This episode of the Female Athlete Nutrition podcast is with fellow Registered Dietitian Marissa Casella. Marissa works with elite youth athletes as the Senior Performance Dietitian at IMG Academy, a school designed for young athletes to balance their sport with education. Marissa talks about how her challenges as a young athlete with celiac disease led her to a career in sports nutrition. Marissa shares about her role at IMG Academy, specifically helping girls feel more comfortable about their menstrual cycle and represented in high performance sports on campus and beyond. We highlight the importance of visibility and female athlete role models, as well as differences between how athletes of different genders and sports discuss topics surrounding their bodies and nutrition. Marissa and I dive deep into the importance of hydration for athletes, strategies for optimizing hydration status, including carbohydrates and sodium, and ultimately highlighting the role of sports dietitians for athletes as their needs are unique and different from the general population. In this episode we talk about: 3:20 Marissa’s athletic background in volleyball and lacrosse 5:30 How Marissa’s experience with celiac disease led her to a career in dietetics 12:05 Differences in nutrition and body conversations across sports and genders  18:30 Supporting young student-athletes: menstruation, nutrition, mindset, social media 22:00 The importance of visibility for female athletes  29:20 IMG Academy for elite high school athletes  38:30 Hydration: essential considerations for athletes and coaches 47:30 Carbohydrates and sodium for hydration 49:35 The importance of dietitians for athletes  53:30 End of the podcast questions Find out more about IMG Academy: https://www.imgacademy.com/  Follow Marissa on Instagram @dishinitwithriss and me, your host Lindsey Cortes, on Instagram @female.athlete.nutrition  If you find value in this podcast and would like to support the show, join our patreon community! Become part of our Fiercely Fit and Fueled community today, and receive bonus episodes, merch, monthly recipes, access to an exclusive community message board, and have the chance to ask Lindsey your questions and get a podcast shoutout, and more! Head to patreon today patreon.com/femaleathletenutrition Your support means a lot! Need help with your fueling? Want to get in touch with Lindsey? Interested in the Female Athlete System of Transformation?  Head to www.RiseUpNutritionRUN.com to learn more & book a call! THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS: Previnex: https://www.previnex.com/ use code RISEUP for 15% off at checkout InsideTracker: www.insidetracker.com use code RISEUPNUTRITION for 20% off the entire store  THIS PODCAST IS ALSO SUPPORTED BY: Orgain, head to www.orgain.com and use the code RISEUP30 for 30% off your first order. Repeat customers can use the code OA2203 for 25% off future orders. Practice Better Click the link below to view plans and get a 14-day free trial. Then use the code RISEUP20 for 20% off your first 4 months: https://practicebetter.grsm.io/runp   Jen & Keri: https://jenandkeri.com/ use code RISEUP10 for $10 off your order