In The Flow

Q&A's are one of my favorite parts of the podcast flow. This week is the first Ask Me Anything, and I answer listener questions ranging from protein science, plant foods to make muscle gains, the validity behind Wim Hof and cold exposure, cultivating a community of like-minded people, and more. Thanks to everyone who submitted questions, and for things In The Flow, visit http://intheflownutrition.com

I sit down with fellow plant-based mountain athlete and friend Laura Stamp to chat about growing up as an endurance athlete, burnout in sport, Guillain-Barre syndrome, fueling ultra-endurance exercise on plants, and more.

In the first installment of a new series on In The Flow called The Research Report, I break down an interesting and relevant article in the nutrition scientific literature to help bring more awareness and science literacy to athletes.

This week, we take a look at an observational trial quantifying and analyzing the nutritional intake of elite cross-country ski racers during a heavy block of training and a simulated sprint race. We'll talk about macronutrients, relative energy deficiency, and more. Learn more at http://intheflownutrition.com.

I share my thoughts on the practice of meditation, including my recent 10-day silent retreat experience, general benefits of meditation, and how its influenced my feelings about social media, athletic performance, and more. For more resources, check out http://intheflownutrition.com.

It should come as no surprise that recovery is absolutely, without question, a critical factor in exercise performance. Recovering from and adapting to the training and stress we subject ourselves to through exercise is how we get stronger. Nutrition is part of this puzzle. In this episode of In The Flow, I discuss the science behind why food is so important in the recovery process, from the acute/short term to the chronic/long term considerations. I hit on things like:

• The three main factors to focus on in the acute phase of recovery

• The role of carbohydrate vs. protein in acute vs. chronic recovery

• How the immune system is affected by nutrition and how that impacts recovery

• My favorite post-workout recovery meal

• And more!

For more info, check out http://intheflownutrition.com/blog

Scott Johnston is an endurance coach, author, alpinist, and co-founder of UphillAthlete.com. We discuss his new book, Training for the Uphill Athlete, endurance metabolism and nutrition, fat adaptation, overtraining syndrome, strength training for endurance athletes, and more.

I sit down with my dear friend and previous Thought For Food co-host, Aaron Stuber to talk about the concept of Lifestyle Medicine and how it can be applied to active people and athletes. Aaron is a Lifestyle Medicine board-certified registered nurse, health coach, mountain athlete, and dad.

We discuss the 6 pillars of Lifestyle Medicine, meditation, social media, exercise addiction, and more. Learn more about what Aaron is up to at http://aaronstuber.com

Carbohydrates, perhaps more than any other nutrient found in food, has drawn years of controversy, confusion, and even fear. Today on In The Flow, I break down the fundamentals of carbohydrates and look at this class of macronutrient through an evidence-based lens, and connect to some reason and sense to help you better understand the truth. In this conversation, we'll discuss:

• the basic definition and function of carbohydrates from a biochemical and physiological perspective.
• how we arrived at this fear surrounding carbs and the problem with demonization of one single nutrient and "nutritionism".
• the importance of carbohydrate for athletes and active humans.
• plant-based nutrition and carbohydrates.

For further reading and references for this episode, please visit http://intheflownutrition.com/blog.

The sport of climbing demands a tremendous combination of strength, technique, mental fortitude, and determination. However, even at the top of the sport's ranks, it's common to struggle with many of the challenges the every day athlete faces — burnout, injury, obsession, and questioning one's purpose with sport. Tyler Landman is a professional climber that has recently shifted his relationship to the sport to find more balance and flow through purpose over performance and redefining what meaningful movement looks like.

"The food we eat and the way we produce it will determine the health of people and planet, and major changes must be made to avoid both reduced life expectancy and continued environmental degradation."

-The EAT-Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems

Our food choices have perhaps the greatest impact on the environment out of any of our individual daily choices. It's impossible to separate the two, but we have a ton of control. In this week's episode, I discuss a recent landmark report from the journal The Lancet titled "Food in the Anthropocene: the EAT- Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems." This interdisciplinary team of researchers make the case for developing a reference diet that simultaneously meets the nutritional needs of a global population, and meets climate and environmental sustainability goals.

For more info, check out the episode post at intheflownutrition.com/blog.