Intuitive Eating for Athletes: A Discussion with Sports Dietitian Jill Merkel

Welcome to episode 59 of the Eat for Endurance podcast! Today, I am welcoming fellow sports dietitian Jill Merkel, MS RD CSSD onto the show. Jill is an anti-diet, weight-inclusive Registered Dietitian, Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor, and a runner. Jill has worked in a variety of collegiate sport settings, and was the Team Sports Dietitian for the NFL Tennessee Titans for five seasons (2017-2021). She now has a private practice specializing in body image, chronic dieting, disordered eating, and sports nutrition.Jill is passionate about Intuitive Eating and anti-diet nutrition for athletes, which is the main topic of our discussion today. Within this framework, we cover a large number of key sports nutrition topics, including:What is intuitive eating and anti-diet nutrition, and how do these definitions differ when applied specifically to the athlete population?How do we handle the topics of weight and body composition in athletes and esp in sports like running, cycling, etc, from an intuitive eating standpoint?How do we guide athletes to eat adequately, and as a result, avoid chronic underfueling and eventually RED-S, using intuitive eating principles?Jill’s experience as an intuitive eating dietitian while also the Team Sports Dietitian for the NFL Tennessee TitansAssessing a hypothetical client and how we would address her nutrition, training and health challengesMaintaining a healthy iron status / FerritinGI issues especially as they relate to underfuelingThank you Jill for a great discussion on so many important topics! I hope you all enjoy our episode together.Links : Jill’s Website: https://jillmerkelrd.com/ Follow Jill on InstagramOther Announcements: Please show your support by leaving a rating and/or review on Apple Podcasts  Music Credit: Joseph McDadeHave nutrition questions, a guest or topic request, or any other feedback? Email me - [email protected] – all information provided is for educational and entertainment purposes only and is in no way meant to replace individual medical and nutrition recommendationsWant to get in touch? Send Claire a message!Support the showThanks for listening! Follow me on Instagram and Facebook (@eatforendurance).