Jordan Sullivan: Fueling for Sports Performance & Body Composition

In this episode, my guest is Jordan Sullivan, APD (instagram.com/the_fightdietitian), a registered sports dietitian and the founder of The Fight Dietitian (TFD) (thefightdietitian.com), whose clients include UFC world champions, Olympians, and ultra-endurance athletes. We discuss performance nutrition, focusing on how to strategically use diet and nutrition to optimize an athlete’s physical performance, recovery, and overall health while aligning with their training intensity and volume. We take a holistic view of nutrition, considering individualized goals, lifestyle factors, training schedules, and meal frequency.

We also cover core nutrition principles for non-elite athletes, including calorie estimates, macronutrient thresholds, and how to estimate calorie deficits for sustainable weight loss. Additionally, we explore different fuel sources used during exercise and how they shape an effective nutrition strategy for training and competition. Finally, we discuss pre-competition nutrition for endurance athletes, hydration, electrolytes, and extreme weight cutting.

Read the full episode show notes at go.performpodcast.com/O6otodP.

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Timestamps
00:00:00 Jordan Sullivan
00:01:31 Pre-Competition Nutrition, Hyrox, UFC
00:07:55 Sponsors: Momentous & LMNT
00:10:54 Performance Nutrition & Goals
00:15:14 Performance Nutrition vs Periodized Nutrition; Schedule Adaptation
00:20:36 UFC Fighters, Compliance & Performance
00:26:06 Nutrition Adherence, Lifestyle Integration, Tool: 90/10 Goal
00:30:34 Non-Elite Athletes & Core Principles, Tools: Macronutrient Thresholds, Fiber
00:37:32 Food Quality, Tool: Whole Foods, Supplements
00:40:54 Sponsors: Parker University & Eight Sleep
00:43:46 Resting Metabolic Rate, Tool: Daily Calorie Estimates; Fat Loss & Calorie Deficit
00:51:44 Weight Loss, Sustainable Goals
00:57:47 Calorie Deficit, Performance & Injury; Blood Work
01:01:54 Modifying Plans, Tracking Food; Meal Frequency, Fasting?
01:07:58 Sponsor: AG1
01:09:22 Exercise, Fat vs. Carbohydrates, Crossover Point & Fatigue, VO2 Max
01:18:13 Food Choices, Carbohydrates, Pre-Competition Nutrition
01:22:14 Sparing Glycogen, Pre-Competition Carbs, Glucose vs Fructose, Car Analogy
01:29:54 Nedd Brockmann, Ultra-Endurance Athlete, Fueling & Training the Gut
01:43:25 Competition vs Training Nutrition
01:48:05 Daily Nutrition & Intense Training, Clustering Nutrition
01:51:49 Race Preparation Nutrition, Endurance Athlete; Water Weight, Hydration
02:01:04 Ultra-Endurance Athlete, Hydration & Sweat Rate; Sodium
02:09:28 Ultra-Endurance Event & Nutrition Plan
02:14:32 Macronutrients & Ultra-Endurance Event, Protein & Muscle Loss
02:18:26 Performance Nutrition, Fat vs Carbohydrates, ATP, Fatigue
02:28:50 Weight Cutting, Fat Loss vs Acute Water Loss, Fiber
02:39:18 Weight Cutting, Fluid Load, Sodium
02:42:33 Water Cut; Sauna, Sweating It Out, Dehydration & Caution, Heat Stroke
02:47:50 Body Temperature, Heat Acclimatization; Weight Cuts
02:50:39 Calorie Deficit, Training, Tools: Daily Nutrition, Protein, Individualization
02:56:41 Zero-Cost Support, YouTube, Spotify & Apple Subscribe & Reviews, Sponsors, YouTube Feedback, Social Media, Perform Newsletter

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