I’m pretty good about the foods I eat on a regular basis. I’ve been eating clean for the past 3 years and have recently begun eating a mostly vegan diet. I have a certification in nutritional consulting and have read extensively about sports nutrition since, as an athlete, I have different nutritional needs than a less active person. But I’ve never really sat down and devised a specific nutritional plan for myself. Overall, I feel like my nutrition is on track but I’m interested in improving my recovery and improving my performance. So when I was given the opportunity to review a custom sports nutrition plan from Chrissy at Snacking in Sneakers, I was excited to see what she would advise for me based on my current level of activity.
How it works and what is included:
All I had to do to get started was go to the website and order the Custom Sports Nutrition Plan. I was really surprised at how low the price was – only $25! I received my plan free to facilitate this review but this is a really good value to get a custom nutrition plan specifically based on my unique needs. Next I had to complete a short questionnaire that included questions about my age, weight, training goals and training plans. Just like Chrissy promises, it’s easy peasy! Within 2 days, I had a very detailed nutrition plan in my inbox.
I wasn’t sure what to expect with the plan since I’ve never had a customized plan before, but this was a very detailed plan consisting of 29 pages! Not only did it include general information about macronutrients and meals, hydration, electrolytes and fueling, I got personalized training nutrition recommendations, pre-exercise recommendations, and recovery recommendation. And because I eat mostly vegan, I also received additional information to consider as a vegan to make sure all areas of my nutrition were covered, even without meat in my diet.
My custom nutrition plan estimated that I need 2150-2250 calories each day since I run 40-50 miles per week and do about 3 hours of other training. Of those calories, I need to aim for about 50-65% healthy carbohydrates, 10-20% protein and 20-30% healthy fats. The percentage of carbohydrates for me is higher than a non-active person because that is my body’s main source of fuel.
I was particularly interested in the recommendations for pre-exercise meals. With marathon training, I often have to split my workouts and do one in the morning and one after work. I’m fine doing a fast workout in the morning but many times struggle with evening workouts after a long day at work. Because I have to get my workout in before eating a full meal for dinner, I found that finding an appropriate pre-workout snack was challenging. The suggestions in my plan worked perfectly for me so that I had plenty of energy and was able to kill my workouts. This is definitely information that I will continue to use as I train. There were even easy to make recipes that were included that perfectly met my needs.
Another section that I found particularly useful for me was about hydration. It went beyond the typical “drink xx ounces every xx minutes”. Detailed instructions along with a worksheet to help calculate my hydration needs was very helpful. I won’t attempt to explain it here because it sounds complicated but the worksheet makes it easy to just fill in the blanks and determine your particular hydration needs. Because I live in Texas and it gets so incredibly hot during the summer, this will really help me!
I’ve read a lot about fueling during my runs and particularly during races but I haven’t quite figured out what works best for me yet. I haven’t raced a really long distance recently so I will be studying these recommendations and trying them out in training runs.
Overall, I am completely impressed with my custom training plan and think it’s a super great value. If you’ve ever considered meeting with a nutritionist to find out your specific nutritional needs, I would highly recommend giving this a shot! Be sure and check out the other great programs on Snacking in Sneakers too!
Have you ever worked with a nutritionist before? I’d love to hear about your experiences!
