For some athletes that say they’ve “taken their diet to the next level,” this means that they’ve cut out all sugar, or they are “eating clean” with no processed foods, or no desserts. It’s great to make changes towards eating more quality, nutritious foods, but going to the extreme with your food policy sometimes create […]

As a triathlete, my biggest nutrition challenge is making that transition to the off-season. The year I trained for Ironman Wisconsin, that 140.6 mile race was the last of my season and when I was all finished up it was hard to adjust back to a normal diet. I had spent the past 9+ months […]

As you’ve likely read, my sport of choice is triathlon. Since 2009, I’ve done about 25 races, ranging from sprints all the way up to the full 140.6-mile Ironman. What I really love about the sport is the diverse range of ages in athletes you see out on the course. There are athletes in their […]

Merriam-Webster defines an athlete as “a person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility or stamina.” There there’s Bill Bowerman, co-founder of Nike. In high school, if you were involved with a team sport you were dubbed an “athlete”. While the rest were just PE students. The adult […]

Hydration is essential for athletes, and dehydration can occur at any time in any climate. Even the smallest amount of dehydration can negatively impact athletic performance. A method to determining how much fluid you need to drink during a workout is by measuring your sweat rate. Sweat rate is typically higher in men and in […]

Gastrointestinal (GI) problems are very common in endurance athletes. All you need to do is gather a group of long-distance athletes together and bring up the conversations of GI problems. Before long you’ll hear a selection of horror stories of planning training routes with bathrooms available, running with toilet paper, diving into the ditch to […]

Popular practice among athletes aiming to build muscle is to pump up their protein intake, with the misconception among gym circles is that “more is better”. Our bodies can eat a lot of protein, digest it and absorb it, but it doesn’t mean it’s all going to build muscle.   Most athletes exceed their recommendations […]

I’m a straight shooter. I tell it how it is. As a dietitian and a recreational athlete, these are the things that I wish that every athlete knew and understood in relation to fueling their body for peak athletic performance. There is no “one-size fits all” fueling plan for athletes. It would be so convenient […]