How do you fuel your body with an endurance mindset? It’s important to understand that food is there to give you energy and be enjoyable. As an athlete, you have to think about eating nourishing foods before, during, and after training to stay energized and for body repair. Eating well makes it easier for your body to perform.

In this episode of the Live Your Personal Best podcast, I speak with Gabbi Villa about her relationship with food as an athlete and the role of nutrition in an athlete’s journey. She’s a dietitian, sports nutritionist, and the founder of IntensEATfit. She specializes in optimizing performance for triathletes and ultra-distance runners by making food their best ally in sport and life.

Listen in to learn how to develop a healthy relationship with food and make it easier for you to fuel your body quickly by letting go of all your negative beliefs about food. You will also learn how to align your food intake with your ultimate goal and positively work towards that.

Key Takeaways:

· How to choose nutritious food that’s helpful for your body and training.

· The importance of eating after working out, even when you don’t feel like eating.

· Why you don’t need to lose weight or be lean to be a good athlete.

· The importance of fueling your body sufficiently when training at high intensity.

· Why carbohydrates are still king if you seek to perform better in your sport.

Episode Timeline:

· [2:03] Gabbi’s background in sports and nutrition and why she pursued nutrition for athletes.

· [8:49] Understand the role of food in your training journey to choose helpful food for you as an athlete.

· [13:32] She explains how to balance carbs and proteins before, during, and after a workout or training.

· [18:46] Top three myths about endurance training that athletes still follow today.

· [23:36] How to align your food intake with your training goal in a positive way.

· [24:28] Remember that food is meant to be enjoyable, and represents more aspects of your life.

Quotes:

· “You’re actually restricting your nutrient intake by eating the same thing over and over because you’re not adding that variety into your diet.”- Gabbi [9:39]

· “Remember that food is meant to be enjoyable and it represents so many other aspects of our lives.”- Gabbi [24:28]