Canada’s elite athletes have come to take nutrition as a seriously part of their training.
We take you behind the scenes this month with our timely Vancouver Games Blog, an insider perspective on sport medicine and science headlines, talking points, statistical data and emerging trends.
Registered Dietician and SportMedBC Network practitioner Jennifer Gibson is quoted in an article in today’s Vancouver Sun written by Mia Stainsby, focussing on just how important proper nutrition is for Canada’s elite athletes competing in the Vancouver Winter Games.
“My take-home message for athletes is that their body is their job. For them, nutrition is critical. They can train all they want but food is what fuels and repairs and keeps systems functioning well.
“The strategy is to do a ton of heavy training in the off-season, building up fitness and body composition so they have an excellent base to maintain during competition season when they’ll be traveling.”
Gibson started with a nutritional analysis with Ricker, worked out meal plans for quality nutrients tailored to her body. “I followed up biweekly, tweaking and modifying and worked in correspondence with her strength and conditioning coaches. She was a dream to work with. At that level, they’re focused and disciplined.”
Gibson, a sport dietitian for the Canadian Snowboard Federation and Canadian Para Alpine Ski Team, has seen athletes “under-eat and over-eat” themselves out of a medal.
Read the full article here.
