Friday, November 23, 2012

Nutrition and Training for Sports | Fitness Forward

The Clean Eating Athlete:??New Coaching?Style by Debbie Potts

This past weekend, I was the main presenter for the Keahou Lavaman Olympic Triathlon Health & Fitness Expo in Kona, Hawaii.? This was my first adventure as a headline presenter, as well as leader for the ?LavaKids? triathlon warm-up.? Over the past twenty years in the fitness industry, I have lead various clinics for a Danskin Triathlon camp, Heart Zones Training, Washington State Coaches Clinic, American Cancer Society Team DetermiNation and other events.

The Lavaman Triathlon was my first time presenting four different topics to triathletes of all levels and residents of various cities on a big stage with a microphone.? Even though we need to improve the marketing and promotion the health and fitness clinics, I had so much fun being a presenter and a fellow age group competitive triathlete.?? I started competing in my first triathlon, Danskin, when I was 24 years old and since then I have competed in numerous events including 15 Ironman triathlons.? As I created my PowerPoint presentations, I discovered I have so many tips to share as an experienced personal trainer, coach and competitive athlete.? I suggest that all triathlon clinics have presenters who are experienced fitness trainers, coaches and actively competing athletes.

I discovered that I am a passionate coach, leader and athlete.? I love to help other athletes of all levels improve their training, racing and most of all nutrition.? There are so many athletes that struggle with nutrition and are bombarded with so many nutrition advertisements and misleading information.? My goal is to offer online coaching to athletes looking to improve their sports performance by linking clean eating nutrition (low?carbohydrate, moderate protein and higher fat) with proper exercise training.? Everyone is so confused which new ?diet? they should be following.? Athletes want to know what to eat every day especially before, during and after training and racing when the solution is so easy? just eat real food and less sugar.? We are told to follow a high carb diet (athletes and non-athletes) and to eat every few hours to keep the metabolism active.?? What is the best way to eat?? Everyone is different!? Paleo or not to Paleo?? What is a ?clean? food plan?? What are processed foods and refined sugars?? Is a high carb diet best for athletes?? Everyone is different.? Find out what works best for you by working with an educated coach in the latest research findings.? A typical ?high carb? food plan isn?t the best solution in my experience.

Determining what food plan works best for you is an ongoing journey and self-experiment. Everyone has their ?Story? and experience with weight gain, weight loss and sports performance.??During my younger ?teenage? and ?twenty-something? years I was always on a new ?diet? and told to exercise daily.? In my mid-20?s, I started competing in marathons and then triathlons.? I ate a high carb diet and not much protein.? Everything had to be ?non-fat? or ?fat free? .??? No one ever believed why I was not a lower body weight when I exercised so many hours per week especially training for Ironman distance triathlons.? I started to be curious about how to be more metabolically efficient and how to use fat for fuel.

I have always wondered why I should eat every two to three hours when I just ate? or why I just ate a snack or meal and I am still hungry.? Why didn?t I have a ?full button??? Why did I not feel satisfied after I ate?? Why did I need to eat a gel every five miles or a bar every hour on my bike ride when I just ate before my work out?? I would also wonder why I should be telling clients the same ?rules? I was told as a trainer/coach?? Why should people eat three meals and two snacks?? Why should we eat first thing in the morning to get our metabolism going when we are not even hungry?? I started to research nutrition resources via web-sites, online books and podcasts? there was something more to weight loss and ?clean eating? than eliminating processed foods and refined sugars.? If we want to use fat stores in our body for fuel then why do we keep eating more sugar?

When I took the USA Triathlon Level One coaching certification in 2009, Bob Seebohar presented a seminar on training for triathletes including nutrition.? Bob opened my eyes (and ears) about how we were told to eat for performance as well as for weight loss and health.? Bob told the new USAT Coaches that we don?t need gels and bars for training or racing.? After listening to his clinic, I headed back to Seattle and started changing the way I fueled in my training.? I now can ride or run for 3 hours without anything but water with electrolytes.? Metabolic Efficiency.? My self-experiment on low-carb eating started the past year and my journey has begun to become more educated in the ideal nutrition plan for athletes of all levels.? I want to help educate other athletes and those looking to be a fat burner and not a sugar burner.

If you would like to learn how to be more metabolically efficient and improve your performance in sports then contact me for an online consultation or in person if you live in Washington State.? I am on a mission and continue to become a more metabolic efficacy coach from Ben Greenfield, Bob Seebohar and Jade Teta, from Metabolic Effect (ME program).? You can also check out my podcasts with Jon Smith on ?Garden Variety Triathlete?.

P.S.? I didn?t eat anything during my Lavaman Olympic Distance Triathlon? just drank one bottle with NUUN on the bike and water on the run course.? I didn?t need any gel or extra calories and I placed second overall female.? We have apx. 2000 calories of stored glycogen and apx. 40,000 calories of stored fat fuel.? I was using anaerobic metabolism most of the run portion of the race.? Just something to think about for your next season of training and racing.? Hire a ?Superhuman Coach? and learn how to train smart and efficient.

Debbie Potts, Fitness Forward Studio

FUEL. TRAIN. PERFORM.

Linking Nutrition & Exercise for Peak Performance

Personal & Group Training-Metabolic Interval Training-Coaching

118 105th Ave NE, Bellevue, WA 98004

(425) 466-3653

http://www.fitnessforwardstudios.com

http://myshakeology.com/debpotts

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About the author

Debbie discovered her passion for learning and teaching fitness and nutrition in college back in 1989-2003. Since then she has been involved in the fitness industry in the private health clubs to owning her own private training studio in Bellevue, WA. Debbie is also a competitive age group triathlete, runner and cyclist. Debbie has been on the Mark Allen Elite Triathlon team since 2003 but also coaches athletes of all levels for events herself.

Source: http://fitnessforward.net/clean-eating-for-athletes-coach-debbie-potts

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