Expert Fueling Strategies: Jordan Sullivan on Performance, Weight Cuts & Fat Loss (Summary)

This episode of "Perform with Dr. Andy Galpin" features an in-depth conversation with Jordan Sullivan, a dietician renowned for his work with elite athletes across various disciplines, including UFC champions and ultra-endurance runners. Titled "Jordan Sullivan: Fueling for Sports Performance & Body Composition," the discussion delves into the practical science and art of tailoring nutrition for optimal performance, whether in high-stakes competition, regular exercise, or daily life. Dr. Galpin and Sullivan explore the nuances that differentiate general nutrition from performance-focused fueling, covering topics like macro and micronutrient timing, caloric needs assessment, periodization, hydration, strategic weight cutting, and the crucial role of individual context and adherence. Using real-world examples from Sullivan's own competitive experiences (Hyrox) and his work with athletes like ultra-runner Ned Brockman and UFC fighter Kai Kara-France, the episode provides actionable insights into designing effective and sustainable nutrition strategies for diverse goals and populations.

Core Messages

• Performance nutrition is highly goal-oriented and context-dependent, requiring strategies tailored to the specific demands of the activity (intensity, duration), the individual's physiology, and their immediate objectives (e.g., peak performance vs. training adaptation vs. weight management).
• Adherence and enjoyment are critical for long-term success. Sullivan advocates a 90/10 approach, where 90% of intake aligns with the plan (which should be enjoyable and sustainable), leaving 10% flexibility for life events, preventing guilt and promoting consistency.
• Mastering the fundamentals is key: adequate protein intake (starting around 1.5g/kg or 0.7g/lb, potentially higher for athletes or during fat loss), appropriate total calorie intake (energy availability), and sufficient fiber (aiming for 25-30g/day) form the foundation of most effective nutrition plans.
• Periodized nutrition involves adjusting daily and weekly calorie and macronutrient intake based on training volume and intensity to optimize fueling for sessions, enhance recovery, and support desired adaptations.
• Weight cutting for sports like MMA is a distinct process from fat loss, primarily involving strategic manipulation of water balance through carbohydrate, fiber, sodium, and fluid intake management in the days leading up to weigh-in, followed by controlled dehydration. It requires careful planning and execution due to potential health risks.
• For extreme endurance events (multi-hour/multi-day), "training the gut" to tolerate consistent fuel intake (including carbohydrates, protein, and fat) during activity becomes paramount. Strategies differ significantly from shorter events, focusing on sustainable energy delivery and minimizing GI distress.
• While specific fueling strategies around workouts (pre-, intra-, post-) are vital for high-level athletes, for the general population focusing on weight loss or general fitness, optimizing overall daily nutrition quality and achieving a consistent, appropriate calorie deficit usually yields the most significant results.

Defining Performance Nutrition & Core Principles

Jordan Sullivan distinguishes "performance nutrition" from general nutrition by its explicit focus on fueling individuals to achieve specific goals, whether in sport, play, or life. It's a holistic approach considering not just macronutrients and calories, but also timing, food quality, enjoyment, and the individual's lifestyle and objectives. This contrasts with simply meeting basic nutritional needs. A key concept within this is "periodized nutrition," particularly relevant for athletes. This involves strategically varying calorie and macronutrient intake on a daily or weekly basis to align with changing training demands. For instance, higher carbohydrate intake might support intense training days, while intake might be adjusted on rest or lower-intensity days, all within an overall weekly energy budget designed to meet goals like performance enhancement, body composition changes, or recovery.

Sullivan outlines several core principles applicable to most individuals aiming for better health and performance. He emphasizes prioritizing protein intake, suggesting a starting point of 1.5 grams per kilogram (approx. 0.7 grams per pound) of body weight, potentially higher for athletes or those in a calorie deficit to support muscle mass. Ensuring adequate "energy availability"—having enough calories left over after accounting for activity to support bodily functions—is crucial. He recommends using simple calculations (like bodyweight in kg x 40) as a starting point for estimating daily calorie needs, acknowledging that the real test is tracking progress over time. Sufficient dietary fat is essential for hormonal health (aiming for 0.5-1.5g/kg or higher). Carbohydrates, while not strictly essential, are valuable, particularly as a primary source of fiber. Aiming for 25-30 grams of fiber daily helps guide towards whole-food choices. Once these foundational targets are met, remaining calories can be adjusted based on personal preference and activity levels, allowing for flexibility (the "90/10 rule") and making the plan sustainable and enjoyable.

Assessment & Individualization

Before implementing a performance nutrition plan, Sullivan emphasizes assessment. Ideally, measuring Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) provides a good baseline for calorie needs, though he notes it's often inaccessible. Predictive equations (easily found online) offer a reasonable starting point (e.g., bodyweight in kg x 40 for maintenance, or x 30 for a deficit). However, the most critical assessment is monitoring the individual's response over time. For weight loss, tracking average weekly weight (weighing consistently under the same conditions) is key. A sustainable rate of loss is typically 0.5% to 1% of body weight per week; faster rates risk muscle loss and rebound weight gain. Beyond weight, tracking performance (strength, endurance, specific sport metrics), injury rates, and subjective factors like mood and energy levels provides a holistic view of whether the plan is working effectively and sustainably.

Basic blood work (e.g., complete blood count, lipids, glucose, iron, vitamin D, hormones) can serve as a valuable screening tool to identify underlying health issues or deficiencies that might need addressing before starting an intensive program or deficit, ensuring health isn't compromised for performance or weight loss. Sullivan also finds it useful to have clients track their typical food intake for a couple of days initially. This provides insight into their current habits, preferences, food knowledge, and potential areas for education, allowing for better individualization. Regarding meal frequency, he notes that while athletes often benefit from more frequent feedings clustered around training sessions to meet high energy demands and optimize fueling/recovery, the general population can often succeed with various patterns (including intermittent fasting) as long as overall calorie and nutrient goals are met and the chosen pattern suits their lifestyle and adherence.

Fueling for High-Intensity/Endurance (Short Duration Example - Hyrox)

Sullivan uses his own preparation for a Hyrox competition (approx. 1-hour event involving running and strength stations) as a case study for fueling shorter, high-intensity endurance events. He explains the basic exercise metabolism: the body uses fat primarily at rest and low intensities, shifting towards carbohydrates as intensity increases (the "crossover point" around 60-65% VO2 Max, roughly 145-150 bpm heart rate for many). Since high-intensity events rely heavily on limited muscle and liver glycogen stores (stored carbohydrates), the goal is to maximize these stores beforehand and potentially spare them during the event.

His strategy involved "carb-loading" the day before, consuming 6-8 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight (around 500g total for him). This ensures muscle and liver glycogen stores are full at the start line. Food choices prioritized easily digestible, lower-fiber carbohydrates (like yogurt, berries, honey, rice bowls, sports drinks) to maximize intake without causing GI distress during the race. In the 3-4 hours before the event, he consumed 60-90 grams of carbohydrates (mini pancakes, banana, honey) utilizing a mix of glucose and fructose. This leverages different intestinal transporters (SGLT1 for glucose, GLUT5 for fructose), allowing for higher total carbohydrate absorption (up to ~60g/hr glucose + ~30g/hr fructose = 90g/hr total) compared to glucose alone, thus minimizing potential GI issues from unabsorbed sugar drawing water into the gut. Finally, he consumed an additional 30 grams of carbs via a sports drink 30-60 minutes pre-race to further top up blood glucose levels, aiming to spare muscle glycogen depletion during the intense effort. For an event of this duration (~1 hour), intra-race fueling wasn't deemed necessary as pre-race stores were sufficient.

Fueling for Extreme Endurance (Long Duration Example - Ned Brockman)

Contrasting sharply with the Hyrox example is the strategy for ultra-endurance runner Ned Brockman, who ran 1000 miles in 12.5 days. This required a vastly different approach over a six-month preparation period. The primary challenge shifts from maximizing initial glycogen stores to sustaining energy intake and gut function over prolonged periods. A major focus was "training the gut"—systematically exposing Ned's digestive system to consuming significant amounts of fuel (carbs, protein, fat) during long training runs. This helps improve tolerance and absorption capacity, crucial for avoiding GI problems that plague many ultra-runners. His daily training diet aimed for around 4,000 calories, including ~500g carbs and ~160g protein, adjusted based on daily volume (up to 200km/week).

During the 12.5-day run itself, the strategy aimed for ~8,000 calories daily, though this still created a significant energy deficit met by fat stores. Carbohydrate intake averaged over 1100g per day (13g/kg), consumed frequently (~30-40g every ~40 minutes). Interestingly, the *hourly* carb rate (~68g/hr) was lower than what elite cyclists or shorter ultra-runners might consume (often 90-120g/hr), reflecting the lower average intensity but extreme duration. Protein intake was notably high at ~307g per day (3.8g/kg) specifically to mitigate the significant muscle breakdown expected over such a long event. Food choices were highly varied and driven by palatability and calorie density under extreme fatigue, famously including McDonald's Mcmuffins and hotcakes early in the day, alongside pies, custard, yogurt, and other prepared meals. Hydration was critical, with intake ranging from 500ml to 1.2L per hour depending on conditions, guided by sweat rate testing during training. Ned, being a low-to-moderate sweater (~400-700ml/hr baseline), managed to maintain hydration within ~2% of his *normal* (pre-carb load) body weight, consuming ~550mg sodium per liter of fluid. This example highlights the extreme demands and necessary adaptations for multi-day ultra-endurance events.

Strategic Weight Cutting (UFC Example - Kai Kara-France)

Sullivan details the process of "weight cutting" common in combat sports like MMA, using fighter Kai Kara-France as an example. He strongly differentiates this from fat loss achieved during the longer "fight camp" phase (typically 8-10 weeks). The fight camp focuses on a sustainable calorie deficit (losing 0.5-1% body weight per week) to reduce body fat. The final 5 days ("fight week") focus almost entirely on acute water weight manipulation, not fat loss. This phase aims to shed a significant amount of weight (often 8-12% of body weight) primarily through fluid reduction.

The 5-day strategy involves several key manipulations. Carbohydrate intake is drastically reduced (e.g., to ~60g/day for KKF), timed primarily around the minimal training sessions to provide some energy and improve mood without significantly replenishing glycogen. This depletes muscle and liver glycogen stores, releasing the water bound to them (approx. 3g water per 1g glycogen). Fiber intake is minimized to reduce gut content ("dead weight"). Sodium intake is lowered to promote water excretion. Fluid intake is often manipulated via "water loading"—consuming significantly more water than usual (e.g., 50% increase over normal) for the first few days of fight week to suppress water-retaining hormones, followed by restriction in the final 24-48 hours, theoretically causing the body to continue excreting excess water for a period. Crucially, Sullivan emphasizes that calorie intake during this phase does *not* need to be severely restricted and can often be at maintenance levels or even slightly higher than the late stages of fight camp (e.g., 1900 kcal for KKF). This is because the weight loss mechanism is fluid manipulation, independent of caloric balance, and higher calories support recovery and mood. The final stage often involves active dehydration (sauna, hot bath, exercise in sweat suits) to remove the remaining target weight. Sullivan stresses the dangers of this phase, particularly overheating (hyperthermia), which poses a greater risk than dehydration itself. Monitoring core body temperature (aiming to stay below ~38.5-40°C) and employing heat acclimation protocols in the weeks prior are key safety strategies. Both Sullivan and Dr. Galpin express their dislike for weight cutting, viewing it as a necessary evil under current rulesets rather than something desirable or healthy.

Balancing Performance Fueling & Weight Loss for General Population

For individuals who aren't elite athletes but want to improve workout performance while also losing body fat, Sullivan advises prioritizing the fundamentals of daily nutrition first. The most significant impact typically comes from establishing and maintaining a consistent, appropriate calorie deficit and ensuring adequate daily protein intake to support muscle retention during weight loss. Understanding true calorie intake versus expenditure is paramount. While performance nutrition principles like pre-workout fueling become more critical as training volume and intensity increase, for someone doing moderate workouts (e.g., 30-60 minutes, several times a week), the specific timing of nutrients is less crucial than hitting daily targets.

That said, if having a small carbohydrate snack (like a banana, ~30g carbs) before a workout helps an individual feel better, train harder, and enjoy the session more, it's perfectly acceptable, provided those calories are accounted for within their daily total needed for weight loss. The key is finding a sustainable and enjoyable approach. Rather than adhering strictly to specific diet dogmas (keto, fasting, etc.), individuals should focus on achieving a calorie deficit, adequate protein and fiber, and choosing a pattern of eating and food types that they can stick to consistently (following the 90/10 principle) to achieve their long-term goals.

Conclusion

This conversation with Jordan Sullivan underscores that effective nutrition, particularly for performance, is far from a one-size-fits-all prescription. The optimal strategy hinges entirely on the specific context: the individual's goals (peak competition, training adaptation, health, weight loss), the demands of their activity (duration, intensity), their personal physiology, preferences, and lifestyle. Whether discussing the extreme carbohydrate loading for a Hyrox event, the meticulous gut training and energy management for a 1000-mile run, the controversial but calculated fluid manipulation for a UFC weight cut, or the foundational principles for general fitness and weight loss, the recurring theme is the need for a tailored, evidence-informed, and adaptable approach. Mastering the basics of energy balance, protein intake, and fiber, combined with consistent monitoring, individual experimentation, and a focus on sustainable adherence, provides the most reliable path to achieving desired outcomes in both performance and body composition.