Stevie Lyn Nutrition

09/08/2024

Protein is crucial for endurance athletes to support muscle repair and growth and promote recovery.

One way to ensure that you’re getting enough protein is to start your day with a high-protein breakfast containing 20-40g of protein! This will not only promote recovery from yesterday’s workout and help prepare for the workouts to come, but will also help maintain stable blood sugar levels for sustained energy throughout the day. Starting your day with a healthy dose of protein helps ensure that you’ll be ready to take on the demands of training, and feel fresh and strong during your workouts!

Sheet Pan Bacon & Black Bean Eggs (4 servings) - 26g protein per serving
Ingredients:
1/16 oz Avocado Oil Spray
9 Eggs (large, whisked)
1/4 cup Shallot (sliced)
7 slices Bacon (chopped)
1 1/4 cups Black Beans
2 tbsp Parsley (chopped)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and spray a 9” x 9” oven-safe pan with oil.
In a large bowl, mix the eggs, shallots, bacon, and beans together. Add the mixture to the prepared pan. Bake for 15 minutes or until the eggs have set.
Garnish with the parsley and enjoy!

Strawberry Yogurt Chia Pudding (2 servings) - 25g protein per serving
Ingredients:
1 cup Plain Greek Yogurt
1/3 cup Chia Seeds
1/2 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk
1 cup Frozen Strawberries
3 tbsp Peanut Butter
1 tbsp H**p Seeds

Directions:
Add the yogurt, chia seeds, almond milk, and strawberries to a medium-sized bowl. Stir well to combine.
Place in the fridge for 25 to 30 minutes or until thickened.
When ready to serve, stir in the peanut butter and garnish with the h**p seeds. Enjoy!

For more high-protein breakfast recipes like these (as well as smoothies, high-protein snacks, and recovery meals), check out The Ultimate Endurance Athlete Recipe Book! (Link in bio)

29/07/2024

16/07/2024

Boilermaker 2024✨🩷

My phone survived my sweat this year, my braid did not🤠

Always the most fun and steamiest Sunday of the summer & I had the most fun I’ve had running a race than I’ve had in a long time and I’ve got this awesome crew to thank for that🩷

“We did it, gang!”

25/03/2024

Carbohydrates are the body’s most efficient fuel source, yielding more energy per volume of oxygen than fat. 🤌🤌

🤓🤓Research shows that athletes perform better when glycogen stores in the body are topped off. There is some evidence that low glycemic index choices (think complex carbs) can provide more sustained energy when carbs won’t be consumed during exercise.

🤔Choosing your pre-run meal or snack: here are some tips:

👉If you have more than 2 hours, a meal containing carbs, fat, and protein is great!

👉If you have less time, choose small meals and snacks with plenty of carbs but less protein, fat, and fiber to prevent GI upset

🥯🥯Your pre-run carbohydrate needs will vary depending on body weight, intensity of the workout, timing, and gut adaptation. This is why it’s so important to try out several strategies and see what works best for you!

Struggling to eat pre-run because your stomach is like oh hell no?! Things to keep in mind:

👉As mentioned above, it takes TIME to get your stomach used to eating before your runs, especially if they’re early.

👉Start SMALL (around that 15g) with easy to digest carbs and gradually increase. Find the fuels that work for you!

👉A few of my very easy to digest options: applesauce, graham crackers, sports drinks, and fig bars!

TLDR: FED RUNNING IS FAR SUPERIOR THAN FASTED RUNNING.



Source: Nutrition and Athletic Performance. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 48(3):p 543-568, March 2016. | DOI: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000000852

24/03/2024

Let’s dive into the research! 🤓

👉This paper talks about the harm of within-day energy deficits (i.e., long periods of time throughout the day when the body requires more calories to function than it currently has on board).

👉The study included 25 elite female endurance athletes who all had similar 24-hour energy balance (i.e., by the end of the day, each of them made up for the calories they had expended).

👉Here’s the twist: SOME of these athletes experienced menstrual dysfunction and some did not. How could this be, you ask??

👉Results showed that compared with the eumenorrheic athletes (the ones that got their period regularly), the athletes with menstrual dysfunction spent more time in energy deficits throughout the day – their energy deficits were also larger.

👉The athletes who spent more time in energy deficits throughout the day also had a suppressed metabolism, lower estrogen, and higher cortisol (the stress hormone).

👉As women, we are especially susceptible to negative effects of poor fueling and prolonged energy deficits.

👆This is why it is SO important to fuel your workouts properly with pre- and post-workout nutrition (and during if the session is >60 mins!). Not doing so can cause a lot of stress on your body and has negative overall health implications, such as disrupted reproductive function, hormonal imbalances, and suppressed metabolism.

🤨Have you ever gone for a morning run without fueling before, then had a small, sad breakfast afterwards?

🤨By the time 3pm rolled around, did you feel like you got hit by a bus or like you could eat a family sized bag of reese’s? That was your body telling you that you needed more fuel! If you have a hard time with pre-run fueling, start small – even half a banana or a few fruit snacks before a morning run can make a difference!

👉Make sure to fuel up after your workout to prevent afternoon energy slumps and the dreaded “runger.” By fueling properly, you’ll find that you feel stronger in workouts, and throughout the rest of your day too!🤝

19/01/2024

Can you relate to any or all of these? If yes, you’re not alone. I’ve been seeing these thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors alllll over my world the past few weeks.

And they just keep getting normalized. Or glamorized. And it is not okay. I’ve seen it lead to overreaching, overtraining, and burnout wayyyy too much.

While we LOVE chasing after scary goals and big dreams, it’s important for your overall physical AND mental health to know when you might be dancing too close to the fire, so to speak.

Have you started to chase that big goal, but can’t seem to also increase the food along with the training? Are you feeling ‘bleh’ about the sport you used to love? Feeling zapped out or battling injuries or niggles all the time?

I gotchu. My masterclass- Managing Stress & Avoiding Burnout for Endurance Athletes on 1/29 is going to cover all of this (and more)

https://stevie-lyn-smith-s-school.teachable.com/p/managing-stress-avoiding-burnout-for-endurance-athletes

11/01/2024

Thanks to my colleague Molly Knudsen, MS, RDN for including me in this excellent article for mindbodygreen.com on the benefits of creatine supplementation in women.

Some really great recent research in this area-- check it out!

https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/one-supplement-women-should-take-to-get-stronger

Your muscles will thank you.

02/01/2024

Starting the new year chatting a bit more about iron and iron metabolism for mindbodygreen.com. 😎

Thanks Molly Knudsen, MS, RDN for including me in this piece!

https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/many-women-have-low-iron-heres-why-and-what-to-do-about-it

And what you can do to get more iron

09/11/2023

I said what I said. This year, we are flipping the script.🤝

As someone who grew up in CNY/WNY and has returned back after time in DC, I am no newbie to dealing with very cold, gray, dark, and snowy winters-- both as a human and an athlete.🌬️

Last winter was one of the hardest winters for me as human, grappling with fatigue that had me falling asleep at 5pm and energy levels so frigging depleted.✨

This year was all about building myself back up. From my cortisol being on empty and my body zapped. And I did it and it was hard. It took time, consistency, and patience.✨

Most importantly, NO WEIRD S**T. I tell my clients this all the time. It takes time, consistency, and patience.✨

I want to THRIVE this winter and I want you all to join me. This is WHY I created An Athlete's Guide to Surviving Winter. ☃️

So you can show up and support your body as a human and an athlete through this usually tough season without guilt, shame, or doing awful s**t to your body and your mind.✨

You can still join us and for just $37 this is going to be the best deal of the holiday season, I promise.

https://stevie-lyn-smith-s-school.teachable.com/p/an-athlete-s-guide-to-surviving-winter

01/09/2023

Is it even really the first day of school without an awkward picture?!✨

Excited to be back at my alma mater teaching NFS 447 Outpatient Nutrition Counseling and helping to shape the future of my profession👩‍🏫

I’ll be on campus two days a week this semester but my little biz is still up and running! Lots of great ways to work together between the collab, masterclasses, programs, etc!✨

Thanks for all the 💖 & support, friends!

22/08/2023

It's been a minute but check out my latest article for InsideTracker!

It was fun to take a deep-dive into the science behind this new trend for those looking to optimize their healthspan.

Reverse walking has been used in therapies, but may provide benefits for healthy aging with potential to improve balance, flexibility, and muscle strength.