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.Thank you to our sponsorsAG1: https://drinkag1.com/performMomentous: https://livemomentous.com/performLMNT: https://drinklmnt.com/performParker University: https://parkerseminars.comEight Sleep: https://eightsleep.com/performTimestamps00:00:00 Jordan Sullivan00:01:31 Pre-Competition Nutrition, Hyrox, UFC00:07:55 Sponsors: Momentous & LMNT00:10:54 Performance Nutrition & Goals00:15:14 Performance Nutrition vs Periodized Nutrition; Schedule Adaptation00:20:36 UFC Fighters, Compliance & Performance00:26:06 Nutrition Adherence, Lifestyle Integration, Tool: 90/10 Goal00:30:34 Non-Elite Athletes & Core Principles, Tools: Macronutrient Thresholds, Fiber00:37:32 Food Quality, Tool: Whole Foods, Supplements00:40:54 Sponsors: Parker University & Eight Sleep00:43:46 Resting Metabolic Rate, Tool: Daily Calorie Estimates; Fat Loss & Calorie Deficit00:51:44 Weight Loss, Sustainable Goals00:57:47 Calorie Deficit, Performance & Injury; Blood Work01:01:54 Modifying Plans, Tracking Food; Meal Frequency, Fasting?01:07:58 Sponsor: AG101:09:22 Exercise, Fat vs. Carbohydrates, Crossover Point & Fatigue, VO2 Max01:18:13 Food Choices, Carbohydrates, Pre-Competition Nutrition01:22:14 Sparing Glycogen, Pre-Competition Carbs, Glucose vs Fructose, Car Analogy01:29:54 Nedd Brockmann, Ultra-Endurance Athlete, Fueling & Training the Gut01:43:25 Competition vs Training Nutrition01:48:05 Daily Nutrition & Intense Training, Clustering Nutrition01:51:49 Race Preparation Nutrition, Endurance Athlete; Water Weight, Hydration02:01:04 Ultra-Endurance Athlete, Hydration & Sweat Rate; Sodium02:09:28 Ultra-Endurance Event & Nutrition Plan02:14:32 Macronutrients & Ultra-Endurance Event, Protein & Muscle Loss02:18:26 Performance Nutrition, Fat vs Carbohydrates, ATP, Fatigue02:28:50 Weight Cutting, Fat Loss vs Acute Water Loss, Fiber02:39:18 Weight Cutting, Fluid Load, Sodium02:42:33 Water Cut; Sauna, Sweating It Out, Dehydration & Caution, Heat Stroke02:47:50 Body Temperature, Heat Acclimatization; Weight Cuts02:50:39 Calorie Deficit, Training, Tools: Daily Nutrition, Protein, Individualization02:56:41 Zero-Cost Support, YouTube, Spotify & Apple Subscribe & Reviews, Sponsors, YouTube Feedback, Social Media, Perform NewsletterDisclaimer & Disclosures

This is Perform with Dr. Andy Galpin.
I'm Dr. Andy Galpin, a professor and director of the Human Performance Center at Parker University.
With this podcast, my goal is to help you better understand and maximize your own physical and mental performance, leveraging my two decades of experience with elite performers, including Olympians and world champions across numerous sports. The goal is to cover a range of tools, technologies, and strategies designed to help everyone—from beginners to record-breaks, and everyone in between.
I’ll use a format that I call the "3 I's.” For every topic, we'll explore how to 1) Investigate (measure it), 2) Interpret (determine what’s bad, ok, good, or even elite!), and 3) Intervene (implement changes). This framework will guide our discussions on both the science and actionable insights—the do’s and don’ts.
In the upcoming episodes of Season 2, we'll dive into topics such as how metabolism and metabolic rate truly work, how to maximize brain function and health, what sports nutrition looks like in the world’s best athletes, how to improve bone health and accelerate healing, the science of strength training for kids, and much more.
While not all of us are elite athletes—myself included—there are countless lessons and tools we can learn from those performing at the highest levels. And remember, as legendary coach Bill Bowerman stated, "If you have a body, you are an athlete." If you're not already, I hope you'll consider starting to train and recover like one.

• No. of episodes: 22
• Latest episode: 2025-04-16
• Health & Fitness Science Fitness

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