Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

Do you want to take your health and performance to the next level? Say hello to NUTRIENT TIMING⏰. Nutrient timing can be the link that takes you from a good athlete to a great athlete. It can also help with better quality training sessions and reducing the risk for injury and illness. Nutrient timing refers to the intentional manipulation of nutrients at specific times in and around exercise in an effort to achieve a specific outcome (ex. performance, health, body composition). Although the definition is simple, the application can get complicated when you factor in workout type, duration, frequency, timing, intensity, purpose and time of the day. When it comes to nutrient timing, evening workouts can be tough to nail. Knowing what, how much and when to eat before and after the workout can be tricky as you have to be extra intentional with making sure you time your nutrition appropriately before or after the workout. The upside of an evening workout is that (if timed well) you already ...

  Every sport has its own nutritional considerations. For example, the needs of a 100 meter swimmer are very different than a 10K open water swimmer - even though both are swimmers. The same is true of a marathon runner compared to a long distance triathlete - even though both run 26.2 miles. While nutrition is important for every type of athlete, the nutritional demands of training and racing are different for every athlete and depend on factors such as distances and intensities being performed, as well as on the type of terrain, temperature and altitude.  With respect to endurance and ultra endurance events, athletes experience numerous physiological stressors which can have significant health and performance consequences. Certainly, proper fueling and hydrating can minimize the risk of issues. From glycogen depletion and dehydration to muscle damage and GI issues, many athletes have a poor understanding of how to fuel appropriately during long distance activity - or intenti...

Disclaimer: Neither Campy nor I encourage the consumption of alcohol during a training camp. Truth be told - I don't never drink alcohol.  Although your racing may be on hold, your training shouldn't stop. More so, you should still feel the need to fuel your inner athlete...which means incorporating big training days, personal challenges or a heavy training week into your training regime. Better fueling and hydration strategies before/during/after workouts give you better performances and improved health. It’s that simple. With races postponed, there's no better time than now to start (or to continue) designing and fine-tuning your personalized hydration and fueling plan. Event day is not the time to try the latest sport bar or to invent a new homemade sport drink. Instead, use your big training days and personal challenges (ex. virtual or mock races) to figure out the best sport nutrition strategy for your needs. While the nutrition you consume during workouts is...

For several decades, extensive scientific research has focused on the topic of nutrient timing: what and when to eat before, during, and immediately after exercise to enhance the adaptive response to change physiology. For example, prolonged exercise depletes muscle glycogen storage and breaks down muscle tissue, which increases the risk for fatigue and immunosuppression. But, by consuming carbohydrates and protein within 30 minutes after a workout, you can build muscle, store energy, and minimize tissue damage.  Unfortunately, nutrient timing is a confusing nutrition topic because many strategies conflict with the “healthy” nutrition advice given by experts regarding weight loss and health. For example, an athlete may have heard to restrict carbohydrates before a workout to induce higher fat oxidation – or in other words, to promote fat loss. However, insulin – which is released by the pancreas when carbohydrates are consumed – is one of the body's most anabolic muscle...

I've heard some recent talk by athletes of their concerns of a post-workout smoothie containing berries and greens. Athletes are hearing that they should avoid berries and greens for at least 4 hours post workout in order to optimize recovery. The case for avoiding antioxidant rich foods immediately after exercise is based on research saying that "antioxidant supplements seem to be working against the beneficial effects of exercise: Promoting, rather than reducing, oxidative stress." In other words, antioxidants can actually increase inflammation, rather than decreasing it. As a Board Certified Sport Dietitian, I'd like to share my thoughts on this topic. But first I'd like to say that this is a topic that needs much more quality research before we (nutrition experts) can make a general recommendation to apply to all athletes. A free radical is an unstable molecule that’s missing at least one electron in its outermost orbit, which causes it to be negatively c...

Pre-workout nutrition advice is confusing. The main reason for so much conflicting advice and recommendations (to eat or not to eat) relates to conflicting research studies. Because of the many different study designs, using trained, untrained and elite athletes, it's nearly impossible to compare results to prescribe one general pre-exercise fueling strategy. Interestingly, most athletes will perform better when eating a small snack before an early morning workout - regardless of the intensity and duration of exercise. However, there are reasons why athletes will struggle when eating before an early morning workout - specifically digestive issues and reactive hypoglycemia. As a Board Certified Sport Dietitian, my practice revolves around helping athletes eat in a way that fosters improved performance in training and on race/event day. At Trimarni, our focus is to help athletes experience athletic excellence without compromising health. Therefore, when prescribing strategies...

If you have ever skipped a meal (or snack), you've probably noticed extreme hunger later in the day with a good chance of overeating late into the evening hours. Overeating (and undereating) contributes to low energy and low motivation - neither of which make it easy to reach performance, health or body composition goals. As it relates to training, anytime you overeat, there's a chance that you will feel uncomfortable and tired - you may even feel guilt or shame. None of the mental and physical effects of overeating will help you perform well in your upcoming workouts, especially if you don't do what you know you should do as it relates to pre and during fueling and adhering to your workout prescription. As an example, skipping meals during the day can lead to low energy before your evening workout, possibly forcing you to skip the workout due to low motivation or trying to perform the workout with no energy in the tank. Eating too much late at night before a long morn...

We all know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and can set you up for a successful (and controllable) day of eating with great mental focus, alertness and energy.  One of the common struggles I come across with athletes/fitness enthusiasts is how to fuel in the morning with early morning workouts.  Common concerns: - Will I gain weight if I eat before my workout? -I feel like I'm always snacking in the morning and never feel full? -I have GI upset if I eat before my workout. -I can't seem to recover from my workout. -I do well until mid afternoon and then I can't stop eating! - I'm always rushing to get my workout in in the morning and then get to work (take care of family). Here are a few of my recommendations for timing your nutrition with your workouts for the early morning workouts (remember - tweak for your own individual needs and goals - log your lifestyle to reflect on what's working/not working): -I recommend to have a b...