sports NUTRITION 

Laura J. Moretti, MS, RD, CSSD, LDN

Laura Moretti is a Dietitian in the Division of Sports Medicine and the Female Athlete Program at Boston Children’s Hospital, as well as the owner of Laura Moretti Nutrition, LLC. She completed a Master’s Degree in clinical nutrition as well as her didactic program in clinical dietetics at New York University. Laura possesses a specialty in sports performance based nutrition, as well as treating low energy availability, disordered eating, and eating disorders in athletes.  Laura has an extensive amount of experience in consulting and collaborating with Olympic and professional athletes, local colleges and universities. She is a consultant for the Boston Ballet, US Rowing, US Figure Skating and an instructor at the Institute for Rowing Leadership.  Laura is also a competitive triathlete and three-time Boston Marathon qualifier and finisher. 

https://www.lauramorettird.com/

Nicole Farnsworth, MS, RD, LDN, CPT

Nicole Farnsworth is a Dietitian with the Division of Sports Medicine and Female Athlete Program at Boston Children’s Hospital. She is also the consulting sports dietitian for Wheaton College and additionally is a NASM-certified personal trainer. Nicole received her Master’s degree in Human Nutrition at Columbia University’s Institute of Human Nutrition and completed her dietetic internship at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center. She has a special interest in working with athletes with low energy availability, disordered eating, and eating disorders. Nicole was a varsity track and field athlete at Harvard University, competing in the pentathlon and heptathlon.

Signs of Relative Energy Deficiency (RED-S): 

• Getting slower when you’re training consistently, getting slower as season progresses - You’re much slower in races than everyone you workout with 

• You can exhaust yourself to finish workouts, but just tank in competition 

• - You start races feeling fine but crash/bonk (iron deficiency) 

• - Mood changes, being more tired or irritable 

• - Feeling fatigued and weak everyday (more than just sore), feeling like you “don’t have it” - Feeling like you can’t push yourself/mentally weak 

• - Having trouble sleeping 

• - Getting sick a lot (even if you normally do) or more than usual 

• - Missing your period (even once) 

Ways to Stay Ahead

• • • • • • • Eat at least three meals a day 

            • Eat before, during, and immediately after practice 

            • - Sleep at least 8 hours a day, ideally 9+, develop a routine to ensure you sleep - Be aware when you’re increasing your training, both year over year and within a season - When you train more, you need to eat more and you need to sleep more 

            • - Distance runners are mostly likely to fall behind on consuming enough calories and consuming enough carbs 

            • - Make it a goal to feel good everyday, and respond when you don’t, use races and workouts as a gauge 

            • - Get your iron tested consistently (Iron and Ferritin Levels)

            • - DON’T restrict your consumption of any food groups, especially CARBS 

            • - DON’T try to compensate for lowered performance with increased training (don’t play catch up). This can also mess up the periodization of your training and prevent you from achieving your peak.

Athlete's Plate & Explanation