This episode is an interview with NYC based RD, Natalie Rizzo. Natalie is the owner of Greenletes, a plant-based sports nutrition company, and she works primarily with plant-based athletes to help them learn how to fuel for health and performance on a plant-based diet. She has her Master's in Nutrition and Exercise Physiology from Columbia University and is the author of the cookbook Planted Performance. Natalie has been a vegetarian herself for over 15 years, and has completed 2 marathons and over 20 half marathons. She's also a mom to 2 boys.

In this episode, we talk about:

• How Natalie found running later in life and caught the bug after finishing her first race
• Natalie's winding path to finding nutrition as a career after originally going into sales
• Her decision to become vegetarian and how she learned about plant-based sports nutrition through her own experiences
• Myths around plant-based eating for athletes
• How to navigate fiber intake as a plant-based athletes, and ideas for lunches for runners training in the afternoon/evening
• Top nutrition recommendations for plant-based runners and tips for anyone who is interested in becoming plant-based

If you're interested in working with Natalie, you can learn more on her website https://greenletes.com/ and you can find her on Instagram @greenletes

This episode is a Q&A episode where I answer questions that have been submitted by listeners.

Questions for today’s episode include:

• I prefer not to weigh myself or know my weight, how do I go about telling my doctor I don’t want to be weighed or see my weight?
• I’m a high school runner and I haven’t PR’d since my freshman year. I still have my period and feel like I’m getting stronger, so I question whether or not it’s fueling related. Do you have any advice?
• I’m a collegiate heptathlete and was wondering if you have suggestions on how to fuel during a heptathlon?
• I struggle with knowing how much to eat during my taper weeks with a lower training volume and get anxious about eating too much. How do you recommend approaching this for peak performance?

Thanks so much to everyone who has submitted questions so far! If you would like to submit a question for future episodes, you can do so on my website HERE or email me at fuelingforwardpodcast@gmail.com.

Today’s episode is an interview with Boulder local and professional trail runner for Nike, Bailey Kowalczyk. Bailey grew up in upstate New York where she discovered her love for running. She committed to running for Clemson in college, but right before her arrival the coaching staff underwent a complete change that ultimately ended with her struggling as a collegiate runner. Bailey ended up leaving Clemson and moving to Boulder, where she became a full time student at CU and put running on the back burner. She re-discovered her passion for the sport after some time away, and ultimately went on to find success on the trails with a win at the US trail half marathon championships and a top 5 finish in the Golden Trail series. Bailey is also a run coach, and focuses on helping athletes find life balance while chasing their goals.

In this episode, we talk about:

• How Bailey discovered running, and how she considered herself to exclusively be a middle distance runner in high school
• Her transition to collegiate athlete at Clemson, where a last minute coaching change led to a less than optimal environment for her
• Bailey’s experience with RED-S that led her to seek help from a multi-disciplinary team, move to Boulder and take a break from the sport
• How that break allowed her to re-discover her love of running and that ultimately led her to the trails
• What is different about trail running, and how fueling has played a key role in her success
• Why coaching is so important to her, and why she encourages her athletes to find life balance while chasing their goals

You can learn more about Bailey’s coaching services on her website HERE.