.

In today's society, female athletes are bombarded with unrealistic body images and misleading nutrition advice. As an athlete, you can't let these images and misinformation derail you from achieving athletic excellence in your own personal athletic journey. As an athlete and as a nutrition professional (and coach), I want to be a good role model for female athletes of all ages. As a strong, confident and healthy female athlete, I aspire to encourage other female athletes to use sport as a healthy outlet to build confidence, strength and to improve health. I feel honored that I can do amazing things with my body through the sport of triathlon but the dedication to training and to my diet does not come from a place of body image. Instead, I train and eat for health and performance.

It's no surprise that I keep my body fit and healthy through consistent training and good daily nutrition choices. And with this dedication, I am able to do amazing things with my body on race day. However, my training work ethic and enjoyment for healthy eating is not forced, obsessive or extreme. I have no rules in my diet, I use sport nutrition regularly, I eat before all workouts, I love carbohydrates, I am a 25-year vegetarian and I have a very flexible diet. I don't count my training miles or volume, I don't feel guilty if I have to modify a workout and I don't make training my life. 

While this Triathlete article is just a short snapshot of my life as an athlete, I hope that I can continue to inspire, educate and motivate female (and male) athletes, of all ages and in all sports to see value and worth in your body for it has a lot of strengths and a lot of capabilities.

I encourage you to thank your body every day for it's physical abilities.

As an athlete, you can't achieve much on race day with just an image. 

Timeline of Sport Nutrition Products

As a Board Certified Sport Dietitian, I have a rewarding job of recommending sport nutrition products to athletes in order to enhance performance and to help athletes maintain good health throughout training and on race day. In order to make proper recommendations, I am always trying out new products to better understand the application of the product and to give my feedback on taste, texture and digestibility. The above picture is a look inside three of our kitchen cabinets full of sport nutrition products (with more products stashed away in the dining work and in our workout room closet - because everyone keeps sport nutrition products in a dining room hutch, right?).  

For decades, scientific breakthroughs by exercise physiologists have driven the evolution of sport nutrition products to help maximize athletic performances. Since the ancient Olympics, when athletes fueled dried fruit and wine before competition, the study, practice and promotion of sport nutrition has grown substantially. Sport nutrition progression has helped athletes train harder and go longer than in the past, which means more records can get broken.

As it relates to sport nutrition products, like sport drinks, it's really all about function and convenience. I often tell my athletes that they don't need to love their engineered products, they simply have to like them. It's also important to find creative ways to prevent taste bud fatigue and to train the gut to minimize GI distress, while sticking to a flexible and a well-practiced fueling and hydration schedule during long workouts in order to delay fatigue.

In other words, appreciate how easy sport nutrition products make fueling and hydrating. Sport nutrition products take away the guessing and calculating to ensure that you are meeting your needs during training and they give you precise feedback on what you did/didn't consume. Plus, it adds confidence to race day that you don't have to worry if your fueling and hydration strategy will (or won't) work because you can routinely practice your fueling and hydration long workout after long workout with similar products and amounts. Certainly, you know my approach to the daily diet - real food should make up the majority of your daily diet whereas sport nutrition products DO have a place during intense and long workouts.

In the recent issue of Triathlete Magazine (January/February, pg 56-62), I have a small article on the evolution of Sports Fuel (bottom of the pages), focusing on the history of several notable U.S. based endurance-focused sport nutrition companies. I also take my guess on the future of sport nutrition over the next ten years.

Since the magazine was not able to include all of my investigations, I wanted to give you a more in depth look inside some of the notable moments of several well-known sport nutrition companies.

Timeline of sport nutrition products:

1965 Gatorade – A balanced carbohydrate-electrolyte beverage was created. As of 2015, Gatorade’s inventors have earned more than $1 billion in revenue.

1986 Powerbar –The first “energy bar” for use by endurance athletes. In 2000, Nestle purchased the company for $375 million.

1987 Hammer Nutrition – In 1995, Hammer nutrition created the first energy gel sold with a re-usable flask.

1994 Gu Energy labs – Considered the first major energy gels distributor. In 2012, GU became the first official gel and chew sponsor of the Ironman.

1992 Clif Bar –In 2000, Gary Erickson turned down a $120 million offer from Quaker Oats to buy the company.

1992 EAS – In 1993, EAS releases the first commercially available creatine supplement (Phosphagen). In 2005, Abbott laboratories purchases EAS for ~$320 million.

1996 Carbo Pro – Provides a product with 100% pure complex carbohydrates derived from glucose polymers extracted from non-GMO corn.

1996 Pacific Health Labs – Accelerade utilizes protein in a sport drink with a unique ratio of 4 parts carbohydrate to 1 part protein.

1998 Cytosport – Makers of Muscle Milk, known as the number one brand in the ready-to-drink protein beverage category.


2002 First Endurance – Recognized for OPTYGEN by endurance athletes. In 2008, the EFS liquid shot flask was developed with a re-sealable pop top. The liquid shot contains no gelling agents.

2002 Honey Stinger – Originating in 1954 by Ralph and Luella Gamber as the EN-R-G bar, made with honey. The Gamber’s created the first ever squeezable honey bear in 1957.

2004 Nuun – Pronounced “noon”, the first company to separate electrolyte replacement from carbohydrates.

2004 Base Performance – Best known for Base Electrolyte Salt and race vials, where athletes lick the pure crystalline salt to maintain electrolyte balance.

2005 Jelly Belly Sport Beans – Performance Jelly Beans formulated with carbohydrates, electrolytes and vitamins.

2006 SaltStick – Creator of buffered electrolyte capsules, dispensers and most recently, chewable tablets to help athletes minimize heat stress and muscle cramping.

2006 Infinit Nutrition – Provides a revolutionary system of creating your own personalized sport drink, made from an isotonic blend of ingredients.

2010 Generation UCAN – Launched at the Boston marathon. Powered by SuperStarch, UCAN claims to help sustain energy and burn fat in a healthy way.

2010 Bonk Breaker – Embodies a whole foods philosophy of creating simple, high quality, real food ingredients into great tasting bars, chews and hydration products.

2010 Picky Bars – Made with a a 4:1 carb to protein recovery ratio, balanced macronutrients for sustainable energy. Containing only real ingredients, gluten and dairy free.

2012 Osmo  - Stacy Sims introduces the concept of “food in the pocket, hydration in the bottle” and “women are not small men.” Pushes for a new paradigm in sports nutrition.

2012 Skratch Labs – Dr. Allen Lim makes training food and sports drinks from scratch for cyclists and a business is born. “The Feed Zone” cookbook was published in 2011.

2013 Tailwind  - Known in the trail and ultra-running community, offering glucose/sucrose fuel, allowing athletes to go longer at higher intensities without gut issues.


2016 HOT SHOT – Curiosity killed the cramp. A propriety formulation of organic ingredients to stop muscle cramps at the nerve.  

My take on the future of sport nutrition:

2016-2018 – More engineered sport nutrition products hit the market, with light palatable flavors, made with “real food” ingredients and electrolytes.  Companies re-invent the shape of “chews”, bars become thinner and lighter and there is a substantial re-design in the packaging of energy gels.

2018-2020 - Sport nutrition products highlight herbs, spices, caffeine, amino acids and fatigue resistant nutrients, in addition to electrolytes and carbohydrates. Products focus more on fatigue in order to help athletes stretch physical limits and to break more records.

2020-2025 - Sport nutrition products become even more convenient with portable options, like buffered and effervescent tabs for “sport drinks on-the-go”. Sport nutrition companies turn the focus to pre-workout/race meal and drink products.

2025 – The emerging field of nutrigenomics makes its way into sport nutrition. By identifying exercise-related genetic characteristics, sport nutrition will become highly ultra-personalized working with one’s unique genetic makeup – Eat/fuel according to your genes.

Nail your 2017 nutrition goals

There is a lot of information available to athletes on the topics of nutrition, specifically as it relates to how food can change your body composition, improve your health and boost your performance.

I think it is safe to assume that most athletes view food as a naturally safe way to boost athletic performance and the diet as a method of changing body composition.

But with so much information available to athletes, the topics of eating for health, eating for fuel, eating to change body composition and so forth, can make the simple topic of "diet for athlete" so confusing and overwhelming.

Due to information overload, I wouldn't be surprised if you are one of the many athletes who have explored (or tried) a dietary trend or fad at least once a year (likely around January) in an effort to get your diet under control in order to change body composition.

The interesting thing about a diet trend is the unique marketing of the dietary strategy which accurately identifies everything that you are doing wrong (insert you saying "this diet is exactly what I need!") and finds a sneaky way to convince you that this diet is the only way to fix your issues.

At Trimarni, we do not restrict food in any way.
We do not diet or jump on any hot sport nutrition trends or fads.
We apply research to real world settings but we always put our health before performance.

We eat a balanced diet every day of the year, we use sport nutrition products properly and we eat before and after our workouts.
Food has a positive role in our life and it enhances our performance and keeps us healthy.
There's no extreme method of eating (or not eating) and absolutely no food rules or off-limit food list.

Doesn't this sound peaceful and reassuring that this style of eating really does exist?

Sadly, you may still be searching for a diet plan.

If you want to create a sustainable style of eating, there's no better time than right now, when your training volume is low and you have extra time in your day to spend on your lifestyle habits, to focus on yourself and your own nutritional needs and to create a great relationship with food and the body.

As a qualified nutrition expert (Board Certified Sport Dietitian), it's important to me to remain a great nutrition role model to my coaching athletes but also to the public, as I know many athletes follow Trimarni and obtain services from Trimarni.

If you insist on changing your diet in 2017 without the help of a nutrition expert, I hope you find value in my latest Triathlete Magazine article (pg 56) as I share a few simple smart nutrition tips to kick start your nutritional success in 2017.

A healthy commitment to training

A certain level of obsession is needed when it comes to dreaming big and working hard for goals. 

With the Ironman World Championship event now behind us, alongside the Olympics and many notable road running races and other athletic events, there's a good chance that you may aspire to achieve something incredible with your body in the next few years.

While this big dream of yours may excite the heck out of you, you also know it will require a lot of sacrifices, investments and hard work.....but that doesn't scare you.

Whereas some athletes choose words like "determination and passion" when speaking about their love for their sport, chasing a goal requires a high level of commitment and sometimes you may even feel addicted.

In the October 2016 issue of Triathlete magazine (pg 62.), Gloria Petruzzelli (who also happens to be my best friend and one outstanding clinical sports psychologist) says

"Addiction in this sense can be defined as engaging in an activity that can be pleasurable or start off pleasurable, then shift into becoming compulsive and noticeably interferes with ordinary life responsibilities, such as work, relationships or health."

"Setting boundaries on training and having people outside of the triathlon world in your life can help keep you in check if that healthy balance gets off kilter......there's a point of diminishing returns for both your quality of life and your training" says Gloria.

Gloria suggests to complete this adapted compulsive exercise assessment, developed by the researchers in the UK, to see if you strongly agree more than you disagree, to better understand if your athletic compulsion is outweighing your commitment.

Although you will recognize aspects of yourself in these statements, says Triathlete, be mindful that commitment is a great thing but compulsion is not.

Agree or Disagree?

1. Whether it is in or out of my control, I feel extremely guilt when I miss or skip a training session.

2. If I can't fit in a training session on certain days, I will inevitably feel anxious, low, irritable or depressed.

3. My friends and family tell me they miss hanging out with me because I'm always training.

4. If I miss a training session, I always work to make up the volume or time the next session. 

5. My entire day is planned around when I have time to train and for how long.

6. I feel guilty if I use spare time to relax.

7. I hate recovery days.

"To ensure your training doesn't morph from a healthy outlet or goal to addictive/compulsive behavior...take an honest look at your training behaviors and consider if you are embracing healthy coping skills in all areas of your life" says Gloria. 

Note:

Nothing great will be achieved if you settle for mediocre, while always putting your own needs/goals second to others. Every athlete needs a high level of commitment to reach big goals, with the understanding that sacrifices and investments will be made. However, it is important to understand that the best version of yourself should not be displayed only when you are training for an event.

The purpose of this blog is to help you understand that you can still reach your dreams (even the big ones) by having a healthy (not obsessive/compulsive) commitment to training and to your sport.   

Athlete fueling mistakes

As a board certified sport dietitian who specializes in fueling the endurance athlete, I find it critically important that athletes develop appropriate daily eating and sport nutrition habits to support an extremely active lifestyle. It's important to remember that your extreme exercise routine (which you call training) is also very stressful on your body.

Although we need to stress the body for it to physically adapt, the human body can not tolerate too much stress without adequate fuel, hydration and proper nutrients.

When Triathlete Magazine gave me the topic of "x-fueling mistakes that triathletes make", I struggled not because I couldn't select the mistakes but that I only had 500 words for this article.

With the experience of working with many endurance athletes, I see common fueling mistakes time and time again. However, I find that more mistakes are made due to misinformation and poor planning than by no information.

Clearly, in our society we do not struggle with lack of information on any given topic. Instead, there is information overload on everything which makes figuring out what works best for you, extremely difficult.
Making the investment to work with a professional who specializes in the area of your concerns/struggle is often the best way to truly understand what will work best for you and your body.

To be honest, I find that most endurance athletes develop bad habits overtime throughout a season. One long workout is rewarded with x-food and then x-food becomes desired after every long workout. Or, the athlete starts off with good intentions for proper sport nutrition, meal planning and recovery but overtime, those strategies are forgotten as the athlete gets "too busy".

These bad habits that are developed overtime are due to a variety of reasons but I find that most endurance athletes leave less time for proper meal planning/prep, feel rushed or constantly on the go, are constantly looking for a quick fix (or the cutting edge) and jumping from one approach to another, put too much on the daily plate (feeling exhausted, drained and overwhelmed) and push aside healthy lifestyle habits (or never create) in an effort to just go through the motions in order to check off workouts.

Here are 4 of the common fueling mistakes that I find that athletes make throughout a season. 

I selected these topics not because athletes are uneducated on these topics but instead, because athletes often overlook or don't make the effort to create great daily lifestyle and nutrition habits to take training to the next level.
It's far too common that athletes become very robotic with their lifestyle and training, thus sabotaging their potential to make huge performance gains overtime.
Sadly, I find that many athletes underperform in almost every workout, not because of a lack of passion and dedication for training but because daily and sport nutrition are limiting overall health and/or the ability to improve athletic performance.

Caffeine dependence

Although a universally known stimulant when needing an adrenaline rush, the strategic use of caffeine as an ergogenic aid is not for every athlete. If tolerable, a safe caffeine dosage is ~3-4g/kg, consumed ~60 minutes before activity  - example, a ~4 ounce espresso. Although your morning 1-3 cup coffee routine is perfectly healthy, more is not better.
If you find you “need” caffeine pills or energy drinks to fight fatigue or to get through a workout, you are developing an unhealthy dependence on caffeine which could be masking an underlying issue like underfueling, sleep deprivation, stress or overtraining.   

Poor recovery planning

Recovery strategies are dependent on sport duration and intensity but to perform well over consecutive workouts you must always refuel, rehydrate and repair.  

In your busy real world, don’t let your cravings or busy lifestyle get the best of you after you finish a workout.

Within 60 min after training, consume 0.8-1.2g/kg carbs and 25-30g protein, with 16-20 ounce water, to kick-start recovery.  Muscle glycogen replenishment and tissue repair are enhanced when carbohydrates and protein are consumed together.

Try this ideal snack or meal: 6 ounce 0% Plain Greek yogurt + 1 banana + ½ cup dry oats + 1 tbsp nut butter.

Haphazard fueling strategies 

A precise balance of carbs, fluids and electrolytes are needed to delay the onset of fatigue by sparing liver glycogen, maintaining blood glucose concentrations and offsetting excessive fluid losses from sweating. 

Athletes often over-complicate fueling strategies due to misguided sport nutrition recommendations and lack of understanding of how to properly use gels, bars, foot portables, powders and chews. Whereas too low of an energy intake is detrimental to performance, concentrated carb solutions (or high osmolality) can saturate the intestines as oxidation rates are limited when a single carb source (glucose, sucrose or maltodextrin) is consumed. 

To optimize carb oxidation without causing GI distress, consume 30-60 grams of carbs per hour, in frequent dosages every 10-15 minutes. To experiment if increasing the oxidation of carbs (60-90g/carbs/hr) will improve performance, multiple transportable carbs are advised (Glucose + fructose + maltodextrin) over a single source (glucose). 

Habitual reward food

Your active lifestyle allows you more calories than the average person but quality food choices improve health and performance.
Rewarding with junk food after a long/hard workout not only increases cravings for unhealthy foods but undermines the importance of developing appropriate fueling and hydrating habits around/during workouts.
While there is nothing wrong with the occasional indulgence, coaxing yourself to get through a workout with the anticipation of guilt-free unhealthy or excessive eating may create a dysfunctional relationship with food. Stop habitually using food for reward (when exhausted) or punishment (bad workout) and thank your body for giving you a great workout, then treat yourself with a massage or Epson salt bath. 

How do I fuel if.....

Writing an article for a magazine usually goes like this....

I pitch a lot of articles to a magazine and a few (or one or none) gets selected OR a magazine reaches out to me with an article topic for me to write about.

Back in December, after I received confirmation that I would be writing three articles for Triathlete Magazine for the May (Fueling the Vegetarian athlete), June (Sport Nutrition - progressing from short to long course racing) and July (Common fueling mistakes) issues, I was asked to write a 2000-word, feature assignment for the March/April issue on "How do I fuel if...." with the following topics discussed:
-I don't have time to cook
-I'm trying to lose weight
-I'm (going) gluten-free
-I'm a female athlete
-I bonk in races

The article would include 5 different scenarios (each around 200-300 words or the equivalent of a short article) with specific advice, tips and suggestions for each topic, in addition to a sidebar of common-race day fueling mistakes. 

Not only was this the longest article I have ever written for print (essentially, 6 articles into one) but I had a two week turnaround with a very quick deadline as it was a last minute addition to the magazine.

While reading an article after it is completed is rewarding (and hopefully, it flows well and makes sense), the process of writing an article is not easy. And I think any writer can admit that sometimes words easily flow from the brain to the fingers to paper and viola, an article is written quickly but many times, writing an article is a tough process with a lot of mental struggles, either lack of creativity or difficulty getting anything done.

When I am about to write an article, I always do a lot of research before I start typing and this includes reading a lot of current scientific studies as well as learning/understanding what the masses (athletes) are doing, not doing or are most concerned about (or struggling with). There is a lot of thinking that goes into writing easy to read, easy to apply and easy to understand sentences. Finding a way to get 2000 words on to a blank piece of paper is not an easy process but I love the challenge of being a writer.
(If I didn't write, my brain would stay filled with words. Getting those thoughts on paper clears up my head).

While this article took a lot of time, energy and brain power, and several long days of locking myself in a room (with Campy - who is a professional napper) to work on this article, I loved the challenge of writing this feature article and I am really happy with how it turned out. 

I hope you enjoy the article and can take away something helpful from one or all six of my nutrition topics.

How to be a well-fueled machine
(2016 March/April issue)

If you need a more personalized approach with nutrition or have concerns about specific nutrition topics, be sure to reach out to professional who can help in your individual journey. 

Fueling the vegetarian athlete

Fueling the Vegetarian Athlete – nail the basics

In the current (May) issue of Triathlete Magazine (pg 64), I discuss some of the important considerations in fueling the vegetarian athlete.

This month I am celebrating 24-years of being a vegetarian (lacto-ovo).
In the month of April, when I was 10 years old, I came home from school one day and told my parents that I didn't want to eat animals anymore. I've always loved animals and even at a young age, it was my love for animals that prompted me to be a vegetarian.
I'm pretty sure I didn't call myself a vegetarian in my early years as that word wasn't part of my vocabulary but instead I just told people "I don't eat meat".
My diet has evolved over the past two decades, especially as I learned more about nutrition and sport nutrition.

But in all reality, my diet is no different than yours except for that I don't eat meat or fish.
I'm assuming you eat a lot of plants too, right?


Even though my diet has a name, there's no reason why athletes should shun away from plant-strong eating because the word"plant strong" does not mean "don't eat meat."


Regardless of what you name your diet, all athletes will benefit from a more real food (foods originating from a farm or garden, not made in a factory) diet.

However, for the vegetarian athlete (or the athlete who eats little to no meat or fish), I hope you find my Triathlete article helpful.
A few plant-strong, vegetarian takeaways.
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• Well-planned vegetarian diets can be very healthy and performance-enhancing but going meat-free doesn’t guarantee better health or podium-worthy finishes.
  
• Carnivorous or plant-eating, a poorly planned diet can make you feel lethargic, sick and weak, especially if you are not eating enough to meet your energy and nutrient needs.
  
• Relying too heavily on meat-free processed food, only eating fruits and veggies, consuming an excessive amount of carbs, consuming an inadequate intake of plant strong protein and consuming too little healthy fats, are reasons why athletes who go "meat free" often fail to meet nutritional requirements (or struggle with constant hunger or poor energy).
  
• As for the vegetarian protein debate, if adequate energy and an assortment of plant foods, rich in essential amino acids, are consumed throughout the day, physiologically processes shouldn’t be compromised in a plant-based diet.
  
• Vegetarian athletes should make an extra effort to consume nutrients like calcium, iron, zinc, omega-3, vitamin D, B12 and niacin, particularly if the diet is lacking in food variety. Understanding that many essential nutrients are required in the countless metabolic pathways that support a body in motion, a chronic nutrient deficiency (or absorption issue) may result in health and/or performance complications.
  
• Although a real-food approach should be prioritized over nutrients found in a pill or powder, supplements and engineered fortified foods are an option to protect against (or to fix) a nutrient deficiency.
  
• Considering that plant-strong diets are high in both soluble and insoluble fiber which are beneficial for blood sugar control (among many other health benefits), athletes should be mindful that if the diet is lacking in sufficient fat and protein at meal time, athletes can risk overeating due to constant hunger pains from too much nutrient-dense volume (or too many carbs) but not enough long-lasting energy.
  
• Speaking of fiber, athletes will benefit from limiting high fiber foods close to workouts and race day due to possible GI distress and discomforting digestion issues (ex. stomach cramps, diarrhea, bloating, gas) from too much residue in the gut.
  
• As for long workout days when calorie expenditure is at its highest (and “reward” carb-heavy junk food is often anticipated), it’s important to be mindful of healthy lower-fiber carbohydrates (ex. rice, potatoes, juice, honey, syrup, watery fruits) which can help with quickly replenishing glycogen stores and meeting energy needs, without promoting uncomfortable fullness, while offering beneficial nutrients to your depleted body.
  
• Whereas most American’s have an increasing obsession with meat consumption, there are many countries in this world that thrive off a mostly plant-based diet and live a long, healthy and active life. Therefore, it is inaccurate to view a vegetarian diet as “restrictive” because in America, we don’t really have a traditional American diet as a “healthy” reference.
  
• Because athlete lab results may contrast with “normal” population ranges, consider periodic blood testing throughout your season and correlate lab numbers with how you feel and retest every 4-6 months (starting in early season) for a personalized reference range. For plant-based athletes, the following blood tests are recommended:
  CBC, CMP, ferritin, folic acid, homocysteine, iron (total and TIBC), lipid profile, vitamin B12, Vitamin D, 25-Hydroxy.
  Supplementation may be necessary but not without prior testing to confirm a deficiency. 

#NEDAwareness - athletes, evalute your relationship with food

Before a race, after a workout, at work, around your training buddies, in the bathroom, with your family/kids, when trying on clothes.....

How often do you criticize your body?

Before a race, after a workout, at work, around your training buddies, in the bathroom, with your family/kids, when trying on clothes.....

How often do you feel guilty or hate what/how you are eating? 

There are millions of people affected with an eating disorder at sometime in their lifetime however, eating disorders are often termed a silent epidemic. Some individuals never get the help they truly and live decades feeling overwhelmed or anxious around food or feel uncomfortable in their own skin. Others choose to remain quite in treatment and eventually gain the strength, tools and support they need to recover and to live a quality filled life with a healthy body and mind. 

It's no surprise that in a body and food obsessed society, it's not very easy to maintain healthy relationship with food and the body,,,,, and this needs to change.

Eating disorders are starting earlier in life. By the age of 6, girls are expressing concerns about their weight. 40-60% girls (ages 6-12) are concerned about their weight or becoming fat.  Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. And if not treated, an eating disorder can stay with an individual for a lifetime.

About 99% of my career is dedicated to athletes, specifically endurance triathletes and runners. I not only help athletes learn how to eat and fuel to boost performance but I also help athletes learn how to develop a healthier relationship with food and the body.  I work with all levels from age groupers to professionals, men and women, and the young and the inspiring older population too.

I spend my entire day around food and exercise.
 All my focus and attention is centered around a body in motion and how food and sport nutrition products enhance performance.

But when I am not being a sport RD, I am an athlete. And I love being an athlete.
As a life-long competitive swimmer turned runner turned triathlete, I have used my body in amazing ways and have learned so much through competitive sports. I have improved self-esteem, I've learned how to overcome obstacles, I have made great friendships, I love the endorphin rush when I train and race, I see how hard work pays off and most of all, the skills, dedication and commitment I have with my training also helps me in life.

But as athletes, the same traits that make us great at our sport can also trigger disordered eating patterns and struggles with the body image. Some athletes can spend a career or lifetime without even a negative thought about the body or food but for many, the strong messages in our society about diet and body composition can make it extremely difficult for many athletes to navigate their way to a healthy relationship with food and the body.

Even though athletes are more prone to eating disorders, sports do not cause eating disorders. There are triggers and traits that can predispose an athlete to disordered eating. An athlete who wants to tone-up, improve lean muscle mass, lose weight, get faster or improve health can certainly work with a sport RD and make changes in the body composition in a healthy way through correct training and an appropriate fueling and daily diet regime. But if "healthy" habits become an obsession, disordered eating can very quickly turn into an eating disorder. At this point, an athlete is at great risk for injury, undernourishment, hormonal disorders, burnout and a sporting career cut short.

Eating disorders and disordered eating are not limited to the leanest athletes or just to female athletes. As a goal oriented and driven athlete, you may naturally have a different idea of what your body should look in order to perform well and you are likely very in-tune with what you eat because food is your fuel. There may be nothing wrong with your diet or eating habits and this "ideal" weight that you want to achieve, may even be healthy and achievable. But there is a right, safe way to eating in order to perform well and a wrong, unhealthy and impractical way to chase a body image.

But in a society that waits patiently for the next exciting way to eliminate food from the diet, us athletes need to be extremely careful to separate main stream media "diet" fads with the obligation we have to fuel our bodies in motion. 

               The March issue of Triathlete Magazine is filled with a lot of great info on how to train and race smarter. In the issue, you will also see my recent article titled "Eat to Thrive".


Did you know that it is not easy to pitch an article about disordered eating habits in active individuals, let alone in athletes?  The topic is not hot, current or trendy so it's easy to be viewed as a 'possibility' and not as a 'necessity'.

Even though I specialize in an area that affects so many athletes, rarely do we read, hear or discuss the topic of an unhealthy relationship but there needs to be more information on this topic so that athletes do not miss out on reaching their full potential and risking serious setbacks from not fueling a body in motion properly.  

Although diet fads, food elimination and race weight seem to be normal topics for magazines, I am incredibly grateful to my editor friends at Triathlete magazine for accepting my topic pitch and for giving me the opportunity to contribute to the magazine on a topic that I am very passionate about. 

Have you ever considered that your current relationship with food can serve either as a limiter or enhancer to your training and racing performance and overall health?

If you want to eat to thrive, check out my article in the March issue of Triathlete Magazine on page 88-89 to discover three possible red flags with your current relationship with food and how you should address them to make improvements in your overall health and fitness. 

READ THE ARTICLE HERE

Also - Thank you Ironman and Charisa Wernick for recently providing insight on a topic that is very personal to many and rarely discussed on main stream media, on sporting websites and in magazines. This is a topic that many can relate to and involves many issues that affect athletes of all sports and of all fitness levels, genders and ages.

"When I lost weight I got more compliments and sometimes improved in sports, which fueled my desire to lose even more. I also got injured more. I lived in a world where calories ruled my thoughts and I didn't have the time (or energy) to think about much else. It's a horrible escape, but somehow it went on for way too many years.

Rather than hating my body I started to appreciate it for the fun adventures it carried me through on a daily basis." - Charisa Wernick

Fuel smart and avoid anti-inflammatory pills

April 2014 issue of Triathlete magazine

Knowing what foods to eat to fuel your training is important, but to reap the benefits of the nutrients, it’s the when that really matters. Before and during a workout, your goal is to increase the delivery of nutrients to your working muscles to maintain glucose levels, postpone fatigue and improve your hydration status. After you’re done training, the focus shifts to replenishing glycogen stores and initiating tissue repair and muscle growth so you can bounce back even stronger for future workouts.

With the following fueling suggestions, I will help you reduce risk for GI distress and help you find yourself gaining a competitive edge.

How To Fuel Before Workouts

Eating something before a training session is critical, as it will better prepare your gut for race day and help you to become more aware of how your body absorbs and metabolizes fuel in varying intensity levels, durations and weather conditions.

Note: For an individualized approach on fueling your triathlon routine and to meet dietary needs, contact a registered dietitian (RD) specializing in sport nutrition. It should be noted that recommendations for fueling around workouts should be “as tolerated” and perfected by each individual over time.

Learn how to fuel for a track or swim session HERE.

Learn how to fuel for a brick or long run session HERE.

May 2014 issue of Triathlete magazine

One of the most common setbacks for an athlete is extreme inflammation and the discomfort and restriction of proper range of motion that it causes. 

When taken occasionally, athletes should not worry about side effects of anti-inflammatories, but religiously popping a pill before or after training or during racing is not advised. Long-term use or excessive intake may increase the risk for heart attack, stroke and kidney damage.

Many triathletes rely on pain relievers during an Ironman, which may do more harm than good. 

Be sure to follow a smart training and fuelling regimen to develop a body that adapts well to training stress, instead of just swallowing a pill to mask any discomfort.

To read the entire article, read more HERE.