RED-S
Red-s Resources
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What Happened to you?
In July we hosted our Eating Disorder in Sport workshop, where we explored the intersection of trauma and athletes with eating disorders. Among our guest speakers Mary Cain whose bravery changed sport as she speaks to the first hand abuse and trauma she endured by her...
You don’t know what you don’t know
I am going to share a tale of two athletes that ended up on completely different spectrums of their hydration needs and approaches. Both of these female athletes were similar in age and both were endurance athletes. One lived in Florida and the other in the midwest,...
Is Resiliency the key to performance?
Sometimes you’ve just got to play hooky.. One workday, I was mentally spent, and I texted a friend “Hey, want to skip work for a bit and go get lunch?” Between the two of us, we had checked about all the “life stressors” boxes possible in a year or two. As she asked...
Race Weight: Are you playing the long game?
Our culture in sport has led to this elusive place called “race weight.” It is assumed that at “race weight,” an athlete will be of optimal fitness and health and perform their best. A change in body composition can occur due to being at the highest level/intensity of...
Why can’t you just eat? Why can’t you just stop eating? Do I have an eating disorder?
Eating Disorders: Let’s strive for fewer labels, better understanding https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXGotUfYt8Y National Eating Disorders Awareness Week is Feb. 22-28, 2021. According to the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), the goal of National Eating...
Tried and True:The Dairy Dilemma
The Dairy Dilemma The worlds of sports and sports science are changing at a pace faster than Usain Bolt can run the 100-meter race. As a registered dietitian and board-certified sports specialist, my approach with my athletes is one of evidence base with a touch of...
Sleep: the underrated PED
If there is ever an area of medicine where a consensus can actually be pulled from, it is sleep. Sleep can be evaluated by looking at multiple variables such as: hours of sleep, quality of sleep and ability to restore during sleep. In today's day and age, Americans...
Carb Queen (Guest blog Rachael Steil)
Nutrition :Books, Bytes, Bites-May
The effects of not eating enough calories on an athlete
In a world filled with information and data are we certain we have accurate information to rely on? Especially when it comes to energy balance.
Causes of low energy in athletes? You need to know about RED-S
As more research came to the surface there was a better understanding of all the body’s systems that are impacted by the athlete’s energy balance.
What athletes need to know about balancing nutrition and performance
Are you struggling to find that balance between freedom around food and optimizing your performance? Finding you sweet spot in sport is key to just that!
Meals for athletes to fuel and train
One of my favorite quotes is “Athletes don’t diet and exercise, they fuel and train”. Social media has done an injustice to our athletic community focusing on thin being ideal and getting ripped now labelled ” fitspiration or “fitspo“. As a result, we are seeing an epidemic of under-fueled, overtrained, and injury prone athletes.
Best workout recovery foods
Your recovery nutrition is key to you being able to compete day after day. This allows you to replenish, replace and allow for repair. The purpose of training is to help you get stronger, faster, and more skilled or to improve endurance. The adaptations you desire cannot occur if the body is not given the resources it needs. Hydration (fluids), fuel (food), sleep and rest are your go-to recovery resources.
Exercise Part 2: As Clear as Mud
In this blog let’s try to part the muddied waters around exercise recommendations. For starters the government acknowledged the confusion around these exercise recommendations. Trying to separate out physical activity recommendations according to chronic disease. Since exercise science is a fairly new area research they don’t have a lot of long-term data out there.
Parenthood: No One Size Fits All
This is a step off my nutrition soap box onto a personal one, parenthood. What has come to slip the mind of others is that a simple statement more than most times has a story. For some this story is yet to be told. Those simple comments go deeper unknowing or caring what the rest of the story is.
Best pre workout food and best post workout snack
“Athletes don’t diet and exercise, they fuel and train” Author unknown.
This has always been one of my favorite quotes. This simple saying stresses the importance of proper fueling not just on game day but throughout an entire season. Athletes should routinely make their fuel choices a part of their before and after practice. Just as they would put shoes, socks they should be putting fuel in their bag as well. Here are some fueling tips to keep the athlete going strong all season long!
Clearing up Cross-Fit Confusion
Starting your fitness journey can be intimidating. You’ve researched possible gyms and came across a fitness regimen named “CrossFit”. Your friends have mentioned it before and maybe tugged that string too many times. Anytime you think or hear about it your palms begin to sweat and your heart feels like it’s beating out of your chest.
Brain: The Under-Fueled Muscle
I have been a practicing dietitian for over 10 years with a specialty in sports and performance. Most clients come to see me wanting to optimize fueling for their sport, but I have never had a client come see me on how to optimize fueling for their academics or keys to balancing both. Yet, we know that the brain is the most important key to both.
Coffee: Not Your Average Cup of Joe
Not your average cup of Joe What is the one beverage that is universal whether it is 100 degrees or 10 degrees below zero? COFFEE otherwise known as Joe! Coffee has many medicinal benefits not to mention a robust flavor. It can be used as a rub for meat, enhancement for dessert or even found in facial products.
Grocery Game Plan
Does grocery shopping have you needing Excedrin Migraine and a nap? You are not alone! Grocery stores thrive on confusion and impulsivity. They hope you become overwhelmed, hungry and confused so that you are not an informed shopper. This leads us to grab food off the end caps which generally is not much of a bargain.
Exercise Recommendations: Parting through Muddied Waters
Our attention to the world of exercise and fitness has grown in part to social media. These two words have been used interchangeably yet mean two completely different things. With so much information, have we muddied the waters and created mass confusion?
Athletes Going off the Grid: Injury, Coaching, & Transition
For athletes an injury/illness, change in coach or retirement from their sport may feel like a traumatic event. There are three factors in which the athlete has the potential to go off the grid from their usual support systems: teammates, coaches, athletic trainers or strength coaches. However, we must be aware that we haven’t left them stuck on the sidelines.
Love Ourself as we Love our Pets?
It’s a standing joke that nowadays we love our animals more than we love ourselves. We treat them better than we would treat our fellow humans including ourselves. However, we all know that there is a lot of truth to this.
Lessons Learned from Mom: Dear Baby Girl
From the day you were born, I would sneak in and just watch you sleep. My baby girl. Your Lil’ cherub face lost in dream gave me such a sense of peace. However, I feel like the tides are turning as I watch you peacefully asleep. Knowing that you are heading towards a storm that there’s nothing I can do to protect you from. You see the truth in these lessons is this is a cold cruel world. There will be times where you will come to understand “What doesn’t break you only makes you stronger”. This will define the rest of your life.
Comparisons, Culture & Criticisms
If comparison is the thief of Joy, why hand it over to thieves? In a world filled with: books, blogs, podcasts on how to get the joy back into your life shouldn’t we start with avoiding comparisons?
What happens in the Vagus, doesn’t stay at the Vagus
For a country that prides itself on medicals advancements, we seem to be moving further away from the recipe for true health. I have a go-to question I ask when working with clients. Especially those who struggle with digestion, hunger awareness, satiety (fullness), performance anxiety or the ability to relax. My first question is “do you breathe while doing these things?” I tend to get a look that says “get out of here” but then I start my scientific spiel and they are hooked.
The CEO of YOU – Making your body work for you!
Reframing is an important part of therapy. This helps create a different way of looking at a situation, person, or relationship by changing its meaning. Reframing can help one to look past what the eating disorder has shaped in terms of nutrition, body image, and exercise. Defining what it means to YOU!
Aging Gracefully… how about Graciously
Aging gracefully or whatever the heck that means. It seems that aging gracefully is a crock of you-know-what. Everywhere you turn there is skin cream supplements and workouts that are supposed to be the “Fountain of Youth”. So how are you supposed to age gracefully when all you’re supposed to do is fight against it? Expect our bodies to resemble the same shape and health that it had in its twenties? Let’s not forget the fact that it possibly has carried multiple pregnancies, served you through some of the most stressful times in your life, and had years of hormone surging through it.
Authentic Self:Why fill a mold when you can be the mold?
My favorite line from Marianne Williamson “Our Deepest Fear”: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear in that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our Light, not our Darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?