Karen's Story

Karen is an endurance athlete who was sent to me from a triathlon coach I had met through my own competitions. He felt like Karen drastically needed to improve her nutrition, especially pre-training fueling, as she trained for a 48-hour race with her goal being to run 100 miles, in 48 hours.

As we dove into her nutrition assessment there were many things we had to work on. Fuel timing, supplementation, hydration, macronutrient needs, and more. It was a lot. Additionally, she lived in a New York City apartment, was a full time nurse practitioner, and needed to get in multiple hours of training a day. So, not only did we have to address the nutrition aspects, but we had to focus even more on how to implement strategies to make it all doable given the busy, on-the-go, and oftentimes chaotic schedule. The great thing is that Karen was willing to put in the work--so that's what we did.

We started with the basics. What her body needed to maintain a high level of energy output and performance. More importantly we discussed how to meet basic nutrition needs with her lifestyle--more snacks during the workday, using sports drinks as hydration when she worked a 12 hour shift, adjusting her lunches “out” to support her training later in the day, etc. Grocery lists were shared, specific snacks and foods were discussed, and we were in constant communication about what was/wasn't working.

Once the basics felt well established, we turned our attention to supplementation. Supplementation can be such a useful tool, but only if it has the nutrition foundation to stand on. We only used them when it was clear that her intake via food wasn't meeting her needs no matter how we adjusted it. We used the highest quality of supplements and made sure it was the most safe and effective option.

From there, it was all about the details. Dialing in exactly what she could be eating before a hard training session in the pool vs a light recovery run that would give her what she needed and minimize any digestion issues. Specific foods were discussed and tried, and different timelines and schedules were created and tweaked as needed until it felt like everything was lining up.

Now, don't get me wrong, it wasn't all easy going. There were definite bumps and setbacks along the way, but what I noticed with Karen is that she didn't let those derail her, she simply asked for help, we found a solution, and kept moving forward. Slowly, you could see and feel the change happening. She was sleeping better, had more energy for workouts after a long shift at the hospital, and had more confidence that her nutrition was SUPPORTING her, rather than being a limitation.

Her goal was to run 100 miles, she ran 116. She then went on to say “I probably could have run more if it wasn't for the rain," so she was feeling GREAT (or as good as one can be after running for 48 hours straight).

In her words:

“Your nutrition advice was game changing. I know I would not have done as well without it. My energy, my fatigue, and my eating habits have totally changed since our sessions."

Most recently she completed her first Ironman 70.3, stuck to the nutrition plan we had established, and was “never ever fatigued”. It doesn't get much better than that as an endurance athlete.

Karen’s story perfectly illustrates how powerful nutrition can be, but it also illustrates what it takes to allow nutrition to BE powerful: constant communication, willingness to try something new, consistency, and patience.

I am so proud of you Karen! I cannot wait to see what you can achieve in the future!