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Showing posts from December 4, 2016

Fuel for the mid-week long run

After an EZ form focused run with a few "fast feet" intervals on the treadmill on Tues evening, I made a delicious dinner for me and Karel of couscous, spiced with turmeric and salt, tossed with sauteed veggies (celery, edamame, yellow peppers, onion). Cooked tempeh was my protein of choice. This dish didn't take too long to prepare as I was able to cook everything at once by using three of the burners on the stove. Karel was on the trainer, doing his bike workout as I was cooking, so by the time he was finished, it was time to enjoy this yummy creation, which left us with a happy tummy and well-fueled body. After a great night of sleep (oh sleep, how I love you!), I woke up excited to run outside on Wednesday as this was the first morning in several days that it wasn't raining. Plus, I had a very specific build-run workout on tap and with a building confidence in my run fitness lately, I was excited to see what my body had in store for the morning run.

Energy bars - To eat or not to eat?

Picture source Over the course of 3 years as an inpatient clinical RD, I learned a lot. With so much textbook literature, research and science packed into my brain over the 4 years it took me to earn my dietitian credential, I quickly learned that in order to properly diagnose and treat my patients, every case study was different. You see, there was never just one clear diagnosis. Every patient was different based on his/her patient history, labs, other co-existing health issues and symptoms. Unfortunately, our society doesn't think like this, especially as it relates to daily nutrition. Our society succeeds at thinking in extreme - you either have a perfect diet or a horrible diet. Food is good or it's bad. You eat well or you cheat. Food is allowed or off-limits. You don't have to have a perfect diet to have a healthy diet.  Sadly, a lot of people feel great anxiety, guilt and judgement when it relates to food, especially if self-worth is tied

(Re)learning how to eat as an athlete

A passion of mine is helping athletes adopt a more real food diet. I don't think I need to discuss the many benefits of eating real food, grown from nature, to support your health needs as you train for your fitness/athletic goals. For many athletes, there's a lot of confusion as to how to eat as an athlete vs. as a non-athlete. Yes, all human beings should adopt a more real food diet but for athletes, there are many times throughout the year when your lifestyle is not normal, and you need to relearn what "healthy eating" means as an athlete. You see, as an athlete, your body processes food differently than your sedentary counterparts and you need a lot of it. You burn more calories, your body requires key nutrients, at certain times, to help assist in metabolism, protein synthesis and glycogen resynthesis and food is not simply consumed for health but it is also your fuel. Far too many athletes think they are eating healthy but in reality, they are underco