Performance Nutrition: Lessons From Special Ops + Elite Athletes for Everyday People | Jessica Spendlove
Elite athletes and Special Forces do not eat like you do....and the reason you fade in the afternoon is usually something you did that morning.
Jessica Spendlove will tell you exactly what. She will also tell you what to eat when you have 4 minutes and no time to think, whether the supplements you bought are doing anything at all, and why she rarely recommends that a woman fast.
Jessica is a performance dietitian with more than 15 years behind her, a decade of it in elite sport across 7 professional teams, Olympic medallists, world champions and premiership-winning sides, plus 7 years with Special Forces Command.
Jessica has heard every version of "I'm already doing everything right" and she has never met anybody whose nutrition she could not improve. And she is happy to be challenged on that!
Jessica has heard every version of "I'm already doing everything right" and she has never met anybody whose nutrition she could not improve. And she is happy to be challenged on that!
The reason it lands is that she got it wrong herself. Jessica spent years feeding elite athletes while running on adrenaline, cortisol and caffeine, and it took her own data to stop her arguing with herself.
If you have been telling yourself you will sort your nutrition out when things calm down, start here.
00:00 The day we took nutrition off the table
03:44 Seven professional teams at once, running on adrenaline, cortisol and caffeine
06:12 The reply-all email that got her roasted at the Christmas party
11:46 The keynote she nearly pulled out of, and the data that made the call
17:19 The three hour morning window where it all comes apart
20:14 The domino habit has to survive your worst day
31:41 You can't ice bath your way out of chronic sleep debt
39:25 Why she almost never recommends fasting for women
55:25 Same meal, different order, different result
01:04:00 Walking into a room of commandos and getting it wrong
01:14:42 How to work with Jessica Spendlove
00:00 The day we took nutrition off the table
03:44 Seven professional teams at once, running on adrenaline, cortisol and caffeine
06:12 The reply-all email that got her roasted at the Christmas party
11:46 The keynote she nearly pulled out of, and the data that made the call
17:19 The three hour morning window where it all comes apart
20:14 The domino habit has to survive your worst day
31:41 You can't ice bath your way out of chronic sleep debt
39:25 Why she almost never recommends fasting for women
55:25 Same meal, different order, different result
01:04:00 Walking into a room of commandos and getting it wrong
01:14:42 How to work with Jessica Spendlove
Contact Jessica through her website, Linkedin, or Instagram.
Buy Jessica's new book "For The Long Run" here.
-
High performance is not about pushing harder. It is about building the capacity to perform when it matters and sustain it over time.
Hosted by Andrew May, one of Australia’s leading experts in human performance, leadership and mental skills, the Performance Intelligence Podcast explores how leaders, athletes, coaches and researchers think clearly, manage pressure and consistently perform at their best.
Drawing on more than 20 years working with senior executives, elite sporting teams and the Australian Defence Force, Andrew combines candid conversations with evidence-based performance insights and practical strategies you can apply.
Episodes span leadership capacity, performance psychology, mental skills, energy management, strategic recovery, productivity and wellbeing.
Listen to think more clearly, lead more effectively and perform at your best for longer.
Get in touch through:
Our website
Book Andrew
Follow us on Instagram, Linkedin, Facebook
Watch this episode on Youtube
If you enjoy the podcast, we would really appreciate you leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Play. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps us build our audience and continue to provide high quality guests.
