Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

  On the eve of 2021, the classic tradition of New Year's resolutions may look a bit different. In a year of living with restrictions, being let down, feeling unproductive, and not being able to make plans, you are probably looking ahead to the hopeful end of this pandemic and returning to a life of normal.  Because of this unprecedented time, we are all feeling a bit reflective about the year that we leave behind us and this may be affected your expectations for 2021.  For those who typically make resolutions, you may be feeling the need to do without in 2021 - "why bother?" you say to yourself. Or, perhaps you want to create a resolution for 2021, even though you have generally avoided them in previous years.  As it relates to New Years Resolutions, to be honest, the meaning behind it all is somewhat impractical. Sorry to be a downer but there's got to be a better way to self-improvement.  Here are a few reasons why New Year Resolutions don't always work:...

Drive is often the fuel that keeps you motivated to achieve a goal. But a powerful need to succeed can be driven by a fear of failure or constantly comparing yourself to others (or a past version of yourself). The more successful you become in each step of your athletic journey, the more afraid of failure you can become. As a result, you may find yourself compromising your values - and your mental and physical health. The state of being driven can become addictive.  Being intrinsically motivated is required in any successful individual. To work hard and relentlessly pursue a goal with determination is a great quality.  Although drive can be a great thing (when you use it in the right ways), it can also lead to a single-focused mindset. When you are too driven, it can be difficult to switch "off" which can make it difficult to respect your health and well-being.  As an athlete, the competitive nature and strong discipline that can make you a great athlete may also place yo...

What behavior (or habit) has the strongest negative impact on reaching an athletic goal? What behavior has lead you into a vicious cycle of self-sabotage? What habits have you struggled with the most? What behavior, if changed, would give you the most leverage toward improving the odds of achieving your athletic goals? Changing a behavior to reach a goal sounds simple but it actually requires a process of changing the way that you think. The idea that if you change your thoughts, you can change your behaviors sounds straightforward but many athletes go straight to behavior change and neglect working on the thoughts that influence actions.  This is why I created The Whole Athlete.  As you enter the New Year, the motivation may be high to change behaviors in order to move closer to your athletic goals. While you may have good intentions behind your behavior changes, it's not uncommon for good intentions to lead to bad outcomes.  I want to remind you that your thoughts are c...

  Over the past few years, I've worked with over 250 athletes from all over the world on nutrition. From daily to sport nutrition and everything in between, I've learned that many athletes struggle with food and body image. Often at the root of having a poor body image and unhealthy relationship with food is the belief that "the lighter or leaner I am, the better I'll perform."  Many athletes come to me with good intentions when wanting to change the way that they eat or look. As a Board Certified Sport Dietitian, I can confidently tell you that there are healthy ways to improve eating habits to optimize sport performance by changing body composition. But the methods for changing body composition - especially for a performance boost -  should never require dieting, restrictive eating, underfueling and excessive exercise. Sadly, this isn't the case. Far too many athletes are not eating enough to fuel their body for sport performance. Influencing factors for int...

  If you are in search of the perfect gift for your athlete or fitness enthusiast friend, partner or well, just for yourself, check out my books. As always, thank you for the support!  Athlete to Triathlete All the triathlon-specific information you need to know for your upcoming triathlon - including helpful features like gear checklists, transition and brick workout tips, the race-day procedure, nutrition guidelines for training and racing and race day rules. There's even a section on triathlon lingo! The book includes several comprehensive chapters with easy-to-ready information on training fundamentals, strength training and stretching/mobility exercises (with pictures), and advice tailored to runners, cyclists, and swimmers.  Athlete to Triathlete will simplify the sport to help individuals safely and confidently enter, remain or re-enter the sport of triathlon. Order HERE. The 365-Day Running Journal  In today’s digital world, logging workouts with a pen...

Despite feeling busy with so many daily to-do's, it can be difficult to say "no" for fear of upsetting others or fear of missing out (FOMO). Sometimes it's easier to just say yes. As a result, you add more stress and frustration to your already packed schedule. How many times have you said yes to something only to avoid tension or to avoid disappointing someone? Although it's an easy and quick answer to please others, learning to say no is essential for your happiness and well-being. Although sometimes you do need to commit to something that you just don't want to do, here are a few tips to help you feel good about saying no when saying no is the right thing to do:  If the thing that you feel pressure to say yes to is an impractical use of your time and adds little value to your life, say no thank you. Don't overcommit. Saying yes to everything adds to the feeling of being overwhelmed. You get to control your calendar. Don't be so quick to say yes to t...

I really enjoy making soup because it's an easy way to add a lot of vegetables to one recipe. Plus, you give the taste buds an overwhelmingly good feeling with each slurp.  My first attempt at Broccoli Potato soup was a big success. I hope you enjoy it. Don't forget to yum! Ingredients 1 yellow onion 2 tbsp Olive oil  4 cloves garlic (minced) 4 medium sized golden potatoes (peeled and diced) 1 large carrot (peeled and chopped) 1 celery stick (chopped) 5 cups vegetable stock + 2-3 cups water 2 broccoli florets (chopped) Pinch of red pepper flakes  1/2 tsp turmeric  Pepper (to taste) 4 tbsp nutritional yeast Instructions Preheat a large cooking pot over medium heat. Sautee the onion in olive oil until slightly golden.  Add the celery, carrots, pepper, turmeric, red pepper flakes and stir.  Add the vegetable stock.  Add the garlic, potatoes and broccoli. Stir to combine.  Add water until vegetables are covered with liquid.  Cover with lid and co...

The night after the event was a bit restless - as to be expected. We woke up exhausted and sore. We couldn't help but think how incredible the mind is when it comes to showing up to perform. It was as if the mind knew we had completed the 3-day event and it could finally rest. With the mind at rest, the body was able to also shut down and start the recovery process. The human body is truly amazing.  After enjoying a hearty dinner a few hours after the event (Moe's - we both ordered the Close Talker bowl with lettuce, rice and beans, topped with tofu and all of the other veggie toppings, avocado and cheese). It's not uncommon for athletes to crave salt and fat after a long distance event for the body is depleted. The brain knows that the body is in a very vulnerable state so it seeks (or asks) for the most energy dense options to help restore health. Of course, with the body being in such an exhausted state, digestion is slow and compromised. There have been plenty of Ironma...

  All things relative, we slept much better after stage 2. It was nice knowing that we didn't have to drive to the start of stage 3 - the finish of stage 2, lodging and start of stage 3 was all in the same area. We "slept in" until 5:30am and made our way to the swim start around 6:45am. Because we were so exhausted after stage 2 (93 miles of racing) that we didn't prepare as much as we should have after the race so we felt a bit more scattered and busy on the morning of stage 3. Al was a huge help as he packed up the car for us so that we could have a little more time to get ourselves ready in the morning.  I failed to mention that going into the race, there was a chance that the event was going to be cancelled (or modified) due to hurricane Eta. Thankfully, the hurricane changed direction but it did leave Crystal River, FL (stage 1) with a bit of debris on the road (and trails). The weather could not have been more perfect during our event (no rain and in the upper ...

  We didn't have much trouble falling asleep around 8:30pm. However, staying asleep was the hard part. It was a light night of sleeping before the alarm woke us up at 4:50am. Without feeling too sore, I was looking forward to stage 2 as another opportunity to explore my physical and mental capabilities. However, the tiredness in my body reminded me that I did just finish a 8 hour and 50 minute triathlon event less than 13 hours ago.  I woke up feeling relatively good compared to Karel. He felt horrible. He barely slept and felt nauseous, sleep deprived and exhausted. He still made himself eat his pre-race meal but he just felt off.  To be honest, the swimming, biking and running was the fun part of this event. The packing, unpacking and planning ahead was the tough part. When the race started each stage, it felt so good to just move my body and do what I love to do. The packing/unpacking/prepping bottles/nutrition sometimes felt more exhausting in the evening after the ev...