Jordan Sullivan: Fueling for Sports Performance & Body Composition

In this episode, my guest is Jordan Sullivan, APD, a registered sports dietitian and the founder of The Fight Dietitian (TFD), 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 performpodcast.com.

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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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