"If performance is your goal, the biggest mistake you can make is seeing your exercise time as a calorie deficit opportunity."
Dr. Susan Kleiner
Feb 18, 2021
EFR 442: Achieving Peak Performance From the Locker Room to the Bedroom with Dr. Susan Kleiner
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EFR 442: Achieving Peak Performance From the Locker Room to the Bedroom with Dr. Susan Kleiner
Dr. Kleiner is the owner of High Performance Nutrition®, LLC, a consulting firm in Mercer Island, Washington. She is the Director of Science & Communication for Vitargo, Inc., and the High Performance Nutritionist for Seattle Storm. Dr. Kleiner is the author of eight books, including THE NEW POWER EATING®, The Good Mood Diet®, and POWERFOOD Nutrition.
She has a PhD in Nutrition and Human Performance and is a registered dietician, certified nutrition specialist, Co-Founder and Fellow of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, and a Fellow at the American College of Nutrition, where she received a Young Investigator Award for her research. She has been a member of the National Strength and Conditioning Association and the American College of Sports Medicine for decades.
“What I do is help people achieve peak performance from the locker room to the boardroom to the bedroom.”
Dr. Kleiner’s world is nutrition and human performance and believes that appearance or body composition should be an athlete’s secondary priority. In fact, she focuses on body composition insofar as it contributes to performance.
“Translating the science of nutrition into food is the particular skill of a good dietician,” says Dr. Kleiner. To this end, she has always taught her clients about food from the get-go so that they think about their daily food intake in terms of the food itself rather than simply counting macros and calories. She is an advocate of what she calls “power eating”, or eating more instead of restricting yourself in order to gain greater energy, train harder, and, if part of your goal, lose fat.
Whether you are an elite athlete or someone who just wants to increase performance in mind and body, listen in as Dr. Kleiner shares her philosophies and ideas around nutrition that can help you reach your fitness goals without having to worry about your diet.
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Key Highlights
What is performance nutrition for performance training?
What are some of the biggest mistakes athletes make when training for performance that they are making in their nutrition?
When it comes to training for performance, should the focus be on maximizing carbohydrate intake or caloric intake? And how does nutrient timing factor into nutrition for performance training?
How do you go through a cut or weight/fat loss regime while maintaining your mood?
How can we navigate a world obsessed with body image and generally misinformed when it comes to healthy eating?
Episode resources:
Ever Forward Radio is brought to you by LMNT!
LMNT Recharge is a tasty electrolyte drink mix that replaces vital electrolytes without sugars and dodgy ingredients found in conventional sports drinks.
Proper hydration is critical for optimizing mental and physical performance.
Hydration is not just about drinking enough water - to stay properly hydrated you need to consume adequate electrolytes. They help your nerve impulses fire, regulate fluid balance, help produce energy, and support strong bones.
One article in the Journal of Sport Science reported:
“Vigorous exercise and warm/hot weather induce sweat production, which contains both water and electrolytes. Daily water (4-10 L) and sodium (3500-7000 mg) losses in active athletes during hot weather exposure can induce water and electrolyte deficits…”
When you’re physically active and sweat, replacing lost sodium is essential to feel and perform your best. But tons of folks forget about sodium and drink more water when they feel dehydrated - the more common problem here is drinking too much water, not too little. Overwatering dilutes blood sodium levels, causing a dangerous condition called hyponatremia - which can lead to headaches, muscle cramps, and fatigue.
The takeaway is this: drink to thirst - and don’t forget to replace electrolytes. It’s always one of the first things I stress to a new client. Not only will this help eliminate dehydration symptoms like headaches and muscle cramps, it’s essential for keeping our brain, muscles, and organs functioning properly.