Wow, Boston was not what I was expecting at all this year. Seeing the high temperature from last year, was more thinking that it was going to be somewhat warm. And I love hot weather. Alas no. Here is a recap on my day and nutrition. (more…)
Author: Isabelle Nadeau, PhD
Can We All Make Peace Now?
Happy New Year everyone! Wishing you the best in the new year to come. For this first blog of 2018, I would like to reflect on diet wars. People can get really passionate about what they eat! A survey has even shown that people would move country, stop smoking or drinking for love, but not change the way they eat. How strong is that!
Here is a debate which shows how strongly people can believe in something. On one side you have the vegans from the very popular documentary “What the Health” on the other side, you have the omnivore, low-carb or paleo folks. When you look at how strongly each side believes in what they are saying, you have to wonder. The more so because these people are nutrition experts and doctors. One side truly believes that vegan is the way to go while the other side believe that meat and eggs are part of a healthy diet and carbohydrate are the culprit to most modern disease. It is quite entertaining to watch. But who to believe? It can get really confusing. Is meat bad or is it not? Is a plant based diet bad for you or the miracle cure? Let’s look at some of the idea debated.
Ironman Mont Tremblant 2017 Part 2: It’s Go Time!
With all what went on in the Bay Area with the fires, I didn’t feel super compelled about telling my Ironwoman story. Who wants to know about this, I’m no elite, not that young anymore either so who would care. But then I remembered that I always like to read blog about Ironman stories good or bad, it’s always a pleasure and a nice distraction. So here it is, your distraction for today. Warning though there will be some TMI moments, so beware!
Ironman Mont-Tremblant 2017 Part 1: Nutrition and Training
This is going to be a more personal blog. I don’t always blog about all my races but this was an Ironman so a little bit more interesting since I obviously don’t do one every month, or every 6 months or every year (but that might change). Also I think that you will find that the nutrition part is very interesting, so let’s start.
Best Sports Nutrition News vol. 1
If you follow me on Facebook and Twitter and I hope you do (hint,hint, wink, wink), you know that I like to post about the latest news in Sports and Nutrition. These are the stories that were the most popular in the last 4 months. It’s always interesting to see what stories strike people the most from celebrity players, getting older to losing weight, calories and gluten-free diet. Because at the end of the day what we really, really want is to feel good and look good. It’s just human nature after all! Enjoy!
What can Metabolic Efficiency do for you: a Case Study
I reported a while back on Metabolic Efficiency (ME), how it works and its effect on health and performance. Metabolic Efficiency is the body’s ability to burn more fat instead of carbohydrates for the same intensity. It is trainable with nutrition (75%) and training (25%). In that earlier post, I had also given an example of two athletes and how different they were and how that would impact their racing nutrition. Today I would like to talk about one athlete that went through a Metabolic Efficiency training and how it impacted her.
The Ultimate Guide to Carbohydrates for Training and Racing
Are you confused when you go to your favorite sport store as to which type of powder, gel, liquid or bar you are going to buy for your next endurance event? Do you prefer to use real food instead? This guide is for you, so you can make a sense of what is being sold and don’t get too caught up in the latest hype. (more…)
Is Coca-Cola a Sports Drink?
Coca-Cola is in deep sugary bubbly waters. Its sales have dropped and so did other colas. A group called the Global Energy Balance Network, led by scientists and created by Coca-Cola, announced this year that it was shutting down after months of pressure from public health. This supposedly research based group was promoting the fact that obesity was created by lack of exercise and not diet. Of course, that meant that if you did exercise you could drink all the Coke you want!
But Coca-Cola is still everywhere. It was a partner of the Rio Olympic games. It is also prevalent in triathlon where it sponsors teams and some very good athletes such as team Bravo with Rachel Joyce. It also sponsors the HITS triathlon series, and the list goes on.
Now to answer the question: is Coke a Sports Drink? Well believe it or not Coke has been the subject of multiple scientific papers. There are three things that makes Coke interesting: sugar content, caffeine content and carbonation. Let’s look at these. (more…)
What is a Performance Nutritionist
I have heard it all from endurance athletes:
“I felt great on the bike but then my stomach started bothering me on the run”
“I totally bonked”
“I had to stop at the porta-potty five times”
“I did not feel like eating at all”
“I had never tried that bar before and it was disgusting”
“I had to slow down because of a cramp”
“I bought Dura-Ace components so it could save me a pound of weight”
“I was light-headed and ended up in the medical tent”
“I missed my goal by 2 seconds”
“I’m tired all the time!”
Do some of those sound familiar to you too?
Whether it is gastro-intestinal issues, blood sugar imbalance, body composition goals, training adaptations optimization, this is what a Performance Nutritionist, like me, can help you with. (more…)