JESSE: Do you feel like there's like a particular food or maybe like micronutrients and effects kind of how your brain functions as far as, you know, being alert, being awake, being ready to like, put your full effort forth? My kind of emphasis lately, and for a lot of the podcast is like the mind, body connection. So clearly, food has an effect on both of those things. So, I'm kind of curious if you think there's, again, I asked for a silver bullet, but it's always more complicated than that, you know, what do you think affects kind of your mental state? GLORIA: Well, your brain runs on carbohydrates, which a lot of people don't know that. And so that's why keto is so popular right now, where you're really starving your brain of fuel and carbs. And so having those quality carbs and making sure they're spread out throughout the day. So, just like I work with diabetics, and we teach them to vary their carbohydrates throughout the day to keep their insulin level, stable. And really, I would say anyone needs to follow that of kind of spaced out your carbs, just so you're feeling alert and awake all day. Saying that there also is a lot of research with the gut and how that ties to your brain as well. So, keeping your gut healthy with fermented foods, key for probiotics; all of that it definitely ties in to your overall health, especially mind and brain. JESSE: I have like three questions here, I'm going to try to get these all like down in my head. That's okay. I'm so thinking about like gut floor or gut bacteria, I actually read something the other day along the lines of immigrants to the US. It's like, I can't run the number but the short version was that the gut bacteria that they had prior to entering the US, and then post being here for several years was drastically different. Like it seemed like their gut bacteria essentially gets nuked being in the US. Do you know -- I mean, do you know anything about that? Do you have a guess what would be happening, why that happens? GLORIA: I don't know about that specific topic, but I would say just because they're probably used to eating whole foods, raw foods. And then you know, we just have a lot of processed things, which in my opinion, contributes a lot to our decrease gut. I know sugar doesn't do our guts much health. So just more Whole Foods is probably the thing there. JESSE: Okay. A minute ago, you had mentioned, you know, that your brain runs on carbs, you need good carbs. So, are you telling me that I need to, like, go out and get a donut in the middle of the day or like what should it be eating? GLORIA: Anything whole grains, even fruit is a carbohydrate. And it's not like you need to eat a sandwich every 15 minutes, but just spacing it out to where there's, you know, maybe 15 to 30 grams at breakfast and the same at lunch and the same at dinner. And anything with whole grains, anything with fiber is going to be your best fit for that, carbohydrates. JESSE: Okay, okay. seems fairly straightforward. So, you know, you're a dietitian, which means you can strictly speaking work with anybody, but is there a preference, if you just got to pick one type of you know, niche or person is there some of you like working with more than somebody else? GLORIA: Honestly, anybody that's motivated is my favorite. Because you do have people coming in with their feet dragging, which is not fun. And then it's more of the psychology part in just getting them to have the motivation to change, where I want to talk about food and nutrition and that fun stuff. So, anybody that's really motivated and excited to make a change, which I do see a lot of athletes just because I feel like we're naturally more motivated than the normal population. So yeah, anybody that's ready to put the work in and excited about it. JESSE: Do you feel like those clients that are motivated, does that motivation taper off or does it kind of stay like stay with them as time goes on? GLORIA: I think it's it's kind of human nature to lose motivation, if you're not seeing results. So as long as they're seeing results, usually, they're still motivated. But I mean, it's pretty typical that you'll see a plateau at some point or, you know, you'll see your race results are similar or something. So, it's, hard to keep that motivation up. But again, just remembering your why and remembering your goals, usually helps keep them on track. JESSE: So, that this is something I think about from time to time, and I refer to it as a bag of whys, I'm actually going to do a video on this later. But, you know, you're coming back to remembering your why, I think about it as a whole series of whys because one why, at least for me isn't enough. Maybe I want to be, you know, state champion, but I really feel terrible today and I don't care about that. But maybe I care about something else. So I'm kind of curious, like, what, you know, what was your whys? I mean, you were seemingly a good swimmer, you know, growing up, and then you changed to running. You were burnt out swimming, changed to running like, what was your motivation, I guess, and you know, how did you get through high school and, you know, four years of Division One? GLORIA: I think it was running, my favorite part is that it's individual and a team. So, I had a lot of individual goals, time goals, or place goals, or standard goals that I wanted to meet and so that was a lot of motivation. But anytime that tapered or didn't -- it wasn't holding out for me, you also have team goals. So, just doing the best you can for your team that day, showing up to practice for your teammates, which makes it a lot easier when other people are involved. But yeah, I would say just my own personal goals and then keeping the team goals high. JESSE: So, now that, you know, I'm assuming that you're not part of a team anymore. Okay, so how I mean, how do you stay motivated now that that college is over? You know, as you can tell my lights are on here because it's getting dark already and it's only 5:30. You’re across the state so I know it's probably getting dark where you are as well. For start, it's cold, it's windy. You know, how do you stay motivated to deal with that when you don't have that accountability with a team and, you know, for all intents and purposes, your times don't really matter even, you know, to anybody besides you now like how do you stay…yeah. GLORIA: I think it's still pretty new to me. So, my motivation is still high at this point just because post-college I switched to marathon so that was something new, and I still I've done three and so I still have a lot to learn and a lot more goals I want to accomplish. And then triathlon, I started completely new post-college. So, it's still kind of like exciting and new and fun so the motivation is definitely still there. But yeah, days like today and the winter season are hard. But just remembering that I still have my own goals to accomplish and it kind of has turned from a sport to a hobby and so it's become just more fun as well. JESSE: So, if you don't mind are there what specific goals do you have right now? I know, was it November you ran your marathon, the last marathon or was it earlier than that? GLORIA: Yeah, November. JESSE: And you PR there correct? GLORIA: Yep. JESSE: So, I mean what's on the docket right now? Like what are you chasing at the moment? GLORIA: I'm hoping to break three hours in the marathon in 2019. So, in my next marathon that's definitely my big goal. And then -- JESSE: Where were you timewise this last November? GLORIA: 3:02...missed it, but close, but still chasing that. And then a bucket list is just to complete a full Iron Man. So, I've done a half but a full Iron Man's definitely on the list. JESSE: No, no big deal for ?? 9:00>, just any Iron Man will do? GLORIA: I don't know. The half was quite a feat. So yeah, I think I'll do any of them for now. JESSE: Do you have any scoped out? I know some people will say I want a really flat one or like I want to go -- like I want to use it as you know because they are somewhat costly, both the race fee and the travel and getting all your stuff there. You know, is there a ratio picked out like I’m going to go to Florida or I'm going to go to ?? 9:31>? GLORIA: I've heard nothing but good things about Iron Man Arizona. And so my best friend lives there so I've been definitely thinking about that one. But there's been a couple in the Midwest like Wisconsin or Oklahoma that I've seen good reviews on. I'm definitely on the flat, fast and - category of wanting to race. But yeah, and it's one of those things where I might only do it one so I'm okay to travel or go big with it. JESSE: I haven't looked at the Arizona course. But that might-- staying with a friend is always good because then you know you’ve got backup, you know, if your husband can't come to the race, then you know you've got somebody there -- GLORIA: Somebody to help me out. Yeah. JESSE: --who’s going to cheer you on every two hours or whatever when you pass by. You might look at Texas. I've been down for the 70.3 there. It’s the same course next coastline for the bike course all the way through run super flat -- Well, not super flat, but pretty much flat. Yeah, I guarantee you run way, way hillier courses that people called flat in college. GLORIA: Yeah, the run doesn't scare me, it's just the bike that I would like to be flat and easy. JESSE: Are you still riding the mountain bike or like--? GLORIA: I have a road bike, I do but -- JESSE: Okay. First steps, baby steps? GLORIA: Yes. Yes, I have a trainer, I've got the whole setup. But still, I would not say I'm a biker by any means. JESSE: How long have you been doing triathlon now? GLORIA: I guess two years, maybe. JESSE: Okay. So, you're still probably pretty high. GLORIA: Oh, yeah and definitely not anywhere serious. I've been pretty committed to marathon. So the triathlon’s just kind of fun, fun ?? 11:25> so maybe one day that’ll be. JESSE: Cross training? GLORIA: Yeah, maybe one day it'll be the main focus. But yeah, there's definitely a lot of room for improvement. JESSE: It's, you know, maybe I'll get your opinion on this as kind of newer to the sports side. I've been in triathlon, I think 10 years now. So, it's hard for me to see the differences. I know when I came to triathlon, it was like a very friendly, warm community. And I know, cross country has always been kind of similar, but it seemed like even more upbeat coming into triathlon, like, have you had that kind of experience? Or like, what kind of experience have you had coming to the races that you've done so far? GLORIA: For sure. I would say triathletes are very intimidating. I think just the gear in the works make it really intimidating. But yeah, definitely everyone's so nice. I think just endurance athletes, in general, are just really nice and welcoming and helpful. I've joined our local tri team, and the same, everyone's just willing to help, willing to teach you, and just happy to be there. JESSE: It almost seems like to me it's like, we're all going to suffer together so we might as well be happy beforehand. GLORIA: Yep, and be friends. JESSE: Right. So, one last question for you. And I seem to be asking this to everybody, but it's more pertinent for you. If you only get to eat one thing for recovery for the rest of your life, what would you choose? GLORIA: I'm really tempted to say pizza just because I love pizza. JESSE: That's not very dietitian of you. I feel like -- GLORIA: No, I’m a bad dietitian. JESSE: You gotta come up with a better answer than that. GLORIA: I would probably say like Greek yogurt, Greek yogurt with any kind of mixings. I think that's something that just always sounds good after a workout. So, not super exciting. But you know, sometimes you work out and food just doesn't sound good, but Greek yogurt just always does. So, usually, yogurt and like some nuts and berries and stuff is always my go to. JESSE: If I remember right, that's what the peanut butter recovery mousse is based off of, Greek yogurt? GLORIA: Yeah. JESSE: Or am I off on that? GLORIA: I can’t remember if it was Greek yogurt or cottage cheese; one or the other. JESSE: Oh, it was cottage cheese. GLORIA: Cottage cheese, yeah. Okay. That was my weird combination. JESSE: That's a recipe you can check out if you guys are interested. It's on the blog, solpri.com/blog. Gloria, if somebody wants to get in touch with you, and wants to work with you personally, how do they find you? GLORIA: Probably Instagram would be the easiest one. I'm just Runner.RD. And yeah, happy to talk. JESSE: Super easy. Thanks for coming on today, Gloria. GLORIA: Thank you. Go to Next Episode: Todd Buckingham - Super Aero Triathlete
Smart Athlete Podcast Ep. 2 - Gloria Stoverink - Nutrition Isn't Complicated Part 3 of 3
Do you feel like there's like a particular food or maybe like micronutrients and effects kind of how your brain functions as far as, you know, being alert, being awake, being ready to like, put your full effort forth? My kind of emphasis lately, and for a lot of the podcast is like the mind, body connection.
