164. How A Pro Athlete Fuels Performance, Motherhood + the Olympics with Betsi Flint

This episode of the Female Athlete Nutrition podcast is with Team USA volleyball player Betsi Flint. Betsi talks about her path to playing professional volleyball, from high school standout to competing in both indoor and beach volleyball at the NCAA DI level. We discuss Betsi’s journey with nutrition, and how criticism from a coach led her down a path of restriction and disordered beliefs about healthy eating, appearance, and body weight. Betsi shares the negative effect this had on her performance, and how focusing on her performance and strength over appearance made her a much better athlete!  A new mom, we discuss how Betsi balances motherhood with elite athletics; managing sleep deprivation, competition and practice schedules, and the mental and physical energy required to care for her daughter requires Betsi pays plenty of attention to her nutrition. We talk about specific performance nutrition strategies, fueling before, during, and after workouts, and eating when traveling. Betsi shares her hopes to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in beach volleyball and her path to get there, before we finish with the usual end of the podcast questions. TOPIC TIMESTAMPS: 10:45 Betsi’s path to professional volleyball  12:25 Betsi’s nutrition background: unhealthy habits and obsessions  16:05 Rethinking “eating healthy”, tracking, and performance nutrition  24:20 Betsi’s sports nutrition approach: electrolytes, big breakfasts, carbohydrates  27:10 Fueling for performance over appearance  32:40 Balancing motherhood with athletics  36:35 Managing sleep deprivation and high activity levels as an athlete  44:30 Path to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games 46:00 End of the podcast questions  Follow Betsi on Instagram @betsiflint and me, your host Lindsey Cortes, on Instagram @female.athlete.nutrition  Find Betsi online at https://betsiflint.com/  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