Introducing Ien Hellemans, MSc, BDietetics
Nutrition Chapter Coming Monday
Monday we will publish our chapter on Nutrition and Body Performance. To help bring you the best chapter possible, I reached out to Ien Hellemans to review.
Ien kindly agreed to help me out and you’re going to be the beneficiary of the improvements she suggested.
Ien has a lifetime of experience at the sharp end of elite and amateur sports nutrition. I asked her two questions about her experience.
What’s the advice you’ve given over and over to athletes?
Get the basics right. There is no point focusing on the one percenters (supplements, periodized nutrition) until you have the basics sorted!
What do you tell an athlete who thinks they need to lose 3-5 kilos to be more competitive?
I start with questions:
How long have they been in the sport?
What do they expect the weight loss to achieve?
Is there a flip side to being lighter (e.g reduced swim performance)?
I would want to know body composition either from dexa (gold standard), or skinfold measurements (good field method if carried out by an accredited anthropomotrist). If I am happy that weight loss may be beneficial, we would go about setting out a plan to achieve this which includes the right timing (may be over several seasons), and the right process (individualised).
Problem is that most athletes are impatient and want things to happen now! Where possible I'd get them to talk to other senior athletes to get a peer perspective as they may trust their peers more than a nutritionist. I also try and work with their coach, to get their support and buy in as they spend more time with the athlete than I do. Finally, I'd point out the pitfalls of pursuing goals that are inappropriate or rushed.
Ien’s Bio
Ien is an accomplished dietitian and sports nutritionist with over forty years’ experience in a range of settings, including nutrition consulting, management, education and research.
Her varied roles have included:
Operating a private sports nutrition consultancy
Appointed New Zealand Team dietitian at the Athens Olympic Games
Lecturer in sport and exercise nutrition at the University of Otago
Senior performance nutritionist for the New Zealand Triathlon programme at High Performance New Zealand (HPSNZ)
Acting performance nutrition lead at HPSNZ.
While Ien has retired from these roles, she continues to be involved in some project work, for instance developing a food plan for the Race to Survive Aotearoa.
Ien grew up in the Netherlands, where she was a competitive swimmer and water polo player. After moving to New Zealand, she took up running, multisport and mountain biking.
These days she hikes in the beautiful Christchurch Port Hills, continues to enjoy mountain biking and also has returned to the pool for a couple of weekly swim sessions.
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