In this episode I sit down with my colleague to dive into how sports nutrition is growing in the tactical and high-performance field. He also shares practical tips to spot nutrition misinformation, gives his take on the new dietary guidelines, and more!

Brandon Lee, DHSc, RD, CSSD, CCRP, FAND, is a human performance practitioner, researcher, and educator dedicated to advancing athlete health, readiness, and resilience. A Registered Dietitian and Board-Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics, he serves as a Dietitian within the U.S. Army’s Holistic Health and Fitness (H2F) system, providing performance nutrition support to more than 4,000 Soldiers in the 10th Mountain Division. His work integrates evidence-based practice, interdisciplinary collaboration, and applied research to optimize tactical performance and enhance Soldier lethality and recovery.

Brandon’s background spans clinical nutrition, long-term care, collegiate teaching, sports performance, and human nutrition research. He has contributed to high-performance environments, including Minor League Baseball and the Obesity and Metabolism Unit at UC Davis, where he coordinated research on dietary patterns and metabolic health.

An active scholar and speaker, Brandon has published peer-reviewed and professional articles on low energy availability, overtraining, and tactical nutrition, and he presents regularly at national and state conferences. He also serves on advisory boards and has held multiple leadership and service roles within professional organizations.

Brandon earned his Doctor of Health Science from PennWest University and is recognized as a Fellow of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

In this episode Stevie chats with Brandon about:

• What is encompassed in the growing field of tactical nutrition
• Collaboration being key to be a better practitioner and to better support the individual athlete
• The three pillars of evidence-based practice
• Hot takeaways from the new dietary guidelines
• And so much more!

Stay connected:

• Check out Brandon's professional profile here
• Follow along with Brandon's work on LinkedIn
• Follow Stevie on Instagram: @stevielynlyn
• Join Stevie’s newsletter: Stevie Lyn Nutrition newsletter

Dr. Sasha Gollish is a Team Canada middle- and long-distance runner, engineer, coach, and advocate for gender equity in sport. With a PhD in civil engineering and decades of experience in athletics and research, she leads community-engagement efforts at the University of Toronto’s Mental Health and Physical Activity Research Centre.

Passionate about movement and belonging, Sasha co-founded Yellow Running Shoes and works to help young athletes thrive on and off the field. She is also the author of Unstoppable, a mental-performance journal published by Strong Girl Publishing, designed to help athletes show up with confidence, focus, and resilience for every big goal that matters to them.

Stevie chats with Sasha about:

• Her background as high performance athlete and coach
• Her work as a researcher on mental health and girls in sport
• How to be unstoppable through injury and adversity
• Adapting to the changes in performance technology
• Sensationalizing the basics when it comes to training and nutrition
• Food as connection
• New trends in sports nutrition
• And so much more!

You can find Sasha on Instagram at @SGollishRuns and @Yellow_Running_Shoes

Do you have big spring race goals but struggle to get outside in the winter? If you want to keep hitting the pavement during the cold, snowy, and windy months, this episode will give you the tools to do just that.

Jaci Wilson is a marathon & ultramarathon run coach, winter running enthusiast, and podcaster who helps runners, with many active hobbies, train sustainably through all seasons. She helps athletes excel in running without sacrificing their hobbies by managing their training load and stress bucket.

Whether it’s skiing, hunting, dog training, gardening, or scuba diving, Jaci believes avoiding burnout requires more than just running miles. More miles usually is not the answer for her athletes. Her coaching emphasizes rest, nutrition, strength training, mindset, and flexible, non-traditional scheduling that supports real life.

Stevie chats with Jaci about:

• Top 3 tips to keep training through the winter months
• Her experience training in all winter in Minnesota has to offer
• How mindset plays a role in winter running
• Finding ways to make winter more enjoyable as an athlete
• Balancing play and training for a well-rounded athlete
• Gear recommendations for outdoor winter running
• And so much more!

You can find Jaci at jaciwilsonruns.com and on social media @jaci.wilson.runs. She also hosts The One More Hour Podcast: An Insider’s Guide to Backyard Ultras, Timed Events, and the Ultrarunning Mindset of “One More,” available on all platforms, YouTube, and Instagram @theonemorehourpodcast.

Grab winter running tips, gear, and advice at jaciwilsonruns.com/winter-running

Jessica is an Assistant Professor in the nutrition department at Syracuse University, where she previously earned her PhD in Exercise Science. She also serves as the consulting sports dietitian for LeMoyne College Athletics and sees clients through her private practice, Major League Wellness. Jessica is a women's health researcher, currently studying the effects of REDs on athletic performance in female athletes. She is a mom to 4 kids and stays active with weight training, hiking, yoga, and Pilates.

In this episode we chat about:

• Her work as a professor and as a dietitian
• Ways to make research more fun for her students
• Making research a creative process
• Supplements and how to use them appropriately
• Freedom to pick what she studies
• Female athlete research
• How to apply nutrition as an art and a science in sports nutrition
• Recent research in REDs with RMR ratio
• Upcoming research in adolescent female athletes
• Carbs and V02max
• Sports nutrition work with college athletes
• And so much more!

Stay connected:

• Jessica on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jlgaray/
• Jessica on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cusesportsrd/
• Major League Wellness website: https://majorleaguewellness.com/
• Stevie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stevielynlyn/
• Stevie Lyn Nutrition website: https://stevielynrd.com/

Michaela is a run coach, co-founder of Strides for Strength, and a multi passionate nurse by degree. She believes in the power of movement — not just for performance, but for life. Her work lives at the intersection of being a human, moving well, and feeling good while doing it . Whether that’s on the run, chasing life’s next adventure, or the moments in between. Michaela helps others find strength, energy, and joy in the way they move through both training and everyday life.

In this episode we chat about:

• How she blends her passions for nursing and running into her purpose
• Her love for working with a variety of individuals first time marathoners to parents looking to be strong and healthy to hike mountains with their kids
• Her creative side
• The less glamorous side of social media as a business owner
• The importance of having a coach on your team
• Training for the season that you're in
• And so much more!

Stay connected:

Strides for Strength: stridesforstrength.com, https://www.instagram.com/sfsrunners/

Michaela's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaela_robertson_/

Stevie's website: https://stevielynrd.com/

Stevie's instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stevielynlyn/

From grinding rails to grinding miles — Jim Cie was a former pro BMX rider and entrepreneur, co-founding Sunday Bikes. In 2016, he ran every street in Buffalo. Today, he captures the world of running around him, highly influenced by his experiences in BMX and skateboarding.

In this episode we yap about:

• How he got into photography
• His time spent as pro BMX rider
• How injuries helped him shape his craft
• What inspired the start of mile by mile photo
• Running every street in Buffalo
• A behind the scenes look of running photography
• Supporting small biz and Jim's work
• And so much more!

Stay connected:

• Mile by Mile Photo on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/milebymilephoto/
• Jim's portfolio: https://jimcielencki.myportfolio.com/?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAadYyr8D5-NRhQr09haeKiheoyaeEdQipqf-_moKbpusQASkbn1Y7y3wiLrvoQ_aem_NBzQKh1pFV8XQBbNj_Yvxw
• Jim's Ted Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUWWRyuggKM
• Stevie's instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stevielynlyn/
• Stevie's website: https://stevielynrd.com/

Sara Manderscheid is the founder + head coach of Elevate Your Running Coaching, a podcaster, and an endurance masters athlete in Boulder, Colorado.

Sara partners with athletes to chase big dreams, break through plateaus, and find joy and flexibility in running and training. She enjoys working with athletes who love running and want to improve the sport.

You can find Elevate Your Running online at elevateyourrunning.com, and on social media at @sayrahrunshappy and @elevateyourrunning (Instagram, Threads). The Elevate Your Running Podcast is available every Thursday on your favorite listing platform.

Listen to learn more about:

• How to navigate injury as an athlete
• Warning signs of burnout
• How stress impacts us as runners
• Coaching and supporting other athletes through injury
• Tools and mindset growth during injuries
• And so much more!

If you're loving the podcast please rate and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts!

Caitlin Butler is an anorexia survivor turned eating disorder recovery coach and the founder of Bold Bites HQ. After struggling without the tools she needed in her eating disorder recovery, she began creating her own. Now she designs care packages, cheeky mugs, stickers, and coloring pages that support women through the messy, real moments of recovery. Her mission is simple: make eating doable again and help women break free from restriction, food obsession, and over-exercising so they can actually enjoy life.

Listen to learn more about:

• Tangible tools while pursuing eating disorder recovery
• The why behind care packages
• Her journey with an eating disorder and how it inspires her work
• How restriction and over-exercising get mistaken for “strength,” when they actually disconnect us from life and people we love.
• How can we promote a better environment for athletes with words and actions
• Disconnection from our bodies with over-exercising and restriction
• The underfed brain and quality of life
• Feast or famine mindset in eating disorders
• Messy moments of recovery and how she helps individuals get through them
• How you can help as support system for someone in recovery
• Why practical, day-to-day tools can make recovery feel doable instead of impossible
• And so much more!

Stay connected:

Use code REALFUEL10 for 10% off on her etsy shop!

•Bold Bites HQ on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/boldbiteshq/
•Bold Bites HQ on etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BOLDBITESHQ
•Caitlin's website: https://www.simplifyyourhealth.net/
•Stevie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stevielynlyn/
•Stevie's website: https://stevielynrd.com/