The Core Diet Blog

If you have been hanging aroundThe Core Dietfor some time now, you bet we still stand by our food values, which includes eating fresh whole fruits and vegetables

Field Work Nutrition Co. is proud to announce the launch of it's Primo Smoothie Meal, a whole-food based complete meal replacement for anyone that lives an active,

Are you using any of the  Klean products? We love the Klean Isolate, Klean Omega and Klean Recovery.  I checked in with a couple of our dieitians, and this is what

Is it me, or is the pre-packaged “bar” aisle taking over Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and every other grocery store in the U.S.? The registered dietitian in me

How many of you have started your training for the new season ahead but have found yourself (or those around) SICK!  It can be very frustrating since you survived

Hi athletes!

We kicked off our Core Diet "Office Hours" a few weeks ago and we will now be implementing them monthly!  Our next one will will be held on this coming Monday, October 24th at 8pm EST. These “Office Hours” will be held through ouronline chat moduleand hosted by the Nutrition Program Director,Jaime Windrow. 

Happy Holidays!

Through January 10th 2016, The Core Diet is offering a HUGE sale across ALL of itsnutrition services!  The Core Diet is perhaps the single most experienced group of registered dietitians, focused solely on endurance sports, in the world!  Let us help you! Visitthecorediet.com and use the code “CD2016” to receive discounts on:

Originally posted on Ironman.com 7/1/14

Many athletes who come to work with me have a similar goal: Finding out their ideal race weight and the best way to get there. Optimal race weight, however, can only be determined by peeling back the layers that make up the whole athlete. These not only include the individual athlete's body composition, age, gender, competition level and length of races, but their emotional relationship with food, any previous patterns of disordered eating, weight loss/gain history, level of commitment and sacrifice, to name a few. For simplicity's sake, this article focuses solely on the numbers. 

When I first start working with a new athlete, I will usually review some food logs to see how things are progressing. You know what I see? Chicken. And lots of it! Chicken and broccoli. Chicken on a salad. Chicken on a low carb wrap. While a skinless, free-range chicken breast is a great source of lean protein, my fear is that food boredom is right around the corner. Well now is the perfect time of year to branch out!

“I Guess I Shouldn’t Have Eaten That”

A common complaint I hear as a sports dietitian is “I can’t eat anything before or during exercise because it causes stomach issues.”

This can be especially problematic for athletes participating in long distance triathlons and running events.  While athletes can often complete short distance triathlons without sports fuels, they will require them for long distance events.  Consumption of fuels prevents bonking and are fundamental for speed and performance. 

Himalayan Pink Sea Salt. Bolivian Rose Sea Salt. Dead Sea Salt. Celtic Sea Salt. Hawaiian Alaea Sea Salt. Organic and Natural Sea Salt.

Sea Salts are marketed to us as a more natural and healthy alternative.  But are they any different than table salt?

Yes and No.

What is Sea Salt, anyway?

As the colder months roll in and slowly envelop us in frigid air, our food choices start to change.  Our penchant for salad goes by the wayside and we start craving more comforting foods: warm, creamy soups; toasty, gooey casseroles; and oodles of noodles.  All the delicious foods that, if eaten with abandon, help create the lovely padding around our midsection– a thermal layer that keeps up warm through these chilly months.

As a triathlete, you work your tail off throughout the season to perform your best in that A race.  The first part of your season consists of building a solid base; gaining strength in the gym that will transition to power on the bike and in the run.  The second half of your season is devoted to speed and continued aerobic improvement.

It’s Monday afternoon and your boss has just informed you, that despite your best efforts to excuse yourself from business travel plans, you’re going anyway.  Before you know it, you’re booked on the 6am flight across the country.  Panic sets in.  My workouts! How am I going to get those key workouts in?  Frantically, you call your coach and somehow, you manage to work out the details. Ok, run a while I’m there, before meetings, after meetings, try to work in a swim, find the local YMCA, got it.  We’re covered.

Logging your intake. I can’t tell you how important it is. The number one piece of advice I give to my athletes, regardless of if they are just starting out, or a seasoned triathlon veteran, is to start keeping track of what they eat! Even if you have (or think you have) control over nutrition, logging intake is a great learning tool. Besides tracking calories, one can monitor grams of carbohydrate, protein, fat, and fiber. All of which can make or break your training session, or race!

I continue to get asked by athletes and coaches about taking a lower carbohydrate approach to fueling long course events. This concept sounds great on the surface, like Total Immersion-style swimming in triathlon, but as you dig deeper, you discover its pitfalls. I’ll sum this concept up as “Metabolic Efficiency Training – By Nutrition Modification” (low carb approach). I add the nutrition modification piece, as training via proper intensity ranges provides “Metabolic Efficiency” without tinkering with nutrition and is a proven concept.