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The Performance Dietitian, brisbane, Brisbane (2026)

09/11/2021

Title of Study:

Micronutrient deficiency in athletes and inefficiency of supplementation: Is low energy availability a culprit? 💊

Micronutrients are a term used to describe vitamins and minerals.

Micronutrients are vital for overall health and as this study shows, athletic performance as well.

There is a consensus that athletes need to consume a variety of fruit and vegetables and nutrient-rich foods to meet their micronutrient requirements for optimal performance. 🍎

This study showed that as athletes are generally expending so much energy and eating too little food, therefore are at a risk of low energy availability, which consequently causes micronutrient deficiencies.

During times of weight-cuts or periods where an athlete is trying to maintain a certain leanness is when micronutrient risk is at its highest.

It’s important an athlete and their coach understand periodisation in diet and the enhanced requirement of micronutrients during training camps. 💪

The impact of a micronutrient deficiency is not only a variety of severe health implications, but also a decrease in athletic performance.

A healthy athlete is a great athlete. 🥗

If an athlete is unable to meet their micronutrient requirement intake as they are in too much of a calorie deficit, it is important to use supplementation during a training camp.

It is best to obtain professional advice if you wish to perform at your peak. 👩‍⚕️
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08/11/2021

Me when someone messes with my eating schedule. 👊

Isn’t it the worst feeling when you spend heaps of time prepping food and you go into the fridge and someone has eaten it. 🍴

You’ve spent hours preparing yourself for a successful week and someone messes with your schedule. 😠

Tip: never mess with a woman’s (or man’s) food prep hah 🍝
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04/11/2021

Extra virgin olive oil - is it good for me? What is the deal? 💁

Without going into chemistry and food science, extra virgin olive oil is high in compounds called polyphenols.

Polyphenols have an array of benefits to the body. They’re so powerful they have been shown to slow down cardiovascular and degenerative diseases amongst other properties such as antioxidant activity. 🥗

Olive oil is not your enemy and has proven to be one of the leading healthy edible oils worldwide.
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03/11/2021

Cardio is hardio haha 🏃‍♀️

Can’t say I am a huge cardio fan (unless it involves combat sports) but I do feel amazing after a cardio workout.

Did you know that cardio produces more mitochondria (energy source of the cells)? 💥

This means there is a greater use of oxygen to produce more ATP (energy) .

Although it may feel difficult at the time, it’s definitely worth it in the long term.🤩
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03/11/2021

Why is sleep so important for athletes? 💤

Sleep deprivation can contribute to poor performance through factors such as reduced motivation, reduction in cognitive (brain) processes, feeling of increased effort and limiting recovery. 😴

A useful tactic is the use of a diary outlining hours of sleep and efficiency to reflect on their sleeping patterns. 🛏️

Each individual requires different levels of rest, however the general recommendation is that athletes have at least 7 hours of sleep per night with consistent sleeping and waking times. 🌙

An elite athlete will track their sleep cycle, nutrition, hydration, training schedule etc. for an edge above their competitors as all of the minor details count if you want to be the best. 📈
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01/11/2021

Title of study:

Using a Daily Diary Approach to Understand the Psychological Experiences of Making Weight 💪

This study conducted in 2015 looked at the lived experiences of judo athletes in making weight.

As I have mentioned the health risks of rapid weight loss in combat athletes I wanted to share some research on the psychological implications making weight has on athletes.

3 male and 3 female judo athletes between 18-28were used in this study, who were asked to keep a diary of their weight making experiences. 📖

All athletes found that nutrition planning was vital for making weight. However, despite being organised there was a continuous theme of stress as to whether the athlete would make weight or not through variables such as losing weight and food temptation. 🍔

The athletes found that they experienced social isolation when cutting weight as they felt as though others were trying to convince them to eat during weight loss periods, which the athletes found problematic. 💁

The more social pressure the athletes felt, the more they began to hide their unhealthy eating patterns. In women there was a fear of being labelled with an eating disorder, whereas in men there was a negative connotation to dieting as it was deemed unmasculine.

“Although all six participants had vast previous experiences of making weight, their stories describe the complex struggle with the impacts of hunger, tiredness, and negative emotions.”

I am not a psychologist, but it is important to understand the human behaviours associated with making weight to create a healthy conversation surrounding ‘weight-cuts’ to improve our athlete’s health. 🏃
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31/10/2021

Why cutting out carbs isn’t an effective method for athletes.
Carbs are vital for energy, especially when athletic performance is at a short duration (less than 90mins) and high intensity.
When people are feeling fatigued, it’s often due to the depletion of glycogen (energy) stores in the muscles and liver. Glycogen stores are made from carbs. So without carbs, we have minimal energy stores.
Carbs are the only energy source of the macronutrients that can be broken down quickly enough to provide energy during high-intensity exercise.
Eating carbs between training sessions is crucial for recovery, especially when there are multiple workouts within a condensed period of time.
Carb intake can therefore enhance athletic performance, so cutting them out of your diet is not a good idea if you want to perform at your best.
Note: this isn’t applicable to endurance athletes.
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30/10/2021

The way I look at someone when they try to get in between me and my goals.
People often tell me that the lifestyle I live is unhealthy because I overwork or am always studying or training.
And to be honest, they’re probably right. And to be honest, I am exhausted.
As bad as this sounds, when Covid lockdowns first hit, I was excited that I wouldn’t have any distractions and I could focus more on my study. I became obsessed with getting high distinctions.
Is that normal? I don’t think so.
But I do know one thing for sure, hard work and discipline takes people to the top.
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30/10/2021

To detox or not to detox?

Over the past couple of decades, the world has encountered tens of thousands of new chemicals and chemical pollutants such as plastics, pesticides, solvents, and heavy metals. It’s no surprise that our body can harbour these toxic burdens.
Some simple steps for a detox include:

Be kind to your gut: include approximately 25g of fibre per day for women and 30g for men from the spectrum of plant fruits such as beans, legumes, fruits, seeds and nuts. Have a variety of colours in your vegetables.

Fill up on fluids: ensure you meet your adequate water intake for your bodily processes and detoxification.

Support your liver: consume high-quality hypoallergenic proteins (such as rice protein), green tea, and cruciferous vegetables.

Face your emotions: this isn’t nutrition related, but absolutely health related. Feel your emotions, have a cry if you need to - try to avoid suppressing your emotions and harbouring negative energy as that is just as toxic as the chemicals in our environment.
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29/10/2021

Case Study: Extreme Weight Making Causes Relative Energy Deficiency, Dehydration, and Acute Kidney Injury in a Male Mixed Martial Arts Athlete

This study published in 2019 followed an MMA fighter and how his extreme weight cut methods impacted his health and performance.

Yes, another medical researcher has published a study on a call for action against extreme weight cutting to protect our fighters health. There are thousands of these studies out there that I have read personally.

The athlete studied was on a low carb diet for 8 weeks where he lost 4.4kg.
This was followed by a water loading period of 8L per day over a 4 day period prior to weigh-in. He then completed a 20 hour fast with no water or food at all alongside hot baths to sweat out any excess water to ‘make weight’ .

During this period he lost an additional 9.6kg in a week, which is very common in MMA.

In the 32 hour period between the weigh-in and the competition, the fighter rehydrated and consumed a high carbohydrate diet.

After this process, he ended up with relative energy deficiency, reduced metabolic rate, inability to complete performance tests, marked alterations to endocrine hormones, elevated LDL (bad) cholesterol. The dehydration induced hypernatraemia (too much salt in the blood, not enough water intake)and acute kidney injury.

This case study was one of the lucky fighters who didn’t lose his life completing an extreme weight cut.

These weight cuts don’t enhance performance at all (even having a size advantage) nor are they safe.
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28/10/2021

We know that science tells us being in a calorie deficit helps you lose weight right? But what about when your calorie intake is too low?
Your body goes into starvation mode and tries to hold on to as much fat as possible, causing your metabolism to slow down and burn less calories at rest.
What typically happens to people on extreme calorie restriction is they end up binge eating after they don’t see the results on the scale following starvation.
Not only does stvaration impact weight loss, it significantly impacts health in illnesses such as dizziness, anaemia, depression, electrolyte imbalances, low blood pressure, dizziness, loss of menstrual cycle, trouble concentrating - the list goes on!
Gradual weight loss will always be the healthiest and most effective way to lose weight loss. Gradual weight loss can be achieved by calculating your basal metabolic rate and your energy expenditure and slightly reducing your calorie intake.
If you stumble across an instagram page promoting a very low calorie diet… RUN.
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26/10/2021

What’s your favourite way to start a day?
I like to start my day with a boxing session followed by a strength and conditioning session and a healthy breakfast.
If I don’t start my day with this routine now, or at least some form of exercise and good nutrition, I really struggle to have a productive day. I’m a sucker for a routine.
Who else is addicted to routine?
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The Performance Dietitian

09/11/2021

08/11/2021

04/11/2021

03/11/2021

03/11/2021

01/11/2021

31/10/2021

30/10/2021

30/10/2021

29/10/2021

28/10/2021

26/10/2021

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