I hear this question over and over, "I just starting working out, do I need the same nutrients as an experienced athlete?" And the answer is, "YES!" All athletes whether they are male or female, young or old, novice or advanced, need to feed their bodies with the proper nutrients to support a healthier more energetic lifestyle.

First and foremost you need to understand a few things. First, two of the most important nutrients, protein and water, are also nutrients that your body cannot store. Thus, its vital that all athletes are consuming adequate amounts of both protein and water throughout the entire day. This means drinking water when you wake up, before exercise, during exercise, and after exercise (I will be talking about proper hydration and fluid consumption in my next blog post). Timing for protein consumption is also extremely critical. Its very important to have protein first thing in the morning during breakfast, after you workout, and possibly after dinner as well. The source of protein can come from a lean meats such as turkey and chicken, beef, eggs, nuts or a high quality protein shake.

As a new athlete, your body undergoes neuroadaptation during the first 4-6 weeks of training. What this means is that your nervous system is processing and getting used to this new training and weight movement. It is vital that your nervous system and muscles receive the proper nutrients to recover during this period. That means eating healthy and making sure you are consuming enough protein throughout the day. Secondly, provide your muscles with essential amino acids, which includes branched chain amino acids (BCAA). Essential amino acids are amino acids that the body cannot store and thus need to be consumed from your diet. Clinical research has shown that intake of essential amino acids help increase protein synthesis, increase muscle strength, increase muscle recovery, and delay muscle fatigue.

Finally, just remember to keep in mind the basics that some people tend to overlook. This includes sleeping right, drinking enough water, eating smart throughout the day, and training properly. Then you can incorporate supplements to increase your nutrient intake. These steps will lead you into the right direction of becoming both a healthier individual and better athlete. 

Question from Tim S.:

Dr. Tom –

So what’s all the hype about creatine? Bodybuilders swear by it, athletes take it, but others tell me to stay away from it because, “it’s going to make me bloated and all bulked up”. Would love to hear your thoughts on creatine and if you recommend it to you athletes. Thanks!

Tim, I am asked this question countless times from athletes, coaches, and parents. Whether it is how and when to properly take creatine or all the false rumors that have surfaced over time, creatine has become a controversial topic for all athletes.

I want to clear the air about creatine and let you know the real truth to why creatine is one of the most useful and important supplements for athletes.

This video will break down why you need creatine, when you need to take creatine, and what is the importance of creatine. Throughout this educational video, I will be referencing the Bible of Sports Nutrition, Essentials of Sports Nutrition and Supplements. 

To recap this video:

• Creatine is our source of energy for high intensity, short duration excercies, usually in the 0-6 second range. This includes weight weight lifting and sprinting.

• Helps keep glycogen in the muscles, which entails less fatigue and more energy, making your performance in the gym and on the field more productive and effective.

• Weight gain associated with creatine is not water weight, but increase lean body mass. This helps increase performance and training, because of having more available muscles.

• Cycling? There are conflicting reports on the effectiveness of it. I personally believe doubling your daily dose for 3 days will help load creatine into your muscle cells.

Recommended Creatine Products:

• Ideal Recovery – A great post workout product that contains creatine. What makes this product unique and so great is that it also contains glutamine and a bunch of essential amino acids, including branched chain amino acids (BCAAs). The synergistic effect of taking all these amino acids together provides a metabolic and recovery advantage.

• Ideal Pump – A great pre workout product that contains creatine. Preloads your body with creatine to help improve muscular endurance and strength before training. Want to load up on your creatine levels for 2-3 days? Add 1 serving of Ideal Recovery to your Ideal Pump for a few days (Note: this is in addition to the 1-2 servings you will take post workout).

Look Better, Feel Better, Live Better,

Dr. Tom

Leave us a comment below and share your thoughts on creatine with our readers!

One of the most overlooked aspects of training is correctly utilizing nutrient timing in order to provide your body with the proper nutrients before, during, and after a workout. I have put together four short videos that breakdown the importance of nutrient timing and how it will make you a better athlete. During these videos, I will be referencing one of my favorite books, Nutrient Timing, by Dr. John Ivy and Dr. Robert Portman. I highly recommend it to all athlete, strength coach, or nutritionist.

Nutrient Timing: Overview

My first video is the Basic Theory of Nutrient Timing. Here I explain what the basic principles of nutrient timing are and their importance to you.

Nutrient Timing: Pre-Workout

The first step of nutrient timing is preparing your body with the proper amount of fuel before a workout. In this video I breakdown the key components of the pre-workout stage of nutrient timing and how GI Nutrition’s Focus Food and Ideal Pump can fit into your training program.

Nutrient Timing: During Workout – Energy Phase

This next video breaks down my trick to a faster recovery and how to spare muscle glycogen during your workout. GI Nutrition’s Ideal Whey, as well as dextrose, can be utilized during this phase.

Nutrient Timing: Post Workout – Anabolic Phase

Finally, your workout is over…now what? This is a critical time to provide your muscle with quality amino acids and carbohydrates. To continue this anabolic process, you want to feed your muscles with whey protein and some quality carbohydrates, such as dextrose.

How to use GI Nutrition Products for Proper Nutrient Timing:

75-90 minutes before workout: Focus Food

15-30 minutes before workout: Ideal Pump

During Workout: Ideal Whey & Dextrose

Immediately After Workout: Ideal Recovery

15-40 minutes after workout: Ideal Whey & Dextrose

Implementing the proper timing of nutrients will undoubtedly provide you with immediate results in performing at a higher level with faster recovery and building muscle faster.

Do no overlook the importance of keeping your body fueled with proper nutrients. An easy way to understand the importance of proper nutrient timing is to compare your body to a sports car. To ensure that your car runs smoothly and for a long period of time, you provide regular maintenance, oil changes, gas fill-ups, and new tires on a continued basis to minimize the chances of it ever breaking down or performing below its ability. The same goes with your body. Providing your muscles with the proper nutrients on a continued and regular basis will minimize the chances of breaking down and performing less than your potential. Implementing these simple steps to proper timing of nutrients will undoubtedly provide you with immediate results in performing at a higher level with faster recovery and better results.

Look Better, Feel Better, Live Better,

Dr. Tom

I am Dr. Tom Bilella, and welcome to my blog, “Dr. Tom’s Corner”.  I just wanted to take the time to introduce myself to all of you and give you some insight of what to expect from my blog.

Right now there are hundreds, possibly thousands of online websites and blogs that claim they are experts in nutrition and know everything there is to know about it. Then you take a look at the credentials of the people writing these blogs and they have little to no experience in the industry. This is outrageous! Don’t get me wrong, not everything out there is garbage, but unfortunately the good is far outnumbered by the bad.

By no means am I saying that I know everything there is to know about nutrition, but I have seen and experienced a lot over the past 22 years. It has been my life’s purpose to help as many people as I can live a healthier and more productive lifestyle. I hold 5 degrees in nutritional sciences including a Master’s degree and being a Certified Sports Nutritionist. I have consulted over 75,000 clients throughout my professional career and I am an accomplished Natural Bodybuilder (1995 Mr. N.J Overall) and strength athlete (Bench Press). Also, I serve as the team nutritionist for the New York Jets.

I am going to do my best to have an educational video accompany every post I make allowing for an easy to follow explanation of everything I write. So over the next few weeks I will be posting articles and educational videos in regards to some of the most commonly asked questions about better nutrition and smarter supplementation. After that, I am looking to answer your questions! I will be updating my blog a few times a month and if there is something that you may want me to answer, ask it, and I may just feature it in one of my blogs. You can submit all you questions to drtom@ginutrition.net.

Lastly, I want to leave you with two videos to get you started with. The first is a quick background on me and the second is an introduction to nutrition.

We are a community, here to help each other, and spread the word of better nutrition and living a healthier lifestyle. So if you like a post or a video, share it with your friends!

“Look Better, Feel Better, Live Better”

Dr. Tom