This episode of the Female Athlete Nutrition podcast is with Olympic Trials qualifier and registered sports dietitian Kelsey Pontius. Kelsey recently competed in the 2024 US Olympic Marathon Team Trials, and comes on the podcast to share about her nutrition and athletics journey. Growing up playing soccer, Kelsey credits this background to her ability to remain injury free as a runner, allowing her to ascend to an elite level. Personal and professional experiences have highlighted to Kelsey the importance of carbohydrates for health and performance; we discuss the emerging awareness of low carbohydrate availability (LCA) independent of RED-S, and the impact of carbohydrates on recovery, bone health, hormones, iron absorption, performance, and more. Kelsey’s current area of interest is around understanding blood glucose and the usefulness of measuring it for healthy, athletic populations. We do a brief blood sugar 101, talking about healthy responses to exercise as well as disorders like diabetes and glycogen storage disease, the condition affecting my son. We chat about continuous glucose monitors for healthy and unwell populations, as well as tips on how most of us should think about blood sugar spikes, fluctuations, and CGMs. We finish off with our usual end of the podcast questions. TOPIC TIMESTAMPS: 8:15 Kelsey’s journey as an athlete and sports dietitian 13:00 From soccer to running in the Olympic Trials 20:15 Low carbohydrate availability, performance, and RED-S 24:15 How many carbs do we really need? 27:50 The effects of carbohydrates on iron levels, bone health, recovery and hormones 34:00 Performance improvements from more carbs 41:15 Society’s carb phobia and how carbohydrates impact blood glucose  47:40 Measuring blood sugar, spikes and fluctuations: lower is not better! 51:15 Blood glucose 101, diabetes, and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) 55:00 Use of CGMs in sport and healthy populations 1:05:00 Blood glucose disorders and CGMs  1:09:30 Night time snacks for better blood sugar control and sleep  1:11:30 How to think about blood sugar and CGMs 1:16:40 End of the podcast questions Check out Kelsey’s website: meteornutrition.com  Follow Kelsey Pontius on Instagram @sportsdietitiankelsey 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 LINDSEYCPRO25 for 25% 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