This site is kept in loving memory of Trish Reske, who passed in October of 2021.
Trish was a writer - this site captures a bit of her incredible sense of humor.
You can read Trish's full obituary here.

Five Sports Nutrition Nuggets

PBJ&B: The breakfast of nutty champions

PBJ&B: The breakfast of nutty champions

I recently heard sports nutritionist and author Nancy Clark speak at the Massachusetts Alzheimer’s Association “Run For the Memory” 2009 Boston Marathon group meeting. I’ve heard Nancy speak before; she has generously donated her time and expertise to charity runners preparing for Boston.

Nancy is a best-selling author, speaker, workshop leader, consultant, and all-around guru on nutrition for both casual and professional athletes. So she really knows her stuff.

The thing I always appreciate about Nancy is her balanced approach to sports nutrition. She has a lot of “rules of thumb” that are easy to remember and easy to do. I like that, because nutrition in general, and sports nutrition specifically, can get really confusing, especially if you are trying to keep up with the latest trends, performance advice, and engineered foods on the market.

How much should I carbo-load before a marathon? How do I know I’m fueling correctly? Does coffee improve performance or seem that way? Does eating protein right after an event help refuel muscles? And the question I always ask: Can I eat more dark chocolate (with my espresso of course!) for maximum antioxidant benefits?

This is why I need someone like Nancy to set me straight. I’ve got questions; she’s got answers.

Below are five takeaway nutritional nuggets I got from Nancy’s talk recently. These are my nuggets; hopefully they’ll help you, too. If you want more, I highly recommend Nancy’s “Sports Nutrition Guidebook” or one of her other books specifically for marathoners and cyclists.

Nugget #1: Better nutrition begins with bigger breakfasts (and smaller dinners.)
OK, this is a hard one for me. I have to confess: on most mornings, a double espresso is my pre-run meal of preference. I might have a piece of fruit after my run, but the meal is meager. Nancy’s rule of thumb is: Don’t eat in a “crescendo” – instead eat in a pyramid. That is, eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a queen, and dinner like a pauper. Nancy actually recommends eating breakfast, first lunch, second lunch and dinner to more evenly space out your nutritional needs on a tasty timeline and keep blood sugar levels steady through the day.

Nugget #2: If you want to lose weight, fuel by day and chip off calories at night.
Here’s the classic weight gain scenario: You want to lose those extra five pounds, so you skip breakfast and eat yogurt and a salad for lunch. By mid-afternoon, you need a pick-me-up. Your body is crying for quick calories, so you high-tail it to the vending machine, reasoning that you were “good” all morning. You’re famished for dinner and have second helpings of lasagna. Before bed, you’re still hungry, so you snack. Nancy calls this the “guaranteed weight gain” diet, because you WILL gain weight if you eat this way. Her advice: chip off calories, not in the morning, but at night. If you chip off 100 calories per night for a year, that could result in 10 lbs of weight loss in a year.

Nugget #3: Eat when you are hungry, but choose snacks wisely.
I guess I would add “and stop when you are full,” which can be a problem when everything at the buffet looks too good to turn down. Nancy says that starving your body is abusive, would you not feed a baby when it’s crying for food? Yet many people do not trust their own body’s signals when it comes to eating, and end up feeling tired, stressed, and low-energy. Food is fuel. Make sure you are fueling your body on a regular basis with good foods. As Nancy says, “Honor hunger and prevent hunger.”

Nugget #4: Take claims about engineered foods with a grain of salt. 
The goal for fueling during extended exercise should be to get 150-200 calories/hour after the first hour. But there’s no magic in re-engineered fuels like gels, energy bars, or sports drinks. Your body doesn’t know the difference between Gu or Goobers. You can choose what works for you. The important thing is to fuel your muscles properly before exercise, then fuel during, then refuel after, primarily with carbohydrates, for optimum recovery.

Nugget #5: You never have to “run out” of Gatorade again.
Actually, this is a recipe that I thought would be helpful to share on how to make your own sports drink: Fill a one-quart container with ¼ cup of sugar, ¼ cup of orange, cranberry or other juice (for flavor), ¼ tsp salt, and the rest with water. Voila! You’ve got the equivalent of Gatorade at far less the cost. (I just have to figure out how to make mine blue!)

I hope found these nuggets useful; there are many more in Nancy’s books and on her website. She also has a blog with lots of meaty advice.

Gotta run, but first a bowl of Wheaties to go with my dark chocolate 🙂

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2 Responses to “Five Sports Nutrition Nuggets”

  1. Trish,

    You nailed it! Tremendous write up about Nancy’s seminar. I have been to several of her talks for The Run for the Memory team and she provide simple tips that are easy to remember and delivered in anyone can understand bites!

    Thanks Tim Morrison

  2. Quite helpful, thanks Trish! Can’t wait to try out the homemade Gatorade recipe.

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