I am currently finishing my undergraduate degree in sports science and human nutrition, and have applied to do a masters in sports nutrition at the same uni so I can become registered as a sports nutritonist in the UK. The problem is that the other day we had a guest lecturer come in, a sports nutritionist/dietician who works with many top sports clubs and athletes, as she was explaining the type of between meal snacks she precribes for athletes I realised they were all junk food - mars bars, jaffa cakes, biscuits etc. I just laughed inwardly thinking what a dick she was - but then two days latter on the evening news a segment talked about the new nutrition guidelines for the England footballl (soccer) team - guess what jaffa cakes and jelly beans. I am disturbeed to say the least and feel that the nutrition community will say certain supplements are dangerous/useless yet advise athletes who compete for a living to eat junk food. needless to say I am thinking seriously whether this is the career I wish to get into if I have to fight against this shit all the time.
Consider it your chance to change the world and make your contribution. The more I learn about training/nutrition, the more I realize how I and everybody else has been/is being misled. Good luck!
Get in there and fight the good fight for us, thats what I say. To hell with all these stiffs who get their nutritional information from ancient scribes and are too stuck up to believe that what they have been preaching their whole lives may be wrong.
Hi British Lifter,
I know it pisses me off no end. But I guess they’re looking at the short term view of high availablity of energy. Keep the glycogen levels loaded between games. These people just don’t seem to understand hormonal levels and getting the optimium cycle going.
I do think that some nutritionists are coming around to the mind opening world of real science though. Low carb diets to get body weight into touch.
I see that Beckham was complaining about putting on weight after his few weeks of recovery. Excessive carbs I tell ya. Doesn’t look like Dyer or Gearrad will be going anywhere though 
What Uni are you at man, I’m finishing up at Liverpool soon.
So,
While I wouldnt agree with the mars bar, the jelly beans and jaffa cake are low fat and high in sugars. For an endurance based sport (professional soccer is variable, but large amounts of training work down to semi endurance) need HIGH levels of carbs. Most people get sick of eating the normal crap.
Many of the worlds best endurance athletes eat stuff most ‘bodybuilders’ think are bad. What would you enjoy more, a litre of gatorade or a handfull of jelly beans washed down by some water?
whats the differnece between potato, maltodextrin or jelly beans??
basically nothing once inside the body.
Aaron I agree with you on those points - but the nutritionists low GI carb choice was chocolate cake. I know I shouldn’t worry about the low fat, high sugar stuff ( at least for cerrtain athletes)- yet this nutritionists rationale was that if there was the slightest amount of carbs in it - it was fine
I can’t believe you are going for a degree in “Nutrition.” You get what you pay for. There is not a school on the planet that will prepare you for the real world…Stop being a pussy, thinking you need a piece of paper to help a client. Do you know how many times I have been asked for my credentials??? NEVER. And while you’ve been in school sitting there getting a flat ass, I have been helping real people get real results. Fuck when will you idiots stop looking for some sort of certification? blah blah blab…but I need it to open doors to good jobs…I guess that depends on your definition of a good job.
British Lifter,
I think that's why people like you need to go into nutrition and educate the general public. My nutritionist told me that I should eat a lot of white rice and eat meat like I'd eat condiments...sparingly. She also told me to eat a lot of soy tofu, etc. Then she proceeded to tell me that I should also do a lot of cardio every day to lose weight although she didn't think I need to lose weight or anything since my weight is in the healthy range.
I think more dedicated people we have out there, better off we'll be.
I am detecting a large degree of hostility from you just because I have decided to educate myself and improve my potential job prospects by becoming accredited, if that makes me a pussy so be it. As for being in school and getting a flat ass, not learning about the real world etc - well I have been aiding clients for the last two years and getting good results, whilst at the same time competing as a national level natural bodybuilder, so I feel that I have a reasonable amount of real world experience.
You can’t believe I have gone for a post graduate degree in ‘nutrition’ - well I am not going to apologise for wanting to understand a subject thoruoghly and maybe in the future add to the current understanding of something that affects the whole world (everyone has to eat), maybe Berardi is an idiot/ pussy for currently doing his Phd.
If you ever have quoted any one of the ‘experts’ within the nutrition/training field, then you are relying on information and data from people who have done degrees in their field ( the researchers who study the subject).
I know I dont need a peice of paper to help a client, but in Britain you can get sued for issuing information personally to an individual if you are not certified - personally I dont want to get sued.
Even though I dont need a peice of paper to help a Client, I may wish to do other things within this field (i.e. lecturing)that does require being formally educated.
I would never work for anyone who didnt ask for credidentials. What does that say about their reputation. But I guess that depends on what you consider a good job. I wouldnt consider working in the vitamin isle at Walmart a “good job” but hey, thats just me.
B. L. Well, I do have a lot of hostility towards educational institutions. You have just presented all of the reasons why education is what you make of it. All the proffessors that are teaching you, have written books…You can pick them up for one onehundreth of the price of the course…You can ingest that information in one onethousanth of the time it takes to complete the course. Did I mention you can do this all from home. Getting sued is not an arguement, because here in California you will get sued no matter what. There is no doubt that more of the “phds” need to have views like yours and berardi’s. I just hope you know exactly what you want from that “certification/degree/masters” and make sure they are the best way to get from A to B. For most personal trainers, nutritionists and physical therapists I think if they are worth their salt they don’t need to go to school but they must crave knowledge and work to seek it in the field. As far as having to fight against the grain all the time in this industry…I see that as your advantage…People keep coming back when they get results which they won’t get from some cake and mars bar diet. Can you honestly say you have learned more from school or is it experience that counts? Certainly both can’t hurt but if you are listening to people lecture who have never walked the talk it may hurt a little bit. Best wishes- D_END
BL:
Can’t say I blame you for your frustration there. It seems that many of the “experts” out there today are still thinking and preaching “old school” philosophies. Don’t they recognize that the old food pyramid is exactly that. Old.
Times have changed and I’ll tell you what, most of my nutritional knowledge now comes form this website (these guys are some of the best!). It’s just unfortunate that we have to have a degree in this or that when much of what we learn NEVER gets applied because we don’t actually believe or even practice what we have learned. This battle will rage on forever. But…
Stick to and apply your beliefs and you will be recognized and rewarded in the end by the many whose lives you have changed for the better. That alone is worth it.
Best to you…Keith