A blog to help you optimize your full-body and life performance

It’s easy to see how InsideTracker can help professional athletes, like Sarah Haskins, who have to keep their bodies in the best condition possible. Even a small change in nutrition can improve performance and turn a good effort into a winning one. But InsideTracker also offers big benefits for everyday athletes. One example is Kathy Taudvin, a multi-sport mom who knows how important it is to stay healthy for herself and for her family.

World-class distance runner Ruben Sanca does not know the meaning of “slow down.” The Cape Verde native starred on the UMass Lowell track and field team where he became an NCAA Division 2 All American and won the 2009 NCAA Northeast Track Athlete of the Year award. In 2010, he placed 9th at the US 5K Road Championships, and in 2011 he represented Cape Verde in the marathon at the World Championships in South Korea.

Professional triathlete Sarah Haskins has certainly been busy these past few years! She competed in her first triathlon shortly after graduating from the University of Tulsa in 2003, and has been going the distance ever since. Haskins, a St. Louis native, competed in the triathlon at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and is the 2011 Pan American Games Gold medalist. Despite her grueling schedule of swimming, hiking, and biking, she knows proper nutrition is key to optimal physical performance. Check out what Sarah has to say about InsideTracker and the ways in which healthy eating impacts her results.

When I talk with athletes, they always wonder how fast I can go and how many watts I push. I get a lot of questions about power meters and GPS devices. But those are just tools to measure outcomes of a few factors; good training, good equipment and good body chemistry.

As a public health and nutrition graduate student, I didn’t think I had much to worry about when I went to have my blood drawn for my personalized InsideTracker analysis. Given my education and resources, having nutrient deficiencies would be not only a surprise, but a bit of an embarrassment. I believe in walking the walk in addition to talking the talk and try to set an example with my diet and exercise regimen. I cook the majority of my own meals, which generally consist of whole grains, vegetables, fish, bean or soy-based proteins and occasionally lean poultry. I typically snack on fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, granola, or yogurt.  Now of course, I sometimes stray from my dietary staples when dining out to celebrate birthdays or promotions, during holiday parties, and for the occasional ‘just because’ dinner with friends. You only live once, right? But I stick to a plant-based, whole foods diet for the majority of my meals. Click here to learn how InsideTracker can recommend personalized diet and exercise plans that will fit your unique physical needs!

I would not consider myself your typical graduate student.  I am a 22-year-old who recently relocated from North Carolina to Boston to study nutrition at Tufts University.  I run marathons, work out every day, give blood regularly, and am a picky, but healthy eater.  I will not lie and say I do not enjoy my victory pizza or a pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream after a successful marathon because I do, but when I follow a strict daily food routine, I consider that my reward.