Nutrition Gal Will Now Be Taking Your Questions!


After my post last week on What's Working: Nutrition, you all had great comments and questions, so I thought I'd ask my Nutrition Gal if she'd be interested in fielding questions from the bloggy world on all things Nutrition. She happily replied yes!  So I thought the best way to do it is have you ask the questions directly here, then I'll either synthesize them for her, depending on how many we get, and post the answers next Wednesday. Sound good?

And a lil' more about Nutrition Gal: She has a Master's and is a RD (registered dietician). She is a a certified strength and conditioning coach and has worked with all athletes on the spectrum from newbies to professional athletes. She is the one that helped me hop on board the training express after my lil' twins were 1 yr old, and she is now currently helping me with my nutrition and training for Vineman.
 
So ask away! I've heard some great questions from last week: How many calories do I need as a female ~45 marathon runner? Why do you have AM using bars/powders vs. 'real' food?, etc.

And as I always said to my students (back in my teaching days) there is no bad question. So take advantage of having your own nutritionist for the day. I know I'll def learn from your qts;-)

Comments

misszippy said…
This is great--thanks for the hook-up. Here's mine: As a 44-yr. old marathoner with a well-rounded diet (I think) do I need to take a multi-vitamin? I feel like I get all I need from food, but sometimes worry.

Thanks!
Q:why is everyone going gluten free? Is this the new low fat or low cal or etc. Diet fad or there is some actual science behind it?
KovasP said…
Are energy bars/gels/drinks any different/healthier than other processed foods?
justme said…
how to even start an elimination diet of dairy and gluten ?
what is the right amount of protein for a snack, both regular and recovery.
MarciaG said…
Is it possible to lose weight (fat) while training for a 1/2 marathon? I want to perform well (1:40 -1:45)though. Performance trumps vanity for now ( I guess. lol.
I am very active (probably too active)
The race is in Oct. thanks!
Laura said…
Thanks for this opportunity! I'm struggling with the vast differences in well researched nutrition theories, i.e. the very convincing low protein (<20%)diet to avoid western illnesses (The China Study) versus eating like human ancestors (Paleo Diet for Athletes) where tho shalt not eat carbs that are not grown on a plant. Are we really only suppose to eat fruits, vegetables, and nuts - that's it? Because those are the only agreed upon foods from these two theories.
VegetariRun said…
Hi! I've been lurking for a few weeks now and I really love your blog! Thanks for the opportunity to ask questions. I'm a female vegan runner training for my first marathon. I was wondering about calcium intake to avoid stress fractures. I try to eat a lot of high calcium leafy greens daily as well as fortified soymilk and occasional tofu, but I have heard that calcium in greens isn't easily absorbed. Is there any sort of food combining I can do to make the calcium in leafy greens and other foods be more efficiently absorbed? And, should I be taking a calcium supplement?

Also, I was wondering if adding "healthy" fats to my regular vegan diet will cause me to gain weight. I eat mostly unprocessed foods and raw when I can, and as I've been eating more raw I've been eating more and more nuts, coconut butter, avocado, etc, because those foods make me feel more full. Books seem to say these are all ok because they're "healthy" fats... but they're still fats, right? I'm afraid that even with my training I'll start putting on weight, especially if the rest of my diet isn't completely raw so in addition to those "healthy" fats I'm still also eating olive oil and other fats sometimes. Do you have any advice?
Jill said…
Oh man....
Okay, here I go...
1) Love MissZippy's question. I do take a multivitamin daily. My dr. told me to do this a long time ago. I'm also 47 so a tad older (wha!). On the realm of vitamin...
2) As a marathon runner, do you recommend any other supplements? I once worked with a personal trainer who wanted me to take 2) L-Glutamine for recovery b)CLA for bodyfat reduction (I do not take this one anymore) c) D-Ribose for ATP fueling (I do not take this regularly, but will take it daily for about a week before a marathon).
3) How much protein do you recommend for a 47 year old marathoner who runs about 50 mpw?
4) If you want to scrap question #3, this one may be better: how much carb/protein/fat ratios do you recommend?
5) I've been reading a book called: Racing Weight by Matt Fitzgerald. He suggests a range of bodyfat/weight for prime marathon racing. My bodyfat should be about 15%. I can get it there for marathon day but I cannot keep it there (and right now it's really far from there). Do you think a low bodyfat helps you perform better come race day? If so, how do you recommend getting the bodyfat down quickest and safest? I just can't get it to budge and I've been indulging in a lot of protein and at the gym frequently (2-3 times/week).
5) Do you recommend an online sight to monitor your daily intake? I find I'm so much more accountable if I have to write it all down to look at it.

THANKS!! :)
Jill said…
Opps, I have two #5's. :)
Maggs said…
I have a question about metabolic efficiency. I eat a LOT when I exercise. I don't usually have problems digesting what I eat. But some people train to eat less (I guess most of this training is done in a 'base building' phase, slow easy stuff). I wonder how much that would help me? And since I struggle to keep weight on when training, is it a good idea at all? Would is slow down my metabolism outside of training so maybe it is a good idea?
Lisa said…
Here's a question: I'm an injured runner but still working out 6 mornings/week at the gym doing about 60-80 minutes of cardio each day (stationary bike mostly with stairmaster, elliptical and rowing machine thrown in), and strength training. Since I want to drop a few pounds, approximately how many calories and grams of protein and fat should I take in each day?
Caratunk Girl said…
Hey this is awesome! Cool. There are some great questions already, some of them I have myself. I will wait and see those answers for now! :)
RunningWhit said…
I'm curious as to what the best snack foods are for active women. I can't make it through the work day without some snacks but would like to make better choices that help fuel me for evening workouts. Thanks for organizing this for us!
AM! said…
WOW! these are some fabulous questions! I can't wait for the answers myself. I think I'm going to close questions/comments for this now, so I can make sure these get answered. Heck, maybe I'll do a monthly nutrition thing?!;-)

Popular Posts