Nutrition is always a hot topic with runners, and today’s guest, Trent Stellingwerff, brings a wealth of knowledge and extensive research into how nutrition affects our physiology.
Trent and I cover a wide range of topics that touch on more than just nutrition, from the notion that trying to do five or six things really well is simply impossible and leads to doing nothing well, and his focus on health, mobility and wellness over an entire lifetime. We cover whether there is really one way to eat that is better than any other, and how dietary choices are dependent on one’s individual history, training loads, and a continuum of macro and micro nutrients. You will also learn why a simple focus on what and how much you eat for breakfast is probably the most important food choice you can make to help your performance and overall health.
For you listening who are not simply runners but perhaps also triathletes, Trent works with a wide variety of athletes from runners to rowers, cyclists, swimmers etc. Our discussions covers the different training loads in terms of hours of training and how those impact the nutritional needs and focus for athletes of all types.
Today’s Guest
Trent Stellingwerff
Trent Stellingwerff is an applied sport physiologist with a specialization in the area of performance nutrition. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Human Nutrition and Exercise Physiology at Cornell University and his Ph.D. from the University of Guelph in Exercise and Skeletal Muscle Physiology. He is currently the Director of Performance Solutions at the Canadian Sports Institute, with a focus on providing his physiology and nutrition expertise to Canada’s national rowing, track and field, and triathlon teams. He also heads the Canadian Sport Institute’s Innovation and Research division. Trent previously worked as the senior leading scientist in Performance Nutrition for Power Bar at the Nestle Research Center in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Trent ran middle distances in his collegiate career for Cornell until he was sidelined by injury. He lives with his wife Hilary, a two time Olympian, and their children in Victoria, Canada.
What you will learn about:
- How just a focus on breakfast can make a huge difference in our overall health and performance.
- How accurately measuring energy input and output is like trying to measure rain in a hurricane. Both are fraught with over and under-reporting.
- How it is important to understand the calorie and nutritional breakdown of what you are eating but not stress over the number of calories as it is less important than the overall balance of what is in each item.
- How runners tend to be pickier about what they eat but can quickly get into trouble by not fueling enough to support the pounding their bodies endure.
- How athletes in the hotbed of distance running (Kenya and Ethiopia) are eating pretty close to the land. Their dinner probably just walked by them a few moments ago.
- How the pounding forces and upright posture of running impacts the GI system and leads to somewhat unique issues related to digestion and fueling.
- What the role of supplements should be in our diets.
Listen to the Running for Real Podcast here:
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Inspirational Quotes:
Are you happy, healthy and are you running well?
The best elite athletes have a focus on the consistent quality of food without neurosis.
Never assume, always ask.
Resources:
Last week’s episode with Allie Kieffer
Running for Real Strength Training Program
Running4Real Podcast Series on Nutrition
Rest of the Podcast Series
- Beginners
- Mental Toughness Training
- Marathon Training
- Coming Back From Injuries
- Running Through and After Pregnancy
Thank you to BodyHealth for sponsoring this episode of Running for Real.
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Thank you to Trent. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the show.
