Becoming a sports dietitian
A key career goal of mine has been to become a sports dietitian. In 2016 I achieved that to become an Accredited Sports Dietitian with Sports Dietitians Australia.
The Sports Dietitians Australia course is a four day training course held at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra once a year
Now in 2021 it is also available online.
I loved the practicalities of the course. There was supplement taking while running sessions (practice for marathons or triathlons), urine specific gravity testing to see who was the most dehydrated, VO2 max sessions on the treadmill, DEXA scan analysis and much more.
I loved every minute of it.
I particularly liked how we got to eat in the canteen with the AIS athletes who were training at the time. It was great seeing the variety of foods on offer - and observing the dietary choices that were made.
Since completing the course I worked with my sports dietitian mentor to gain full qualifications as an Accredited Sports Dietitian.
This involves completing a number of hours every year of professional development, continuous training, reading and learning within the sports nutrition field and clinical practice with athletes.
My sports nutrition interests
My main interests in sports nutrition centre around cycling, triathlons and multi-day endurance activities.
I thoroughly believe in using an individualised, whole foods approach where possible. However there is always a place for supplements, when used appropriately.
What's next for me in sports nutrition?
I am also extremely excited to be starting a Masters in Sports Nutrition at Liverpool John Moores University this month led by Professor Graeme Close and Dr James Morton.
I've met a number of the lecturers and PhD students over the last year at various sports nutrition events and while being a participant in one of their many research trials and seriously cannot wait for this course to start.
Getting involved in research while working full-time has been an eye-opener in many ways. I've learnt lots of things that is useful in my own practice while designing research studies, and am working on becoming the best participant recruiter the uni has - particularly for women's sport!
Long term I've always considered doing a PhD in sports nutrition so we shall see what happens about that. I would love to contribute towards the huge gaps of knowledge in women's sports nutrition. Everything is based upon evidence in men and that needs to change!
Gemma
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