In this episode of the Female Athlete Nutrition podcast, I talk with thru-hiker and outdoor enthusiast, Tara Vavrik. In 2021, Tara thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail (AT), covering over 2100 miles in almost 6 months. This epic adventure was not without challenges, having lasting impacts on Tara’s relationship with food and her body. Tara shares her nutrition journey on the trail, experiences with hiker hunger, weight loss, and severe malnutrition. We explore the impact of diet culture and nutrition myths on Tara’s relationship with food from childhood to date, her work as a personal trainer, and ..read more

In this episode of the Female Athlete Nutrition podcast, I talk with professional runner, YouTuber, and eating disorder advocate, Allie Ostrander. Allie is a middle distance runner specializing in the steeplechase, and she shares her journey in sport growing up in Alaska to becoming a 3x NCAA Division I champion in college. Allie opens up about her nutrition struggles, starting early in middle school and continuing through high school, college, and beyond into her professional running career. She discusses the physical and mental impacts of her eating disorder on her health, running, and socia ..read more

In this episode of the Female Athlete Nutrition podcast, I talk with registered sports dietitian Emily Barnhart. Emily specializes in nutrition for injured athletes, and she speaks about her work with athletes through different phases of injury recovery. We discuss specific nutrition and body image concerns for injured athletes and bust myths about body composition and metabolism changes during injury. We remind listeners why it is important to fuel adequately during injury recovery, even though you may be exercising less, because your body requires extra nutrients to heal, maintain muscle, an ..read more

Join our membership for the FULL episode and more like this each month: www.Patreon.com/FemaleAthleteNutrition This is a sneak peek into our patreon exclusive bonus episodes! It's just a short clip of a much longer bonus episode. As a member of the Female Athlete Nutrition patreon you get the chance to ask me, registered sports dietitian and founder of Rise Up Nutrition Lindsey Cortes, your questions! Each month we release a patreon Q & A as both a video and podcast to help you on a more personal level. To hear the full episode and receive more perks, joing our patreon membership group tod ..read more

In this episode of the Female Athlete Nutrition podcast, I sit down with recurring guest and lead nutrition success coach at Rise Up Nutrition Jenna Stranzl. Jenna is a marathon runner, doggie lover, registered dietitian and sports nutritionist. This conversation was sparked from our Alumni Group Coaching program, where each month we take a deep dive into an area of sports nutrition. Last month’s topic was all about menstrual cycles and today we highlight some of what we covered.  We explore what a “normal” menstrual cycle is, understanding variations in cycle length and missing periods ..read more

In this episode of the Female Athlete Nutrition podcast, I talk with former collegiate athlete, coach, and COO of The Hidden Opponent, Leeann Passaro. We explore what the Hidden Opponent is and its mission to raise awareness of student-athlete mental health. Leeann explains how a friend’s suicide introduced her to mental illness as a child, before then struggling herself with anxiety and self-confidence in high school and college. These experiences prompted her advocacy for student-athlete mental health that we talk about today. We discuss the far reaching impacts of toxic team cultures on eve ..read more

In this episode of the Female Athlete Nutrition podcast, I talk with former Team USA and NCAA Division I swimmer Eva Merrell. Eva was a high school standout, competing in the US Olympic Trials and named to the US Swimming National Team at 16 years old. After being recruited as the top high school swimmer and committing to The University of Georgia, Eva found herself battling anorexia nervosa. Today, she bravely shares her own eating disorder experience, discussing how her desire to be a “good athlete” led her down a path of restriction, weight loss, and poor performance. We talk about the phys ..read more

In this episode of the Female Athlete Nutrition podcast, I talk with the captain of the University of Michigan women's gymnastics team, Sierra Brooks. Sierra is an NCAA Champion, 13x All-American, and 2022 Big Ten Gymnast of the Year. Beginning at the age of 3, Sierra shares her gymnastics journey, including why she chose to pursue collegiate gymnastics over the Olympics. We hear about how she cultivates a healthy team culture as captain, as well as tips for navigating social media attention, other people's opinions and competing in a judged sport. Sierra and I talk about the drive for perfect ..read more

Just a heads up, in this episode, Sarah bravely discusses the loss of a child, which may be difficult for some listeners to hear. If you think this might be you, feel free to fast forward through minutes 34:00 to 39:00. In this episode of the Female Athlete Nutrition podcast, I talk with one of Rise Up Nutrition’s original clients and new mom Sarah Pastura. At first, Sarah was skeptical that our Female Athlete System of Transformation (FAST Track) program was right for her, as she didn't fit the typical athlete mold. However, her energy expenditure was at an all time high which still put her w ..read more

In this episode of the Female Athlete Nutrition podcast, I talk with mindset coach and avid ultra runner Danielle Snyder. Danielle opens up about her introduction to running to cope with her mom’s sickness, and how it led her down a negative path of an eating disorder and unhealthy relationship with movement. We discuss how recovery is a long-term process that requires doing the mental work to challenge disordered mindsets.  Danielle is a phenomenal trail and ultra runner and she shares one of her biggest accomplishments, setting the Fastest Known Time (FKT) on the Oregon Pacific Coast Tr ..read more