I was fortunate to have Andrew provide guidance with my training and nutrition in 2016, my third year of competitive endurance racing. I consider myself above average when it comes to technical knowledge both in triathlon training and understanding of my body.
I had no expectations, having never worked with a dietitian before, and was glad to see that Andrew took a realistic approach to my diet, making suggestions but realizing there are compromises necessary in a lifestyle jammed to overflowing with kids, work, wife, and sport. He made suggestions and provided me with expert opinion and research laden articles for review. However, his approach was conversational with us discussing lifestyle and goals, and proposed changes in a casual, laid back manner and not in a pedantic way.
I think everyone will have different experiences with his service, but for me he primarily aided me in three areas: testing my sweat loss during workouts & measured my macro nutrient consumption during daily life, dialing in my precise race day nutrition based upon current research findings, and adding lateral workouts to my training to prevent lower leg injuries which were an annual annoyance for me.
I was shocked to learn that my sweat rate was double the “average” person. This changed my approach to how I hydrate and the importance of regular water consumption as a part of my daily life. Likewise, I have a protein rich diet, but I was surprised to learn it just wasn’t enough to support my workout levels, especially as a male on the wrong side of 45.
My race day nutrition was probably a B grade prior to working with Andrew and I think it’s just about perfect now. This is particularly important as I try to go longer in my events, having pretty much maximized my performance in sprint triathlons.
Lastly, and probably the most important from a quality of life perspective, he made a recommendation to work out laterally with my legs. This led me to my first injury free run & tri season since I started. For me, this was huge as I didn’t have to miss workouts or races due to injury.
I enjoyed the experience with Andrew so much that I recommended him to my wife and will continue to recommend him to others as his service is expertly delivered in a realistic and laid back fashion that respects the challenges of doing the right thing while being pulled in fifty different directions.
*Andrew BFSPN – What this humble guy doesn’t tell you is that he races 6+ triathlons per year. He’s a serious competitor who needed practical solutions.
Mike S.