TriDot Podcast .136

Make the Most of Mealtimes with Nutrient-DenseFoods

Intro: This is the TriDot podcast. TriDot uses your training data and geneticprofile, combined with predictive analytics and artificial intelligence tooptimize your training, giving you better results in less time with fewerinjuries. Our podcast is here to educate, inspire, and entertain. We’ll talkall things triathlon with expert coaches and special guests. Join theconversation and let’s improve together.

AndrewHarley: Welcome to the show! It’s a food episode today so this should be anabsolute crowd pleaser. We have two nutritionally knowledgeable guests joiningus today to talk about getting the most out of the calories that we eat andwe’ll be calling out some foods by name all throughout the show so maybe don’tlisten to this one on an empty stomach—or do. It’s up to you. Our key guide forthis talk is our resident nutritional expert, Dr. Krista Austin. Krista is anexercise physiologist and nutritionalist who consulted with the US OlympicCommittee and the English Institute of Sport. She has a Ph.D. in exercisephysiology and sports nutrition, a Master’s degree in exercise physiology andis a certified strength and conditioning specialist. Krista, how’s it goingtoday?

Dr. KristaAustin: Pretty good. How are you?

Andrew: I amgood.

Dr.Austin: Ready to get this one going?

Andrew: You know,I was telling you right before we started hitting record, it’s been too longsince we had you on the show and I was like, “I’ve got to get Dr. Austin on.”People love her episodes. Also joining us for this conversation is protriathlete and coach, Elizabeth James. Elizabeth is a USAT level II and IronmanU certified coach who quickly rose through the triathlon ranks using TriDot.From a beginner to top age-grouper to a professional triathlete. She is a Konaand Boston Marathon qualifier who has coached triathletes with TriDot since2014. Elizabeth, how are you today?

ElizabethJames: I am doing really well. You know, just finished a good brick workout andtook your advice and will not be doing this one on an empty stomach. So I had agreat lunch so that I wouldn’t be having my stomach growl into the microphoneas we recorded here today.

Andrew: Yep, weall appreciate that. I’m sure we could have heard it picked up on thatmicrophone. I’m Andrew the Average Triathlete, Voice of the People and Captainof the Middle of the Pack. As always, we’ll roll through our warm-up question,settle in for our main set foodie conversation and then wind things down withour cool down.

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Warm up theme: Time to warm up! Let’s get moving.

Andrew: Somefolks have a natural green thumb and are great at gardening and growing produceof all sorts and some folks are great at accidentally killing plants and nevergrowing a viable morsel of food for themselves. Regardless of which camp youfall into and I’m in the latter camp by the way, if you could grow any naturalfood in your own yard so that you could walk outside, pick that food item andenjoy the fruits of your labor, what food would you most want to be able togrow and enjoy? Coach Elizabeth, what are you picking here?

Elizabeth: Well,first of all I’m glad that you clarified that you know, this is thehypothetical that you don’t actually have to grow it because I would also fallinto that second camp of people that seem to kill every plant that they have.We have a ton of plants in our house, but they’re all fake. So I love havingthat fresh look and plants and flowers, but yeah. None of them are real becauseI can’t seem to keep them alive. But, if I could keep something alive I wouldabsolutely grow avocados and honestly this is more like a financial thing thananything. Those suckers are expensive. I mean, I love avocados and Andrew Iknow you don’t, but I do and we buy some every single week and oh my gosh, Ithink that just being able to grow avocados would not only be delicious, but it would probably save me alot of money.

Andrew: Yep,you’re absolutely right about that. Dr. Austin, what food would you want togrow and be able to eat all on your own?

Dr. Austin: Oh, itfor sure is strawberries. I mean, I just love strawberries.

Andrew: Okay.

Dr.Austin: They are also not the cheapest, but kind of like you guys, I have tobuy them at the grocery store because I’m just not home enough to keep a gardenand fresh fruits and vegetables growing. So kind of looking at my schedule hererecently, I’ve been gone for the last three weeks in essence, like here a dayand a half so I can only imagine if I tried to grow my own what that might looklike.

Andrew: Sure.

Dr.Austin: Probably would die out is what I would imagine. So I think strawberriesfor sure though. I just have had so many good strawberries.

Andrew: My choicehere, growing up where I grew up there’s a ton of orange trees and orangegroves in the central Florida area and my grandparents just as retirees when Iwas growing up as a kid they had a ton of orange trees, some tangerine trees,some pineapple and banana trees. They just grew all sorts of citrus in theiryard and so I just have super fond memories of growing up and we’d go to mygransparent’s house to swim and hang out and cook out and my grandma wouldalways have homemade orange juice. Homemade Florida orange juice with theoranges picked fresh off the tree in the backyard and there’s just nothing likeit. Just that freshness and I’m sure she added way too much sugar, but that’smy pick is oranges just because I grew up loving them. I grew up having justhome grown ones in the house and the store bought orange juice just isn’t quitethe same. So that would be my pick here. But guys, we’re going to throw thisquestion out to you as we always do. I know we have three great picks here. Iknow there’s going to be probably some different options and opinions out thereso make sure you are a part of the I AM TriDot Facebook group and go find thepost the day this episode comes out asking you. If you just had a green thumblike that and could grow your own food, what one food item would you want togrow and be able to enjoy straight from your own yard?

Main set theme: On to the main set. Going in 3…2…1…

 

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Andrew: We all need a certain amountof calories to fuel our day-to-day lives and there are a tremendous amount offoods that we can consume to get those calories, but not all calories arecreated equal. I love a hot salted pretzel and I love a hot brown sugared sweetpotato. Both are carbs, but one is far more nutritious than the other. Here tohelp us get more nutrient-packed foods into our diet is Dr. Krista Austin andpro triathlete Elizabeth James. So Krista, Elizabeth, there are two parts tothis main set. I’ve got a few questions to rip through about nutrients and foodand when those are done and dusted we’ll move on to the tasty part. I’ve askedeach of you to come prepared to share six nutrient-rich foods that you workinto your diet on a steady basis. So we’ll walk away today hearing a full dozentangible examples of things we can target on that next grocery store run. So tokind of get our questions rolling today, Dr. Austin, what makes certain foodsmore nutrient rich than others?

 

Dr. Austin: Well I guess you have to sitback and say, “What do you mean by nutrient rich?” Because no one food– andthis is kind of the tricky part about doing nutrition right– is going to giveyou that end all, be all. So typically the reason we have all these macros andmacros with different levels of micronutrients is because we need a widevariety of them to actually create the nutrient-rich diet that we need. Sotypically if we take a look at the foods, the more natural they are, the morethey come from the ground in terms of fruits and vegetables, we’re going to getmore nutrients out of them. But at the end of the day they just all have theirown unique contribution really to the diet. So I don’t really look at them asbeing more nutrient rich than others per se, because they all have caloriedensity, they all have something they bring to the table, but I say how do youmix them when it really is food in it’s raw form and not something that we’vebought processed from the store and what you find is that in it’s raw form allyour foods are really bringing something to the table. I think we get caught upa little bit when we do our analysis on what we eat in terms of the processedfoods that we’re eating and that’s where the nutrients typically are missing.

 

Andrew: Okay.

 

Dr. Austin: So I think you have to lookat it and say, okay look. Everything is bringing something to the table whetherit’s oatmeal or a kiwi or salmon. It’s just do I have the right balance becausethey’re not all going to bring something that’s equivocal to be honest and theyall have different levels of calories. But we need vitamin K. We need omega3’s. We need fiber. So we have to mix and match appropriately and then you getthe nutrient-rich diet that you’re supposed to have.

 

Andrew: Dr. Austin, I’ve heard it said before that youshould have– that you should strive to have a colorful plate because a lot oftimes the foods that have color– carrots that are orange and kale that is greenand bananas that are yellow. A lot of times if you have a plate that is justone color you’re not getting variety. Is there any truth to that or is thatkind of a myth?

 

Dr. Austin: No, that’s absolutely true.

 

Andrew: Okay.

 

Dr. Austin: So if you can color yourplate and enjoy doing it with things that are not processed by the way, thenyou’re going to have a nutrient-packed diet. It’s just making sure that theprocessed aspect isn’t there because it actually oftentimes takes things out ofit. So I think you’ve just got to keep in mind the more processed it is theless nutrients you may be receiving more than likely.

 

Andrew: Dr. Austin, when you work with an athlete andyou’re looking at the foods they’re consuming regularly in their diet, what areyou looking for just from a nutrient perspective?

 

Dr. Austin: How much nutrients in termsof the micros and the appropriate type of macros are they getting from theactual calories they’re consuming. So some people will consume the caloriesthey need, but the actual nutrients in it are relatively low mainly becausethey’re not accounting for the fact maybe that they’re having soy milk versusdairy and they then need to have oatmeal with that soy milk and incorporate alittle bit more protein powder or something to give them the micronutrientavailability of an actual dairy product. If we’re not able to meet therecommended daily allowance for a micro or macro nutrient or even really 150%of that because athletes do need more because they train, then we start todelve into if not, why not and how are we going to work to fulfill those needs?One of the ways to do this is through just manipulating the grams ofcarbohydrate, fat, and protein initially just because typically the quality ofthose sources are the reason why an athlete maybe is not doing as well as theythought.

 

Andrew: Okay.

 

Dr. Austin: So the question is where didyou obtain the macros from and what can we start to play a little bit of asubstitute game with? So that’s where with a lot of athletes they say, “Oh, Ithought I was eating a lot. I’m meeting all my calories. Why are some of thebars in your nutrient analysis showing that I’m only at like 50%?” Well, maybeit’s because even if you are let's say eating a vegetarian or even a vegannutrition plan, if you buy protein fortified waffles or even protein fortifiedalmond milk, you might not be getting the amino acid profile that we reallywant you to. So we’ve got to look then and start to manipulate that just alittle bit so that we do have you getting that profile.

 

Andrew: Okay. So Elizabeth, I knowthat you are incredibly mindful of what you consume at each meal. When you’regrocery shopping or you’re planning your meals for the week, how do you setyourself up with nutritious food and not empty calories?

 

Elizabeth: Yeah, great question here. Ithink there’s a couple different parts to this. So I mean in terms of groceryshopping, I’m sure our listeners have heard the recommendation before to shopmostly the exterior aisles of the grocery store and that’s a really greatstarting place. Just as Dr. Austin was saying earlier that the more natural thefoods are then you’re really going to be able to have foods that have greatnutrients. That you’re going to stay away from those that are processed andmight be taking a lot of that nutritional value out of a food that went intothat product. So yeah, I’ll basically grab my cart and shop the exterior of thestore and I’m picking up fresh produce, meat, stop by the dairy products. Youknow, I’ll occasionally stroll to the middle of the store for some bread, somenut butter. You know, I’m not excluding the middle of the store completely, butI would say the majority of all of my grocery shopping comes from those freshitems. Then in terms of planning what my grocery list is going to be andplanning my meals, I have found some weekly menus that work really well for meand I typically just recycle those. So I have a lot of variety within thatweek, but then I might have four weeks that I go through every single month. SoJanuary week one is also February week one which is also March week one. Thenthat makes it really easy for me because the grocery lists for those weeks hasalready been made. They’re foods that I like. They’re ones that work reallywell for me and then I still get some good variety and a lot of differentnutrients with the variety that I have in that week per se. Now the menus thatI have that I make do vary throughout the year. I mean, I’ll say I do like tobe mindful of what I’m eating, but I’m not as dialed in November, December withholidays and travel.

 

Andrew: Sure, yeah.

 

Elizabeth: I definitely allow thatflexibility in the off season. Now race season, everything is much more dialedin and I stick to meals that are all planned out and I will take the time tosit down and plan what the macros are going to be and how many calories I’mplanning to consume based on the workouts that I’m doing. So for example,yesterday I had a recovery day and my total carbohydrate intake was like 40% ofmy calories, but tomorrow I have a long brick workout so my planned workoutnutrition and the meals that I’m going to be taking in that’s going to be like70% carbohydrates. So when I’m planning my meals I’m planning not only whatfoods, but what type of fuel I need for the training day based on where I am inthe season and kind of my goals for that time to. So there’s a lot that goesinto it, but once you kind of find what works well for you, then I thinkthere’s a lot that can be recycled from that.

 

Andrew: Now, Dr. Austin, there are some things thatseem obvious. Like it seems obvious that broccoli is nutritious and a Twinkieis not. It’s not always that clear on the surface when we’re grocery shoppingor we’re planning our meals or we’re looking for that variety. So whatstrategies do you have for distinguishing the nutritional value of anindividual food item?

 

Dr. Austin: So the approach I kind ofuse or get people to use is what is the origin of where that food came from andhow many steps did it have to take to get into that state? This is where if youwent around the grocery store like Elizabeth does and stick to the outside,what you’ll find is if you start in the produce section, you’re going to getthe foods that come in usually it’s most natural origin because there you’regoing to have your raw fruits and vegetables. You’re not going to have them putinto a can all of a sudden, right? Because there you’re going to get the mostnutrition where as some people say “Well, aren’t canned vegetables suitable orfrozen vegetables?” And the answer is well, yeah it’s better than nothing, butat the same time you’re still loosing some of the nutrients in the processinglineup that…

 

Andrew: Yeah.

 

Dr. Austin: …you know, as you go from araw vegetable into a canned or a frozen vegetable. Things are happening to thatfood item that takes away. It’s kind of like blanching vegetables. They say,“Well, doesn’t that take all the nutrients out?” Yeah it does. So if we reallywant to get everything from our broccoli and our cauliflower, we sit there withhummus and just eat it raw. So that’s where sometimes people have to do thatand really appreciate that the raw foods that we have is always in our best interest.It’s kind of like then if you keep going through the store, you go to the meatsection and you see the fresh laid meats. They’ve had nothing done to them.Well that same chicken you can go find in a package in the grocery store aisle,right? Or you can find it frozen and it’s going to have things done to it thatwill take away some of the quality. It’s not that it’s horrible, but you wantto try as much as possible to get to the actual origin. So that’s where buyingin bulk–

 

Andrew: No, that’s fascinating.

 

Dr. Austin: Yeah, just buying in bulksometimes, right? Things like lentils and quinoa and couscous and you’re buyingpotatoes and it’s just, look I’ve got to cook at home maybe with some olive oiland salt and pepper, right, or a little bit of seasoning. You’re going to getyour best, most nutrient-rich foods at that point in time. So that’s what I tryto encourage people to do. It’s kind of like if you take a look at even dairyproducts, there’s a big difference between buying dairy products at the grocerystore and then going to an actual farm and buying them. So you have to alwaysgo back to how close can you get and it’s just some people will say, “Look, Ican never get that close. It’s too expensive Krista. I have to go downdifferent roads.” So we always understand that, but if we want to get as manynutrients as possible, we want to go in the most raw form and cook itourselves. It’s kind of like going from cauliflower to frozen cauliflower rice,right?

 

Andrew: Yeah.

 

Dr. Austin: You can kind of assume thatthe cauliflower just in and of itself is going to be more nutritious.

 

Andrew: Anecdotally, it feels like the healthier foods–the fresh fruit, the produce, the fresh meats and grains, the things Elizabethyou’re talking about that you’re buying on the outside of the grocery aisles.It feels like all those things have a shorter pantry life than my box ofCheez-Its that I like to keep in the pantry. So my wife and I, we grocery shopearly Sunday morning and it just kind of helps us ensure that the fresh,healthy stuff stays stocked for that week. Kind of before we found that rhythm,we had a hard time keeping those fresh ingredients in the fridge and to thisday if we get busy and all of a sudden that Sunday morning grocery run doesn’thappen on a particularly busy weekend, it gets really hard to keep that stuffin the fridge because it seems like it can go bad so quickly if you don’t eatit in the first couple days you have it. So what tips do both of you have–andElizabeth we’ll start with you and then go to Dr. Austin. What tips do you havefor keeping those nutritious foods stocked in the house?

 

Elizabeth: This is certainly somethingthat, I mean yes, fresh is always better, but as Dr. Austin was saying frozenor canned fruits, vegetables, chicken, it’s probably better than an alternativethat you would choose.

 

Andrew: Sure.

 

Elizabeth: I have, I mean, plenty ofcanned vegetables, frozen chicken, kind of some of those staples in anon-perishable format. So like if I have pineapple on my menu that I’m going tohave for breakfast before I go swim and the fresh pineapple has gone bad in thefridge, I mean obviously I’m not going to have moldy pineapple so I’ll grab thecanned pineapple from the pantry. So I mean, little accommodations like thatcan work to make sure that you have that plan B so it’s not all of a sudden an“Oh well, I don’t have any pineapple so I’m going to stop for a doughnut on myway to the pool instead.” You have a still good alternative and sure it may notbe as nutritious as the fresh pineapple that you were planning, but it’s betterthan picking up a doughnut on the way to the pool too.

 

Andrew: Yep. I do that myself with vegetables. I’m abig fan of just steamed broccoli and cauliflower and so I keep those kind ofbirds eye, like microwaveable, steamable.

 

Elizabeth: Oh yeah. Same.

 

Andrew: Throw it in the microwave for 4-½ seconds. It’sjust frozen broccoli and cauliflower. I sprinkle some salt and pepper on thereand boom.

 

Elizabeth: Good to go.

 

Andrew: Add that to a peanut butter sandwich for lunchand nice serving of vegetables. I can eat the whole bag by myself. My wifethinks it smells like farts, but that’s okay. It’s food. It’s veggies. But Ihaven’t considered doing that with fruits and maybe some other types of healthyfoods. Dr. Austin, what are some strategies that you give athletes for kind ofkeeping those healthy options stocked in our house?

 

Dr. Austin: Yeah, I think what I try todo is think about the healthy options that can stay stocked and not necessarilygo bad within the week and typically it’s within the week kind of strategy.Then I’ll also do things like if I am a big fan of the pineapple and I get thatgoing, I won’t cut the pineapple up let’s say until I finish my mangoes andkiwis, right? So kind of sometimes just strategizing as to when you actuallycut into that fresh pineapple. I know it’s tempting to buy the precut pineappleat the store, but if you can actually buy the fruit and purchase it without itbeing cut up you can usually have something last a bit longer. So like I’ll doa cantaloupe and a pineapple, a couple mangoes and some kiwis, but then I’llstock up on things like apples, oranges, and bananas that are a lot easier forus to control and look at things like nuts and hummus and avocados. Again, it’skind of difficult for those things to go bad.

 

Andrew: Yeah.

 

Dr. Austin: Buying things in bulk likelentils, couscous, potatoes, quinoa you can do that. Even with your meats,typically if it’s just one week at a time, you can get enough and kind of putthree days down in the fridge, freeze it for a little bit and then pull it backout. So you might have to compromise there, but overall it’s doable if you cantime it in the right way. Or if it’s just, hey, I’ve got to run in and buy somefresh meats or some fresh salmon. It’s a lot easier to zip in and out of thestore if it’s just like a one off item.

 

Andrew: Sure.

 

Dr. Austin: So those are little ways tojust kind of control it. Because really if you take items like bell peppers andasparagus and even broccoli and cauliflower, they really aren’t going to go badwithin the week if you don’t cut into them and if you buy them kind of a littlebit more firm and just not quite so ready to rock. I would just say thattypically they get to a point where they’re so ripe that then you’ve got to usethem, right? So typically we can time it well enough, but if you buy them just inthe right state and the asparagus isn’t already starting to wilt a little bit,the tips, then you can get it to last so you can put that vegetable at the backend of the week. So sometimes it’s just strategy in terms of when you buy it,how long does it really have in your week, and use the ones that you’ve got touse at the front of the week because just what was available at the store andsaid, “Okay, I’ve got to make this one the priority at the start of the week.”Then put the ones that are kind of getting prepared to be ready to eat with alittle bit more room temperature or what have you, leave those for the back endof the week.

 

Elizabeth: That makes, yeah, exactsense. Like in the James household, we buy two bunches of bananas every weekbecause we go through bananas, I mean, like nothing else. One of them we buy ayellow bunch of bananas and we buy a green bunch of bananas so we’ve got thosefor the later half of the week before we go shopping again. So, yep. It totallywas making sense with what you said.

 

Andrew: So Elizabeth, what I’m hearing you say is thatthe James household is bananas.

 

Elizabeth: That is accurate as well.Yes.

 

Andrew: Yeah. Terrible joke. So I’vegot to keep it real. I’ve got to be honest and come clean and I’m sure some ofour athletes in the audience will relate to me here. But I know that when 4p.m. rolls around, my lunch is wearing off and I’m reaching for that 4 p.m.snack. There’s options in my pantry. There’s that bag of pretzels that I enjoyor there’s Cheez-Its, those crunchy salty snacks and those probably aren’t asnutritious as the greek yogurt and granola I could have instead. So most daysI’ll grab the nutritious snack and maybe a good cheese and some nuts or maybeit’s a greek yogurt and some granola. But there will absolutely be those dayswhere I opt for the bag of pretzels or the chips or the indulgent snack that Ijust want to have that particular day. There will absolutely be those dayswhere I do that. So Dr. Austin, when it comes to indulging on emptier calories,how much is permissible and how much is too much or too often?

 

Dr. Austin: Yeah, so too much really is aflexible term I guess you could say. So too much for me, the way I define itfor my clients, is when our need for meeting our key micros and macros over theactual calories we need for the day is overridden by kind of the not-so-healthyitems, right?

 

Andrew: Okay.

 

Dr. Austin: So obviously then you’ve hadtoo much of the emptier calories. So you can only envision that that’s going tovary for especially a long course triathlete because they’re going to havelower caloric intake some days and much higher caloric intakes on other days.So typically what I say is if you’re going to consume the empty calories, wecan take a variety of approaches, but for most triathletes the most common oneis when they have their greatest training load or volume on a certain day.That’s when you’re going to see the emptier calories and they get to have alittle bit more fun with those. However, I have other clients that are like,“Look, I do a lot better if I just have a little bit of empty calories each dayand control it.”

 

Andrew: Sure.

 

Dr. Austin: So there’s a coupledifferent ways. Probably even more than that to control how you consume those,but some people just need 100 to 200 calories of what we like to call emptycalories every day and it helps them with their nutrition overall because theyjust satisfy a sweet tooth or something that they feel like they need. So wetry to be flexible with it, but if we’re going too far over with the emptycalories when we need certain micros and macros, that’s when we’ve kind of gotto question it.

 

Andrew: I gotcha. That totally makessense. What I’ve always done and just anecdotally has worked for me and my wifein our household is kind of the motto is “If you don’t buy it you can’t eatit.” It’s very rare like when we go visit my family in Florida, my sister haskids, there’s grandkids in the house for my parents and so there’s always allsorts of different snacks and if it’s there chances are I’m going to talkmyself into reaching for that chocolate chip cookie or those chips. But in ourown personal house, if we don’t buy that kind of stuff then we can’t eat it. Sowhen we make that Sunday grocery store run, we might let ourselves get onetreat for that week. We might get some lightly salted pita chips or a bag ofpretzels or a box of Cheez-Its and I’m not going to buy three or four thingslike that. I’m only going to buy one thing like that and so I can’t reach fordifferent things multiple times per day. You know, it’s just a handful ofCheez-Its here or a handful of pretzels there and I don’t have a plethora ofoptions like that in the house at any given time. Now, that’s easy for us. Wedon’t have kids. If you have kids and you have just snacky stuff in the housefor them maybe that gets harder but that’s something that has worked for me andmy wife in our household.

 

Elizabeth: And you just made all thelisteners happy by bringing Cheez-Its up again. They’re like, “Aww! There itis. Andrew and his Cheez-Its.”

 

Andrew: Got to. On a normal training day, I kind ofhave a rhythm, right, for how big my meals are, how I time them, andnutritionally what I’m putting in them. Elizabeth, where I’m most likely to gooff script and have those Cheez-Its, they’re the heavier training days whereI’m burning more calories, I’m hungry and I feel like I’ve earned the right tosplurge and have maybe some emptier calories. So Elizabeth, you have more bigtraining days on your calendar than I do on mine. How do you handle kind of keepingit nutritious no matter what the workload of the day brings?

 

Elizabeth: Well, a couple things hereas well and I think what Dr. Austin said kind of needs to be reiterated that onsome of those bigger training days you might have a little more flexibility andyou may be able to incorporate a snack there that isn’t going to provide asmany nutrients. But really for me it comes down to planning ahead and knowingkind of what my needs are for the day in terms of how many calories I reallyneed to replace from the workouts, what I’m looking for in terms of my meals tonot only make sure that I’m recovering from that day, but also setting myselfup for success for the next training day as well. At the beginning of thisepisode I was talking about, yep, just got done with a brick workout, had agood lunch. You know, making sure that was a calorie-dense meal because I hadjust gotten done with a swim, bike, run session. So I have burned quite a fewcalories, really needing to make sure that I fueled my body up well becausetomorrow is a really big training day for me too. I think one of the big thingshere for me is really thinking of food as the fuel and a lot of times there isa big emotional attachment to it that we do feel like oh, we’ve earned it andit’s a social thing. Maybe after that big workout where I’m going to go out forburgers with friends and not to say that that’s bad, but I think that a lot oftriathletes go overboard with their post workout meals thinking that they’veearned that you know?

 

Andrew: Sure.

 

Elizabeth: They’re like, “Oh, well I’vegot to replace all these calories because I was just on the bike for fourhours.” So they order the burger and the large fries and the milkshake and Imean, don’t get me wrong. I love burger, fries, milkshake. I’ve talked about itbefore. That is my post race go-to celebratory meal. Get me a big burger and achocolate milkshake. I’m all for it, but that post workout fueling can beexaggerated and overdone and when your body is done with a tough workout likethat it’s craving key nutrients. So it's important to refuel, but it’simportant to make sure that there is quality in that as well, especially ifyou're training again later in the day or the next day. I mean, I’m likely tosplurge on that burger and milkshake after a race because I’m not going to havea quality session for the next few days. I’m not worried about training laterin the evening. I’m not worried about a key session the next morning. But youknow, if I’m getting done with a big brick workout and I’ve got a long run thenext day, I’m going to pay a whole lot more attention to the quality of thefood and how I’m replacing the calories that I’ve burned in that session. Oneof the things that I encourage my athletes to do is to really keep a log of howthey’re fueling during the workout and then how they’re feeling later in theday, how they feel on the session the next day as well and if you’re absolutelystarving after your workout, maybe we need to look at putting some morecalories into the workout fueling.  

 

Andrew: Yeah, great point.

 

Elizabeth: If you are feeling hungryand you had a meal and not feeling yucky full the next day still, then maybewe’re closer to being on point. So I really encourage them to make notes of notonly how the session went, but how they fueled, what they did for fuelingafter, how they felt later, how they felt on their session the next day, andthat can give you a lot of information right there.

 

Andrew: I imagine hearing that just makes Dr. Austin’sheart happy because she knows the value in that as well. I’m going to take thisopportunity Elizabeth. I’ve never given my burger rant on the podcast before.So I’m going to splurge 60 seconds here and take 60 seconds to rant about myopinion on going out for burgers. I love burgers. The burger run is kind of astaple in the American experience and diet. My wife is a Texan so she lovesWhataburger and so every now and then on Thursday night if we don’t feel likecooking, it’s “what if we go to Whataburger?” I personally am a Five Guys guymyself. Five Guys is kind of my fast food burger of choice personally. But myproblem with burger night, when you choose to make that call and go get just a–I mean, burger is protein. There’s some nutrients in there. The burger isn’tinherently the worst thing for you. It’s served on a bun which gives you somecarbs, but what kills me at burger joints is all of your side options areeither just fries exclusively, or they’ll have like fried onion rings and friedsides. So like, you can’t pair even a healthy vegetable or a healthy side withyour burger experience. So literally my wife has heard me rant about this somany times. Like, I will microwave a bag of vegetables like we talked about orI will like have a serving of carrots from the fridge before we make thatWhataburger run to get that burger that we’re craving and that way I feel likeI’ve had a nice, healthy vegetable side. But what gets me on the burger run isn’tthat the burger is the problem. It’s often just the fact that the sides you’repairing with it nutritionally aren’t really doing anything for you. That’s myrant. I don’t know how you guys feel about that, but my wife has rolled hereyes as I’ve delivered that rant many, many times to friends and family. That’sall I have to say there. Do you guys have a favorite burger of choice if you’regoing to go out for a burger run? Is it In N Out for you Dr. Austin?

 

Dr. Austin: No. I’m not an In N Outperson. Like In N Out, Whataburger–

 

Andrew: Okay.

 

Dr. Austin: I’m not really– You know,I’d rather grill a burger at home. So I’m kind of picky I guess on an item likethat, but I’m not picky like on– Well, I guess I am picky. Let’s say if we’regoing to go out I might go get pizza, but I want New York style pizza and Idon’t want any other style because, New York style pizza just always tastes thebest.

 

Andrew: Sure.

 

Dr. Austin: So I guess I’m a littlepickier than most, but definitely understand the love of a burger. It’s justI’ve got to have mine taste a certain way.

 

Andrew: So let’s get– I’ve gotten through all of mynutrition questions. I hope we’ve all learned a lot here. You know, we havemore knowledge than we did at the start of the episode just on what to look forin our foods. So let’s move on to more of the tasty part. Not the burger tastypart, but the healthy tasty part. So we’re going to slide into Krista andElizabeth’s favorite nutrient-rich foods. So we’ll kind of oscillate back andforth between the two of you and kind of hear a dozen just recommendations herefrom nutrient-rich foods we can work into our diets. So Dr. Austin, what is thefirst nutrient-rich food that you want to recommend?

 

Dr. Austin: So I guess I don’t reallyhave a priority. What I tend to do is work with people, right? So that’s kindof my job and I go through and present them with items that are not a no-go ontheir list and I always tell people what are foods that just absolutely willnot eat and then give me that list. Most of the times I’m just trying to getpeople to start to gravitate to nutrient-rich foods that they actually have aninterest in. So a lot of times little things like grabbing some walnuts andpecans or getting them to eat vegetables that they like the most. So like forme a good example is I like asparagus much more than spinach or broccoli eventhough we know the micro nutrients of spinach and broccoli are slightly betterthan asparagus. So I think it’s always about trying to find what people willgravitate to for me. So that’s how I tend to go about it.

 

Andrew: Okay, yeah. That’s a great way for us to allthink about it. Don’t make yourself go out of your way to force something intoyour diet that you’re just not going to actually put on your plate and eat.Make sure it’s things that you do like and try some things and branch out andsee what you like. Elizabeth for you what is item #1?

 

Elizabeth: Yeah, well I mean nowfollowing up with Dr. Austin’s answer, that was a great way to start. Like, heylet’s think about what people will actually eat and here I am, I’m going to sayavocados and I know that even though I’ll give that recommendation I’m just notgoing to convince Andrew that he needs to go buy these on his next grocerystore run.

 

Andrew: Yeah.

 

Elizabeth: But no. I mean there’s areason that I said I wanted to grow avocados. Like, these are a great food andsomething that I incorporate frequently. I mean, they’re rich in that hearthealthy fat. They contain a little protein, potassium, magnesium, vitamin B, E,K. I mean, these are the good fats that help your body absorb all of thosevitamins. I love avocado toast. I love putting avocado on eggs. I’ll putavocado in salad. I’ll even blend it up a little bit sometimes in smoothies. Solike I said, this is something that’s frequently on my grocery list. Wish Icould grow it and save the money, but that would be my top, #1 recommendationin terms of a good one to incorporate.

 

Andrew: Alright. On to each of your item #2. Dr.Austin, what are you going to tell us here?

 

Dr. Austin: Typically I try to getpeople to eat fish when I’m working with them. I can’t tell you how many timesI work with someone and they just don’t go anywhere near fish.

 

Andrew: Yeah.

 

Dr. Austin: And if they go near fishthen they’re like, “Oh, I’ll have salmon.” and I’m like, “Okay, salmon and whatelse can we try that’s fish?” So there’s a lot of other healthy fish especiallyfish like cod that's high in protein and it’s really low in like saturated fatand what have you. It’s not overly calorically dense. So try to do things likethat to increase the quality of protein they have in their diet. I try to goafter things like that. So that to me is the approach.

 

Andrew: That speaks to me. I like fish quite a bit andmy wife and I on a weekly basis, I mean we almost have a salmon night everysingle week. I throw it on the Traeger and put some seasoning on it and theycome out nice and smoked, but it’s usually salmon. So to your point, it wouldprobably be good for us to vary that a little bit. You mentioned cod. Are thereany other fish that are kind of your top recommendations for us to branch outto for trying to get away from just salmon every single time?

 

Dr. Austin: You know, ones like trout ortuna steak.

 

Andrew: Okay.

 

Dr. Austin: Mostpeople are not big fansof fatty fish like a sardine or mackerel even so I try to promote the cod andthe trout. But you know typically the lighter, the flakier, the more likelypeople are to eat it. There’s nothing wrong with like halibut or mahi mahi, butthey’re just not as rich in something as like omega 3 fatty acids. So I try togo down the cod road as the second one to have them try, then trout, then tunasteak just because of how lean the cod and the tuna steak are. It really kindof just helps the protein content.

 

Andrew: Okay. Very good. Very helpful. Great tipsthere. Elizabeth, what is #2 for you?

 

Elizabeth: So for #2 I kind of putbeans and lentils together and there’s kind of a personal reason for this too.I actually have very, very high cholesterol and this is a mostly genetic thing,but I mean beans and lentils are great for me to incorporate as I’m alwayslooking to kind of naturally keep my cholesterol a little bit lower. They’regreat for the protein intake without that additional fat content. I mean, alsohigh in fiber, rich in zinc. Great for keeping your immune system healthy whichI mean gosh, as athletes we want to stay healthy. We don’t want to get sick. Wedon’t want to miss our training and so that’s kind of a key thing for me and arecommendation I would make.

 

Andrew: I love lentil soup like so much. I’m a big fanof lentils and soup and actually Corner Bakery which is a soup and sandwichplace we have here in Texas. I don’t know if it's a nation-wide chain or not orif other states have it, but we have them all over the Dallas-Fort WorthMetroplex. They had just the best lentil soup and I went in one time– this isyears ago now– I went in and I went to order my lentil soup and salad and theywere like, “Oh, we don’t have that soup anymore.” They pulled my lentil soupoff the menu and I’m a grudge holder so I have never gone back to Corner Bakerysince they burned me on removing my lentil soup from the menu. Anyway, I’m justfull of rants today when it comes to food. But yes, love lentils. Greatrecommendation there Elizabeth. Dr. Austin, let’s move on to #3, work our waydown the list. We’re all getting some great food ideas here. What do you havefor us next?

 

Dr. Austin: Next I recommend ones likefruits like mangoes and kiwis and really they’re filled with vitamin C muchlike a lot of the ones we tend to gravitate towards, but they also have thingslike vitamin K and vitamin A and they’ve got the fiber content that we want. Sosometimes it’s just about getting people to create variety and enjoy thedifferences in taste that these fruits can bring. So I like to try and expandpeople’s horizons, shall we say, at times. So mangoes and kiwis are some of myfavorites and they create more color too.

 

Andrew: Yeah. Yep. We talked about that. They sell inour grocery store, they have almost like you buy the Halos where they’re reallylittle and peelable. They have kiwis that are the same way and I love them.They’re a fantastic kind of change of pace. We don’t buy them every time. Webuy them sometimes just as a nice change up. So I’m fully on board with thatrecommendation. Elizabeth, what is your recommendation #3?

 

Elizabeth: Well, kind of sticking withthe fruits here, but I’m going to back a little more mainstream to our berries.So I mean, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, all of that.Nutritious and just absolutely what I would consider delicious. I’ve talkedbefore about how much of a sweet tooth I have and for me, berries are kind ofone of those foods that help me in that craving and so if I’ve got a sweettooth I can kind of maybe curb it a little bit with some strawberries or someblueberries and some greek yogurt. I mean, as Dr. Austin said they are great interms of the vitamin C content, fiber. They get kind of those super powers fromthose pigments that they have. So as we talked about coloring your plate,you’ve got a good way to add some color here. I mean, I incorporate them in anumber of things. So smoothies, salads, yogurt parfaits. I’ll add them intooatmeal. Just a great way to kind of get some of those extra nutrients from thefruits.

 

Andrew: Absolutely. Moving on to this is #7 of ourdozen. It’s #4 for Dr. Austin. What do you have for us?

 

Dr. Austin: It’s oatmeal. So oatmeal iskind of a unique food in that it can provide a great amino acid profile to helpcompliment what we already bring from some of the more animal based products,but it also has a lot of antioxidants and just some polyphenols. It’s got thefiber in there. So it just has a lot of things it can help us do from helpingus to feel full to helping us maybe control our cholesterol a little bit betterand it’s just filled with so much that can help us throughout the day. I reallyencourage people to have oatmeal as part of their breakfast. So putting oatmealin there with so many other things can just really boost the start of our day.So oatmeal is one of the best ones out there in my opinion.

 

Andrew: My favorite oatmeal, I’ve got to plug it. Ithink I mentioned it on the podcast a long time ago, but there’s a brand calledPicky Bars that was actually founded by pro triathlete, now retired protriathlete Jesse Thomas and they have two in particular I love. There’s onethat’s called Trail Mix Fix and so it’s made to kind of taste like an oatmealversion of trail mix and they have one called Ready to Rumble Apple Crumble andit’s kind of an apple cinnamon mix and both of those are oh so tasty. They’remy personal favorite ones and yep, I work those in on a regular basis into thediet. Love a good serving of oatmeal in the morning. Elizabeth, what is #4 foryou?

 

Elizabeth: Alright, well my fourth pickis– what I’m going to kind of say is greens. I mean the TriDot staff knows howmuch I love my dark green leafy salads. That’s a go-to and so those dark greenslike kale and swiss chard and arugula. I mean, they just pack your plate fullof antioxidants and what’s great there is you’ve got a really great base tocreate a whole bunch of salads and incorporate them into a bunch of differentfoods. So once you’ve got that plate of dark leafy greens, then you can alsoget creative with what other nutrients you’re adding to it. You can have yourvariety of proteins or fruits and nuts. I mean, I think that’s why I love mysalads so much is because there’s so much variety. You can do so much. You canbe creative with them and it’s great for you. That would be my fourthrecommendation there.

 

Andrew: Elizabeth and I, we have the same palate ongreens and we know it. So when the TriDot staff does go out to lunch or dinneror something, she and I will often kind of look at each other across the tableand be like, “What are you getting?”

 

Elizabeth: “What are you getting?”

 

Andrew: We’ve just kind of learned we often end upordering the same salad.

 

Elizabeth: Uh-huh.

 

Andrew: My wife and I, just something that we’vestarted doing lately. My wife is working from home. I work from home and so wekeep spinach and arugula in the fridge and that’s our favorite combination ofgreens. So not every day, but most days with lunch whatever our protein is,whatever we’re pairing with it, we will chop up some spinach and arugula andput it in a bowl and just every single day slightly changing up what toppingsare in there. So one day it might be some pear and parmesan cheese with somecandied walnuts and the next day it might be a diced honey crisp apple and somegoat cheese and chopped fig and some chicken. So that’s something that we dofrequently together for lunch. So I track right there with you Elizabeth. Lovethat.

 

Elizabeth: See, I was doing good in notfeeling hungry on this episode until you were describing all of these saladsthat Morgan is making. Like, I was doing good. I was like, “Man we’ve beentalking about food the whole time. Feeling satisfied. I’m set.” And you startedtalking about these different salad varieties and man.

 

Andrew: That’s what got you going.

 

Elizabeth: That’s what got me rightthere.

 

Andrew: I’m the weirdo that I don’t even need– whenthere’s toppings like that on the salad, I don’t even need a dressing forflavor. Sometimes I’ll throw like a very light vinaigrette. I like a champagnevinaigrette. Sometimes I’ll put some, but sometimes I’ll just eat it dry andlet the apple and the walnuts and that bring the flavor and Morgan’s like,“You’re weird!” and I’m like, “It works!” But anyway, getting past salads. Hopethis is giving you guys some great ideas of things to target on your next grocerystore run. Let’s move on to grocery store item recommendation #5, Dr. Austin,what do you have here?

 

Dr. Austin: So one of the new ones thatI’ve been making to people just trying to help make their overall staple oftheir meal healthier is the new pastas and rices that are coming out andthey’re made from chickpeas and lentils and they’re picking up more protein andfiber into the diet. They taste a lot different to be honest.

 

Andrew: They do.

 

Dr. Austin: So you can tell they’re madefrom something that’s much more from the ground versus the processed, but it’ssomething that really can help lower the glycemic load of people’s diets andgive them something that’s a little bit healthier than the traditional pastasand rices. So I’ve been going down that road and I think it really tends tohelp when people say, “Hey, I want to have a pasta dinner after my workout.”And I’m like okay, well let’s make it the healthiest pasta possible and we havelentil pasta or chickpea pasta. Same with the rice and so that’s a newrecommendation from me. I’m going down that road a good bit with people andthey seem to like it.

 

Elizabeth: Well, I like hearing that. Ijust bought some chickpea pasta this last week. We haven’t tried it yet and sookay. It’s got your endorsement so now I’m feeling even better about thatpurchase.

 

Dr. Austin: They’re making rice nowthat’s like totally out of veggies too. So I think it’s the Green Giant thatnow makes rice that I bought the other day and it all comes from vegetables.

 

Elizabeth: Hmm. I’ll have to look forthat.

 

Dr. Austin: So there’s a lot ofhealthier options that are coming out, but you definitely taste the differenceshall we say. But if you want to go as healthy as possible on your meal, that’sone way to give yourself kind of what you would typically associate with like asteak and rice or something, but now you’ve created a healthier version of asteak and rice dinner.

 

Andrew: No, very good. Thanks for clarifying that evenjust for me. I’ve always kind of wondered that. Elizabeth, what is your fooditem #5? Getting toward the end here. What have you got?

 

Elizabeth: Yeah, so another thing that Iwill eat for any meal of the day is a sweet potato. I mean, this is a food I’lleat in an egg hash, do like a sweet potato bowl…

 

Andrew: Yes please and thank you.

 

Elizabeth: …for lunch, have a big sweetpotato for dinner.

 

Andrew: Yes, bring them on. Keep ‘em coming.

 

Elizabeth:  Charles makes some awesome sweet potato fries.I think you would like that as one of your burger sides Andrew. So might haveto incorporate that. But yeah. I mean sweet potatoes they’re loaded with fiber.I mean great with vitamin C, B6. They’re great energy boost. They’ve got somenatural sugars that are kind of slowly released into the blood stream so theyhave more of like a balanced source of energy without that same like bloodsugar spike. So I incorporate these a lot throughout the week especially inperiods of heavier training.

 

Andrew: Yep, no you don't have to talk me into eatingsweet potatoes. That’s for sure. Yes please and thank you all day, every day.Last couple here. This is #11 and 12 in our dozen recommendations. Tons oftasty foods we’ve already talked about. One more recommendation from each ofyou. Dr. Austin, what’s your last one?

 

Dr. Austin: It’s an apple. So you knowthe old saying, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” Some things– people arealways kind of surprised that I say this, but there’s pectin in apple andthere’s a lot of soluble fiber it brings in items like quercetin. So it’s justone of those foods that does a lot for you and so people always say, “You knowwhat Krista? My digestive system is better since I started having applesagain.” So I recommend people actually don’t look at an apple like, oh that’skind of not as fancy of a fruit or what have you, maybe I should do something alittle bit better. Actually apples are really good for us and so it helps thedigestive tract a good bit so I recommend people actually put the apples backinto their diet and switch it up and have different ones. Enjoy the differentflavors of apples.

 

Andrew: Elizabeth, close down our main set today. Whatis our 12th grocery store nutrient-rich recommendation for today?

 

Elizabeth: You know, I thought aboutthis one for a while and trying to figure out how to close us out and rethoughtthis a number of times actually after Dr. Austin said to try other thingsbeyond the salmon, but I’m still going to say salmon as my last one. I thinkthat there’s probably just some personal bias there that I like it a lot.

 

Andrew: And to be clear, to be clear, Dr. Austin wasn’tsaying salmon are not good for you.

 

Elizabeth: Right, exactly.

 

Andrew: She was just saying she recommends in additionto the salmon, mix that with some others.

 

Elizabeth: Branch out. Yes. Branch outbeyond it. But I just do. I love it. Protein rich. Great source of that omega3, that fatty acid. Just so important for proper brain function, healthycardiovascular system. This is something that I have frequently, but also in avariety of ways. Something that I just have done probably over the last four orfive months is also doing some like smoked salmon. You know, that can be alittle extra salty, but sometimes that’s okay and I need a little bit of thatextra salt with the training especially as the temperatures are warming up hereand my sweat rate is out of control.

 

Andrew: Sure.

 

Elizabeth: But yeah, just incorporatingthat in a variety of meals. Some smoked salmon on a bagel, having it on a salador as a main course for dinner. That’s something again that I find myselfeating for basically any meal of the day and it’s just a great staple in ourhousehold.

 

Cool down theme: Great set everyone! Let’s cool down.

 

Andrew: The TriDot software engineers are always up tosomething behind the scenes as they strive to take a great triathlon trainingapp and make it better and better. At the time of this episode being published,a brand new addition to the app has been released and so I’ve got TriDotproduct owner, B.J. Leeper, and software engineer, Cory Gackenheimer, with usto tell us a little bit about XP and leveling up within TriDot. So B.J., Cory,thanks for cooling us down with a little TriDot app talk today.

 

B.J. Leeper: Yeah, thanks for having us. Excited to talkabout some of these new features we’re rolling out.

 

Cory Gackenheimer: Yeah, absolutely. Thanks Andrew. Lookingforward to this and hoping I can execute this cool down well.

 

Andrew: So B.J., TriDot XP or execution points, mostcommonly in the video game world or the app world XP stands for experiencepoints, at TriDot they will be execution points. Now these were added to theapp to provide more motivation, more fun, and more performance gains. Tell usall about it.

 

B.J.: Yeah, just like you said, we’re kind of playing off the gaming worldand what you see in the gaming world with XP is experience points and we liketo think of it as execution points as you said because the little internal teamslogan we have is that “Fast is fun and faster is funner.” If that’s actually aword.

 

Andrew: Yeah sure.

 

B.J.: But, yeah. With XP and part of the app there’s other training platformsthat kind of make a game of things and we know that our training is in the realworld where outside you’re running, cycling, and having a way that our athletescould actually gain XP points through that process of real life training andthat’s what we kind of wanted to bring to life. So XP is just kind of a fun wayto put a wrapper around the other slogan we have and we talk all the time aboutis “Doing the right training right.”

 

Andrew: Yeah and that’s one of the things I love aboutthe best, B.J. Because in most apps and in most worlds on Zwift for example,the more I ride on Zwift the more XP points I accumulate and we know that doingthe right training right isn’t always about doing more and so you don’t getmore XP points on TriDot for just doing more training. You get XP points fordoing the right training and doing your session correctly and it’s really aninteresting thing to help guide us in doing those sessions right and validatingthat we are doing it right. So Cory, quite a bit of testing went intoperfecting the execution points– the way they were weighted, the way they wereearned, how many you need to level up from time to time. I know as a softwaredeveloper and as a TriDot athlete you frequently use yourself as a guinea pigfor some of these new features as you’re kind of figuring them out. What wasthe process like ironing out all the details for XP?

 

Cory: Yeah, lots of planning and testing definitely went into this XP. LikeB.J. alluded to, it’s pretty straight forward, we just need to make it not onlyreflect how important a session is, but also make it fair for all the athletes,all the different types of training loads, and whether you’re a high volumeathlete or a lower volume, maybe a bike run only. XP needs to perform andhighlight your sessions and their difficulty at the same level for all. So,yeah, as a guinea pig myself and another one of our senior engineers, Chris,we’re both TriDot athletes, we were able to get many iterations of XP out andtested internally, flesh out the algorithms as alpha and beta testers and thenwe were even able to include others on the team, yourself included Andrew…

 

Andrew: Yep, yep, yep, yep.

 

Cory: …and get those beta tests out. That really helped us figure out exactlywhat we needed and get it released and I think it turned out to be really cleanand not overly complex.

 

Andrew: Yeah, as you guys were doing the testing, itwas interesting because for a couple weeks there every time I would log ontothe app I was a different level because you guys were obviously kind ofperfecting and smoothing out what level you are at certain rates. Now Cory, theway it works is every week the maximum XP points you can earn is 300. Is thatcorrect?

 

Cory: Yeah that’s right and one of the things that maybe you saw as yourlevels were changing as we were developing it was, we’re running this datahistorically as well. So it goes back in time to the beginning of TriDot timeand it starts to accumulate and applies that same algorithm to your historicaltraining sessions and so it’s providing you with a level that suits you basedoff of even your previous training.

 

Andrew: Yeah, so all my athletes that have been onTriDot for years, don’t think you’re starting from ground zero. I’m looking atmine right now. I have 22,117 XP points at the time of this recording. I am alevel 38 athlete. I’m almost level 39 guys. I am just a few hundred, about athousand XP points away from level 39 so I think I can hit that in the next fewweeks. So for you two guys, Cory and B.J., what level are y’all currentlystarting at now that XP has rolled out?

 

B.J.: Well, I can’t quite top that, but I am embarking on level 28.

 

Andrew: Okay.

 

B.J.: With my last five years of training, I’ve got four kids all under theage of 13 and I feel like I should be getting double XP every time I am able toget a workout in, but you know, that’s not how it always works.

 

Andrew: Sure.

 

B.J.: But yeah. No it definitely fits where my training has probably beenspotty at best sometimes over the last couple of years. But yeah, it’s fun tolook at those numbers and actually see where you’re at and what you can strivefor.

 

Andrew: Cory, what are you at already?

 

Cory: Yeah, so I actually leveled up pre-release last week on an FTP test. Iwent from 32 to 33. So where I’m at now is 33 and I’ve got a ways to go to getto the next level.

 

Andrew: So once this was released and athletes startedbuzzing about it on the I AM TriDot Facebook group, I think the most commonquestion I saw had to do with the perks we earn by leveling up. That’s thequestion everybody’s hearing. Cory, you leveled up during that FTP test andit’s like, “Cool. So you leveled up. What happens?” So on Zwift for example,you level up and you can unlock new jerseys or new helmets, maybe new bikes foryour avatar. With TriDot, as we level up and unlock more perks, what are thoseperks going to be?

 

B.J.: Well just like many athletes are familiar with, like you mentioned theZwift training platform, it’s kind of that virtual platform a lot of people areused to that do a lot of cycling and just like that virtual gear we kind ofwant to bring that to real life as well with our real training, creating XP inthe real world. So definitely some future things to look forward to with theperks are going to be centered around some gear upgrades, different featuresthat the user will be able to unlock and some cool things moving forward. Wecan’t quite tip our cap to show everything yet, but some really exciting thingsto look forward to.

 

Andrew: Okay, sure. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now I know that XPand leveling up are just the start of kind of the new motivational and socialfeatures that TriDot will be releasing. B.J., is there anything else you cantease that we should be on the lookout for now that XP and leveling up has beenreleased?

 

B.J.: Well, yeah. As we all know, triathletes are probably some of the mostcompetitive athletes on the planet.

 

Andrew: Sure.

 

B.J.: So we want to kind of harness that fun energy with the gamification andwe are looking forward to creating some XP leaderboards. So that’s somethingthat you can look forward to where you can kind of compare where you’re at withyour friends and other competitors and then there’s some special bonuses thatI’m not going to say exactly what those are, but XP bonuses for the future thatI know some TriDot athletes that have been around for a while have been talkingabout for quite some time and then we’ll have some new bonuses that TriDotathletes will be talking about for years to come.

 

Andrew: B.J, are there going to be any unicornsightings in the TriDot app? Is that what we’re getting at here?

 

B.J.: I’ll just say I cannot confirm nor deny that. So, you’ll have to besurprised.

 

Andrew: Well that’s it for today folks. I want to thankDr. Krista Austin and pro triathlete Elizabeth James for helping us getnutrient-dense foods into our diet. And shoutout to DeltaG for partnering withus on the episode today. Remember, you can go to deltagketones.com and book afree 15 minute consultation to learn how you can use ketone drinks tosupercharge your training and racing. Remember to use code TRIDOT20 at checkoutfor 20% off your first order. Enjoying the show? Have any triathlon questionsor topics you want to hear us talk about? Head to tridot.com to let us knowwhat you’re thinking. We’ll do it all again soon. Until then, Happy Training!

 

Outro: Thanks for joining us. Make sure to subscribe and share the TriDotpodcast with your triathlon crew. For more great tri content and community,connect with us on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Ready to optimize yourtraining? Head to tridot.com and start your free trial today! TriDot – theobvious and automatic choice for triathlon training.

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