Introduction to Jennifer Patricca and her background

Kerry 0:29

All right. Hi, everybody. Welcome back to the Get Healthy Tampa Bay podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Kerry Reller. And today we have a very special guest, Jennifer Patrica. How did I do? Not so good. So tell me about who you are and what you do.

Jennifer 0:45

Yeah, so I'm Jennifer Patricca. I'm a registered dietitian. I've been a dietitian for about 20 years, which is weird to say out loud, but so it's been a little bit. But I own my own business. It's called Optimize Nutrition, LLC. I help runners improve their pacing, hit their PRs, and enjoy running without GI issues, injuries, and fatigue.

Kerry 1:05

Awesome. Have you always been focusing on the sports nutrition and running nutrition?

Jennifer 1:10

No. So for about nine years, when I first started working, I was doing employee wellness, working for a school district, like helping the employees stay healthy. We did weight loss programs, diabetes programs. I conducted health fairs, taught classes. I mean, it was a really fun job. And then most recently I was a corporate dietician at public supermarkets as

Kerry 1:31

Very cool. So how did you get into your current role and tell us a little bit about your personal journey if you want to share.

Jennifer 1:40

So, you know, I'm going to step back a few years back to college. I, I've always been a runner. I've been running in high school and I ran in college as well. When I went to school, I really wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I majored in exercise science cause I thought, well, I really like to exercise, so that'll be fun. But when I was a junior, I took a nutrition class and that's when I knew what I wanted to do. You know, it was really enjoyable learning about food and nutrients and how they interact with the body, you know, not only to like improve health, but then also like looking at performance as well.

Kerry 2:14

So starting way back in college, you kind of knew you were on this trajectory. Well, that's very awesome. So what kind of led you into, I mean, I guess that led you into being a dietitian. How about, what about focusing on what you're doing now?

Jennifer 2:28

So I was in a corporate job, as I mentioned for about, it was almost nine years and towards the tail end of it, I just really wasn't learning and growing and wasn't really enjoying what I was doing. And, you know, I just decided to take the leap and, and go into entrepreneurship, which I'm not really sure what I would, I know what I'm doing. I still don't know what I'm doing. That's my point. But it's been fun and I really enjoy, you know, helping people and especially helping runners. You know, I've been a runner my whole life. I can definitely relate to them and their struggles with, you know, fueling and having stomach issues and just dealing with injuries. I mean,

Kerry 3:07

Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, there's a lot that goes into recovery and training and everything like that, depending upon how much, you know, somebody wants to get in their peak performance or, you know, what their goals are. Right. And my goals, you know, not usually to be the best or anything, but I just want to finish a race and be happy and maybe beat my own record. But I'm probably not trying to beat other people. So yeah, everybody's got like different goals. So you can work individually with them.

Jennifer 3:31

Exactly. And, and you're right. Like, not everybody's like necessarily like an elite athlete, but honestly, anyone can benefit from good nutrition. Just, you know, learning more about the timing of it, which I feel like that's a big issue. We get busy with our schedules during the day. We don't prioritize our nutrition. And, and so, you know, some people actually end up inadvertently under fueling, so,

Kerry 3:54

Yeah,

Jennifer 3:54

well,

Key pre-race nutrition strategies

Kerry 3:55

So basically, we've got that Gasparilla distance classic that we were talking about before recording. And I think that's coming up. So it's pretty exciting. And you had a lot of, you know, tips and recommendations for our listeners. So I wanted to ask you some questions on that. So basically, how do you approach this if someone's got, you know, a race coming up? And where would you start with somebody?

Jennifer 4:17

sure. So for those of you that may not know, Gasparilla Distance Classic has been around for, I don't know, it's been around a long time, long as I've lived here, if not longer. But they have four races over two days. On Saturday, they do the 15K, which is almost like nine miles, and a 5K, which is like three miles. And then on Sunday, they do a half marathon, and then an 8K. Trying to remember the 8k is somewhere around like maybe like four ish miles or something like that. I forget four or five. Maybe it's five. Yeah. But anyway, the point is, you know, it really honestly kind of depends on which race that you're planning to do. And yes, there are a lot of people that are planning on doing all four. There are different challenges that you can do. And actually it's kind of cool this year, the half is sold out. Which I, I, I can't remember a time when it's ever sold out. And then I think maybe even the challenges might, some of the challenges might have sold out too. So, I'll kind of give some kind of general advice, but obviously if you're doing more races, like doing four races over two days, you might have to really think about like how to do it. But, you know, everybody always wants to know, I get this question a lot, what should you eat the night before a race? So the night before a competition, you want to focus on complex carbohydrates because that will help to boost your glycogen stores, which is the carbohydrate in your liver and your muscles. So some good options might be like pasta, rice, quinoa, breads. Potatoes, sweet potatoes flour or corn tortillas, pancakes, waffles. I will say, I'm not going to get into it today, but like if you are doing any of those longer races, like the half marathon and above, you can do what's called like a carb load. So you can really super saturate those stores beyond just having like a big pasta dinner the night before. But a couple of other things, you know, do include some protein, but just don't, you know, make that the focus. Just have a little bit some examples would be like, you know, chicken breast, turkey, lean ground beef. fish, seafood. You also want to make sure that you're drinking plenty of fluids. So making sure that you're staying hydrated. And then also too, it's not only important to talk about like what foods to include, but then what foods to avoid. Avoiding like too much fat. So for example, it probably wouldn't be a good idea to go have a burger the night before a run, because

Kerry 6:40

Yeah

Jennifer 6:42

also high fiber. And like other gas producing foods. So typically like for me, I will kind of cut back on vegetables like the day before, you know, just don't do a lot of those just because they cause gas. They could also, you know, cause some GI issues the next day. So just be careful of that. And then the final and the most important thing is don't try anything new. Like make sure that you, you know, if you. have long runs, you know, during the weekend, you know, that you practice that you like, for example, I always eat like pasta the night before, because I know that sits pretty well on my stomach. So you don't want to try anything new, just because you don't know what's going to happen. If you try something new, and you might end up with a problem.

Kerry 7:26

I mean, that goes with, like, shoes and clothing stuff too, we don't want to try anything new regarding those things either. Yeah. So, how about how long do those glycogen stores last? I don't know if you know this answer, but like, I mean, it really obviously varies, but.

Jennifer 7:44

Yeah. So they, they, they estimate that on average, it's like an hour and a half. And so if you are doing Like a half marathon or any of those challenges, you want to think about, you know, the carb loading that I mentioned, but then also to feeling like during the race to, and, you know, you definitely want to have a plan for that. As far as fueling is concerned, they recommend, like, between 30 and 60 grams of carbohydrate per hour and if you're kind of new to the fueling scene, stay closer to the 30, but. If you're more experienced with that, then you can get up to 60. They've even some, had some research has shown that even up to 90 can be effective too. But I always like to point out that your muscle is like a gut, so it can be trained. Or your gut is a muscle, excuse me, and it can be trained.

Kerry 8:39

Yeah,

Jennifer 8:39

So just kind of keep that in mind. But so kind of a good place to start would be doing like 12 ounces of sports drink, a gel or like a serving of gummies like every 30 minutes, those have about around like 20 ish grams of carbs.

Kerry 8:55

but that's during the race. We're

Jennifer 8:56

That's during the race, right

Morning-of race fueling strategies

Kerry 8:58

what about what about before, like the morning of, what do

Jennifer 9:03

Okay. Yes, that's a good, that's a good question too. So the morning of you want to make sure that you know, that you're doing something that's mostly carbs. and it can be something, you know, small. But you also want to practice this as well. So you, you just want to make sure that you know what your, what your body can tolerate, but for shorter races, like around like 25 to 30 grams of carbs, which that would be like a banana, like a slice of toast an English muffin, a half of the bagel are some examples. And if you were doing a longer race, like The half marathon or whatever you you'd want to do like between 50 and 90 grams of carbs. So you just kind of double or triple that depending on you know what you were doing, but

Kerry 9:50

distance in time?

Jennifer 9:51

Right, but you also want to make sure you're giving yourself enough time to digest like at least a couple of hours Beforehand,

Kerry 9:58

Yeah. And obviously, you know, nothing new, like you said,

Jennifer 10:02

right

Kerry 10:03

is there anything that they should avoid like in the morning before a race or is that kind of the same thing as the night before?

Jennifer 10:10

One thing that I would just caution you on if you're not used to it is caffeine. Caffeine can have some ergogenic benefits, meaning that can help with performance, but at the same time, if you're not, like, used to it, it can also cause bathroom issues. So, that might be something to just be aware of. Again, I wouldn't do anything that's, like, really heavy, fatty, or a lot of fiber. I'd stay away from those two things as well.

Kerry 10:36

Mm hmm. Okay. And how about like salt for pre race situations? Do you do anything electrolytes?

Jennifer 10:45

yeah, so the main electrolyte that you lose in your sweat is sodium. So just make sure that, you know, you, whatever electrolytes that you're consuming, that you're getting in sodium, most importantly. And I say this because I'm sure you've seen it at the grocery store and convenience stores and everywhere now there's electrolytes are everywhere. Like it's, it's definitely like a buzzword. And, you know, not all of them have sodium in them. Like a lot of them are more potassium focused, like Prime and Body Armor are a couple that I'm aware of.

Kerry 11:15

Those are the pre mixed ones, right?

Jennifer 11:17

Right, right. And then as far as like, you know, sodium is concerned so you know, you can have like salty foods the day before if you don't eat a lot of salt in your foods, then you could possibly do a electrolyte drink. Also keep in mind too that Your body absorbs sodium better when it when you have glucose on board or a sugar on board and so some of these that don't contain any calories that are, you know, zero calorie electrolytes may not be as benefit kind of make sure that you keep that in mind and then, you know, depending on the weather, it might be beneficial to, you know, carry electrolytes with you. So whether you do like sports drinks or. they have little salt capsules that you can buy, or even like, I've got some of these little chews, they kind of taste like sweet tarts but they recommend between like 300 and 600 milligrams of sodium per hour, but it really kind of depends on your sweat rate. Like if you are a salty sweater, you can like lick your lips and take salt, or you can actually see crystals on your body, then you might even be higher. I've got a, a sweat test program that I have, and I'll have clients do, and some of them are losing way more than that per hour, so you don't have to

Kerry 12:35

Yeah. Tell me about that. I have, I'm a super salty sweater. It's always, you can see it all over me. What is the sweat test?

Jennifer 12:44

so there are companies that have started doing, like, sweat tests, and it's not just, like, the amount of fluid you're losing, but that's also the amount of sodium, and they have sensors that you can wear during exercise. H Drop is a company and Levelin, another one's called Precision Hydration. I partnered with Levelin and they've provided me with a discount on their sweat test. And so I order the test for you. It comes in the mail. It honestly looks like a big band aid that you wear with like a cotton ball on it. And then you go do your exercise. You come back, you put it in a little vial and send it off to the company, and then they provide you with a test the results. So it'll tell you, you know, you're losing this much fluid per hour, and then the recommendations on, you know, how much to do per hour, and then also the sodium. pretty cool because, you know, there's not really an accurate way to measure how much sodium you're losing other than if you're doing one of these kinds of things.

Kerry 13:46

Well, wouldn't it depend on the weather conditions too, obviously? Yeah, that's a little bit harder to, I guess adjust for, really. Yeah. Interesting. Okay. So we talked, I know we already briefly talked about it, like, during the race. Like, we talked about before, the morning of, and then during the race, you mentioned, like, carrying chews and salt tablets. That's for the salt water balance. And then you mentioned some of the carbohydrate amounts to during the race, right? Mostly for longer distances. Are there any other effective ways that they can maintain hydration and maintain energy and like prevent fatigue during the race?

Jennifer 14:23

well, just go in with a plan, like, make sure you've got a fueling plan. Like, I'd mentioned doing it like every 30 minutes. As far as like, hydration is concerned, they recommend doing like, 4 to 8 ounces of fluid, like, every 15 to 20 minutes. So, either, you know, time out the aid stations or carry water with you. Or, you know, Gatorade or any other sports drink as well. But I think the main thing is just like practicing your fueling strategy during your long runs. And so going in, you know what you're doing.

Kerry 14:55

Yeah, absolutely. Practice is kind of important if you're going to put all this stuff, stuff in there that you're not used to, they can have, you know, bad side effects. So before we go into something like that, why don't you tell us about like post recovery nutrition from after the race, unless you had something more to add.

Jennifer 15:13

No, no, no. That's good. So as far as like afterwards, so. I know that, you know, it's really tempting to go over to the tent and get a beer afterwards, but you know, that may not necessarily be the best thing recovery wise. I mean, you could still have it, but also focus on getting in some protein and some carbs, you know, somewhere between like 20 to 40 grams of protein and 50 or more grams of carbs. You want to get it in like 30 to 60 minutes after your race, because that will help enhance glycogen replenishment and also muscle recovery. So, you know, it was like to explain it like this. Like, you know, you just took a big, you know, deposit from the bank, so you've got to put it back in so that, you know, you'll have better recovery. But some examples would be like a chocolate milk, like those core powder drinks are really popular right now for a lot of my athletes. Or

Kerry 16:07

I used to like that muscle Milk.

Jennifer 16:09

yeah, our muscle milk or Orgain some nice ready to drink protein shakes. If you had access to like yogurt with fruit, you could do that. But just try to make sure you're getting something right away and then have a meal like one to two hours later.

Post-race recovery nutrition for muscle repair

Kerry 16:24

Okay. So like one to two hours after. Okay. And that will help with muscle soreness and energy stores. How about when you see the massage tent nearby? Is that also helpful? Mm-hmm

Jennifer 16:35

Sure. I mean, that can be helpful. I mean, your, your body has just, you know, been, you know, put under a lot of stress and is under a lot of inflammation. So maybe it can help, you know, work out some of those tight spots for sure.

Kerry 16:48

Yeah. So it's interesting. You said, well, you're still replenishing the carbohydrates for the glycogen stores, but now you're more implementing the protein in there that you weren't really focusing on prior to the race. Right?

Jennifer 16:59

Right, right. And that's just mainly for like for muscle recovery.

Kerry 17:03

Okay. so what are some common nutrition mistakes? How do we avoid them?

Common nutrition mistakes and how to avoid them

Jennifer 17:08

Probably the biggest one that I see with athletes is just not eating enough carbs. You know, carbs kind of go through, you know, the cycles of being good for you being bad for you. I think they're probably on one of the cycles of being bad for you. Like, just that's just kind of the conception or that they make you fat or or whatever. But, you know, honestly, as a runner, you need to you need to eat a lot. They recommend. Somewhere between like 8 to 12 grams per kilogram a day. And so, like, if you're like a female around my size, you'd need almost like, you know, 300 or more a day, which is, you know, that's, that's pretty significant if you're thinking about counting that up. So,

Kerry 17:49

Yeah, I mean, there's definitely higher carb. I think that it's recommended for people who are running them running, right? A lot more or more physical activity, of course. Yeah.

Jennifer 18:01

that's 1 of the big things. And then also to just not like planning out your feeling, not not prioritizing it, not. You know, thinking about it, so to speak, you know, once you get done in the morning, you know, you need to make sure you're eating right away as well as, you know, eating before too, which that can also be kind of a misconception. People think that, well, if I, if I train fast and then I'll lose weight and, you know, I'll perform better, but that's not always the case. So I just want to make sure that you're having something before too.

Kerry 18:31

So, well, I guess you said train fasted. I think you meant like do the race fasted as well.

Jennifer 18:37

Right. Same

Kerry 18:38

how do you approach that? Like, what if someone is on, you know, some sort of keto diet or low carb diet and they do well with a fasted, you know, routine and aren't big on the carb loader. What, do you work with any of those people? Do you have any comments, suggestions on that? Yeah,

Jennifer 19:01

Encourage them to, you know, be open to trying something new and seeing, you know, if there's any benefit because more often than not, there is more benefit with eating more carbs. Like, that's what your body prefers, like, for your brain and for your muscles. It, you know, they've, they've done some research that, basically when you run out of carbohydrates, you know, you end up tapping into your protein and your fat. And at that point, you start slowing down. So it really does make a difference if you have the carbohydrates on board but, you know, people are people are coming to me for advice and for help. So, you know, I'm just encourage them to make small steps and move towards, you know, how can we, work some carbohydrates in. And obviously ones that are going to be, you know, more whole food based, like whole grains, like quinoa, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, whole wheat bread sweet potatoes and potatoes and some beans.

Kerry 19:54

those are definitely good whole food options that you mentioned there. What about, you know, we all hear about the runners runs and things like that and cramping a lot. Well, GI cramping, what do you think is the most contributing factor to that and how can you mitigate it?

Jennifer 20:12

But yeah, I've worked with a couple of runners that, and triathletes as well, that have had GI issues, and some of it's just, they have sensitive stomachs to begin with. And so, how can we, mitigate that? What are some things that we can try? the morning of, there are certain like, for example, there are certain gels and sports drinks and things like that that have carbohydrates that are a little bit less irritating to the gut so we can try some of those things. Also looking at their diet like throughout the day and figuring out, well, like, I'll give you an example. I had a client one time who was having popcorn for an afternoon snack and, you know, that actually sounds like a healthy snack, but for her, that's too much fiber because she was doing her runs in the evening and having issues. So we cut back on those kinds of things. I've put other clients on what's called a low FODMAP diet if you have any IBS. But basically that's just eliminating certain carbohydrates that are known to cause GI upset. They cause a lot of gas and bloating. And then slowly kind of working some of those back in to see like what the culprit is for sure.

Kerry 21:21

Yeah, that definitely complicates things. If you're bringing in like IBS history and things like that. And I guess the most important thing is really not deviating from your structured routine that you're in, right? You don't want to do anything like you said, which is important and have practiced it, especially if you want to have a good outcome or performance on the race day. Yeah.

Jennifer 21:40

Sure. And just, you know, helping them not be afraid of fueling, but just maybe we have to back up and start with like 15 grams of carbohydrate per hour and then work your way up to 30. Like I've mentioned before, it is a muscle. It can be trained the same way.

Kerry 21:55

Yeah. What do you have any fun client stories or wins that you want to share?

Jennifer 22:02

Oh, I'm trying to think. I do have a client that I worked with last year that was just having a lot of like injuries. And you know, just didn't really understand, like, feeling better and he was also working with a natural doctor, too, that was providing with him with a lot of supplements, but. I know recently he had PR'd, I believe it was a half marathon. So that's pretty cool to see and is, is running a lot better.

Strength training, mobility, and cross-training for runners

Kerry 22:34

Nice. Yeah, I definitely, I think it's such a nice thing to have a goal to set, like the whole personal record idea, the PR, I think is really helpful to, you know, want to beat it every time. And then you get to ring the bell, which is fun. So it's fun that you're helping people kind of get there as well. Do you have any comment on like cross training or resistance training? I know this is like way before leading up to the race day, but. How would you approach like the need of those kind of things? Yeah,

Jennifer 23:05

as a runner in her forties, I would definitely encourage you to do strength training and also not only that, but just mobility training too. With running, it's, it's such a repetitive movement and I, for example, get a lot of hip tightness. And it also like goes into my lower back. So it's important to, you know, to make sure that you are doing some kind of either strength training or mobility and well, probably both in mobility training to make sure that, you're staying strong, that you're staying mobile, that you can continue to run for a long time, you know, and.

Kerry 23:37

think the stretching, if that's what you mean by the mobility training or part of it, right?

Jennifer 23:43

Right, but then also, like, actually doing, like, mobility type exercises, like, I don't know if you're familiar with, like, hip cars, and, and, like, 90 90,

Kerry 23:52

Oh, yeah, I do. I am. But not till you like say the ones I recognize that have names.

Jennifer 23:58

right, right, you know,

Kerry 24:00

9090 is probably my most favorite thing.

Jennifer 24:03

Yeah,

Kerry 24:04

And it the Oh, go ahead.

Jennifer 24:06

I was just going to say, I don't know if it's necessarily my most favorite thing, but it does definitely help. And

Kerry 24:12

having a lot of like hip issues. And ever since I've been doing that one, I probably the last two years, like it has been kind of Gone, if you will. So it's like I have daily stretches that even if I don't hit the legs at all I'm doing like that 90 90 and I don't know the names of things you really know the lunge and holding my hand up and then Also stretching the hamstrings and things like that and those are like my trouble zones from running and I think that really helps So I really haven't had that and even With the 90 90, I do whatever I can to make it more difficult to, like keep the legs straight rather than at 90, and then it's just, you get so much. I get like you said, mobility and looser and I don't have that problem as much, but there's other things that bother me, but that one's doing better. So I highly, highly recommend that like that rest day, you know, the stretching after and, you know, a day of stress, stretching and mobility, I think is super important. Yeah. Hmm.

Jennifer 25:13

And I know that like, it's a common complaint that like, well, if I do strength training, my legs are sore. And, you know, from what I've seen, they typically recommend if you're going to do like a harder, you know, strength training day, like pair that with a harder running workout. So then you can have the next day to recover. Yeah.

Kerry 25:31

Yeah. i, I do enjoy strength training. I think it's also helped with the whole low back thing that you kind of mentioned. It kind of, and especially even core training, right? You want to, you know, build those muscles to support you, especially if you're doing these longer runs. It's really important. Do you have any other advice for, you know, the listeners who might be participating in the distance classic?

Jennifer 25:51

Well, just go out there and have fun and, and, you know, make sure that you've got a plan for your nutrition because, you know, especially like I, I typically I've done the half marathon the last couple of years and you get all the way to the end of Bayshore and it goes, it goes almost right by where I live too, which is kind of cool. But anyway, you turn, you turn around and then you come back and you see like how long it is to get back because, you know, Bayshore is fairly flat. So, you

Kerry 26:19

I was going to say, yeah.

Jennifer 26:21

That's the point where you could start falling apart. So just make sure you've got like a plan for your nutrition so that you can actually feel good and finish

Kerry 26:28

Mm hmm. Yeah.

Jennifer 26:29

you know, not, not you know, so that it's more enjoyable so that you're not suffering all the way back. It

Kerry 26:35

I mean, that's a plus and a minus, right? Because I was gonna say it's a flat race. So you really can get a great PR, especially if you're not from our area and have hills to run on. But like, it is a little bit of a mental game with the long Bayshore road and seeing everything. But you know, the best part is, is like getting out there having fun trying your best, but like realizing, you know, it's It's just a race. You can do it next year or something like that too. If something were to go awry, you know, but it's fun. Great community event. Yeah. Well, so where can our listeners find you if they want to work with you?

Jennifer 27:08

Yeah, so I am on Facebook and Instagram, both under my personal name, Jennifer Patricca, and then also under Optimized Nutrition, LLC. I can also, send you my email address and my contact information as well for that, but those are a couple of places to find me. And then I do also have a website online. It's optimized nutrition. com.

Kerry 27:32

Awesome. Well, yeah, we'll include all that in the show notes and thank you so much for being a guest today and I can't wait for everybody to hear this so they can learn how to properly fuel for the Gasparilla races in the next couple of weeks. Awesome.

Jennifer 27:47

Thank you.

Kerry 27:48

Thank you.