Fuel: Within-day energy balance matters! | Dr. Dan Benardot on energy deficiency in sport, losing fat (not weight), and nutrition for Olympians and NFL players

This conversation is with Dan Benardot, PhD, RD, FACSM, an internationally recognized expert on nutrition, specifically nutrition for peak athletic performance. Dan is currently Professor of Practice in the Center for the Study of Human Health at Emory University and has served as nutritionist for a number of different US Olympic teams including gymnastics, track and field, and figure skating. In addition to this, he was team dietitian for a professional NFL football team for several years. Dan has authored numerous scientific publications and has written many books, his most recent book being Advanced Sports Nutrition, 3rd Edition. If that wasn’t enough, Dan is the inventor of the NutriTiming software, which assesses real time energy balance and nutrient intake. 

We cover: 

• Working with the USA gymnastics Olympic team 
• What athletes often get wrong about protein 
• Why eating multiple small meals is best 
• Hormonal response to a high hunger state 
• Intermittent fasting and body fat 
• Weight loss vs fat loss 
• Within-day energy balance vs 24-hr energy balance 
• Consequences of relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S) 
• The proper way to hydrate 
• How to consume sports drinks 
• Whether athletes should limit night eating 
• Supplementing micronutrients in a 24-hr pattern is not optimal 
• Leucine dosing frequency for increased muscle protein synthesis 
• Improving nutrition for an NFL team 
• The problem with high fructose corn syrup 

Resources: 

• Dan Benardot’s bio: Emery College of Arts and Sciences 
• Book: Advanced Sports Nutrition, 3rd Ed 
• Book: ACSM’S Nutrition for Exercise Science 
• NFL and Olympic Nutritionist: How Food Affects Athletic Performance 
• Olympic Team Nutritionist Talks About Energy Balance and Diet 
• Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2018: Within-day energy deficiency and reproductive function in female endurance athletes 
• Br J Sports Med. 2018: IOC Consensus Statement on Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport 

Show sponsor: Warlockgolf.com use code PLANT15 at checkout for 15% off your order! 

Theme music by Tyler Gaudon and

Connect with me: @casswarbeck

Shop Nella, The Performance Probiotic: Use code CASS10 at checkout.

Theme music: Tyler Gaudon & audio editing and processing: Wyatt Pavlik

*Please appreciate that any information discussed is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, always seek the opinion of a physician or qualified healthcare provider.*