Have you seen advertisements for a supplements promising enhanced performance, improved speed, muscle growth, or faster recovery times? It's sooooo easy to buy into the marketing! Trust me I want to believe them too. Most athletes rely on supplements to some degree to help them achieve their performance goals. However, not all supplements are created equal. Some have robust scientific backing supporting their efficacy, while others fall short of their lofty promises. Let's delve into the world of sports supplements and distinguish the effective from the ineffective. Note that I am only reviewing a handful of the thousands of supplements on the market in this article. Remember that there are many that are downright harmful. So buyer beware ...as an athlete YOU are responsible for knowing the safety and (NCAA/ WADA) legality of everything that you put into your body. 

CAFFEINE stands out as one of the most researched and proven ergogenic aids. When timed properly, and consumed...

DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH PROTEIN YOU NEED?

DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH PROTEIN YOU ARE CURRENTLY EATING?

LET'S DIVE IN....

WHY PROTEIN?

You prioritize training heard every day. You don't skip practice, or lift sessions and you are mentally dialed in. BUT.....do you put as much emphasis on fueling? Performance is rooted in nutrition. Fueling your body with adequate nutrients, at the right time and in the right proportion is a crucial element of training. One we don't always respect quite enough.

Protein needs to be at the top of the priority list! When you are training, day in and day out, you are experiencing muscle tissue breakdown. In order to repair that breakdown and ensure you come back stronger each day, protein intake must be a priority. ProteinPis also responsible for blood sugar regulation, hormone production, optimal immune function and many other crucial biologic functions. Protein needs to be a part of each meal and snack in order to meet your needs.

HOW...

Don't Fall for It

January is often hailed as the month of resolutions, where a multitude of individuals eagerly plunge into challenging diet and exercise regimens like 75 Hard, Whole30, or juice cleanses -to name a few. We are a little over a week into 2024 and I already see less people in the gym and more athletes calling me up  because they have "failed" to keep their resolution. Many athletes think they need these type of challenge to "boost metabolism",  "cleanse their liver" or "cut some weight".  As a sports nutritionist for the past 2 1/2 decades, I can't help but find this January resolution fervor to be a laughable and very sad joke. Extreme approaches might yield temporary results, but more often than not they lead to disordered eating, physical injury and mental burnout. They don't provide a balance of training intensity, a healthy increase in volume or duration, and don't allow for adequate rest and recovery. Athletes need all of these and I believe that...

Do you ever feel sluggish, tired, slow or unable to perform at your best during your workouts or competitions? Have you been trying to lose weight or lean out but struggling to make progress? Have you been trying hard in the gym to make some gains it's simply not working? If so, you may be under-fueling your body.

What is Under-fueling?

Under-fueling is when you are not consuming an adequate amount of calories to support your body's needs. Your needs are based on your activity level each day.  Under-fueling can have detrimental effects on your sports performance as an athlete, but it can also have deleterious effects on your overall health. Eating too little is what is making you feel sluggish, slow and tired. It is also what's hindering you from losing weight, building muscle and feeling energetic, strong and powerful! Under-fueling will result in a lack of energy, poor concentration, slower recovery time, increased risk of injury, and decreased performance.

If you...

The average caloric value of Thanksgiving dinner in the United States ranges from 3000-4500 calories according to Consumer Reports. The fat content was measured to range from 155-200 grams of fat. While I do not normally recommend counting calories, I highlight these statistics to make a point. Most of us go way overboard on food intake on Thanksgiving!  

As an athlete who may have a tournament, game,  competition, race or who just needs to keep training through the holiday weekend in the days following Thanksgiving, this can send you off your game and further away from your performance goals . Overeating to this degree can slow down your metabolism, cause dehydration and a feeling of sluggishness, nausea and fatigue.  

Here are 6 steps to take to avoid the bad habit of overeating at Thanksgiving so that you feel better and stay on track with your training and competing:

1. Don't Skip Breakfast on Thanksgiving Day! Eat like you normally would. Fuel yourself well the...

Just because Halloween is over does not mean pumpkin season is over!  The season of autumn is synonymous with pumpkin these days. I'm not sure when the world became obsessed with pumpkin everything but you can enjoy almost anything now with a hint of this comforting, nutrient rich veggie. Of course we have Pumpkin Spice Coffee, but we also now have chipotle pumpkin simmer sauce, pumpkin yogurt, pumpkin spiced almonds,  pumpkin goldfish (what?), pumpkin ice cream (yum), pumpkin spice popcorn, pumpkin coffee creamer, and even pumpkin spice bagels. In another month or so, the pumpkin craze will be over (until next fall) so most of us feel the need to take full advantage of the pumpkin overload right now.

Why pumpkin? Pumpkin is high in Fiber, Vitamin A, Potassium, Vitamin K, Iron, and Magnesium. Pumpkin seeds are high in zinc. Canned pumpkin is also incredibly versatile and can be added to oatmeal, pancake mix, chili, sweet potatoes and even yogurt!

Beware...Cooked pumpkin...

You are an athlete. You frequently train at a high volume and high intensity day in and day out.  Did you know that intense training puts you are risk to have a lowered immune function? Constant activity coupled with sub-optimal nutritional intake will cause your immune system to weaken. If your immune system is not optimized, you will become sick more often and the illnesses you contract, will last longer.

The topic of immunity is not talked about enough in the world of sports. Low immune function is a negative side effect of poor nutrition that many athletes don't recognize. It is yet another argument for ensuring that you learn how to eat well and fuel your body appropriately. You lead a busy lifestyle as an athlete and may not have learned about the impact of nutrition on performance AND on overall health. It's not your fault. No one taught you how to eat in school. You learned as you went and...

Sports Nutrition is simple. Society, social media, supplements salespeople, coaches, teammates complicate it. The foundation of Sports Nutrition is simple: Fuel your body well and it will do what you want (and need) it to do. I'll simplify is even more by telling you THE ONLY 2 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SPORTS NUTRITION:

1. Making good decisions about what you decide to put in your body will maximize your performance.

2. Making poor decisions about what you decide to pup in your body will hinder your performance. 

As an athlete you know that eating healthy will help you. It's pretty much common sense that by providing your body with the nutrients it needs to perform will benefit your performance. So many of us do not, however make the connection that by eating an inadequate amount of nutrients that our body's require...our performance will suffer. It's commonplace to think "I'm an athlete-so I can eat junk food because I'm just going to burn  it off". Trust me-I...

 Can you believe we have arrived at Tip #10??

I hope these tips have motivated you, educated you and inspired you to make some changes as an athlete. My hope is to give you specific action steps to boost your performance and up your game! 

If you missed any of the "TOP TEN SPORTS NUTRITION TIPS TO LEVEL UP YOUR GAME"  Series....Don't worry! They are all permanently a part of this BLOG. So scroll back and catch up on all of them!  

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Without Further Ado…. Here is Tip #10

 

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 HYDRATE SOME MORE!

 

It's true - HYDRATION gets TWO spots on the Eat4Sport Top Ten List ...because it's THAT important! 

 

I want you to think of hydration as THE most important aspect of training. A few important tips to know:

 

You need to find a way to hydrate well each and every day. Don't just hydrate on long training days or super hot and humid days. Your body functions best when it’s consistently in a hydrated state.

Learn how to...