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With Beta Red as the secret ingredient, my Chocolate Orange Cardamon Cookies are great before and during workouts.

This easy-to-prepare recipe comes from Carrie Dittmer and makes a tasty pre-workout treat. It's also perfect for those long mountain bike rides when it's nice to have some nutritional variety in your pack.

A little more than 8 years ago, I found myself absolutely exhausted in my daily life. I always felt like I was in need of a nap, regardless of whether or not it was a training day. At the time, I was in the midst of a lengthy career in the biotech industry as a desk-bound researcher who was also a road warrior with a full weekly travel schedule. Between my flights to and from Denver, Raleigh, and other cities across North America, I was also trying to maintain a robust training schedule that sometimes even included renting a bike for a local ride in whatever city I was visiting for work.

Eating with a purpose means making smart food choices to fuel whatever it is you want to accomplish with your meal. Want to be able to train and compete at your best? A huge part of this is being intentional about what you put in your body. Whether it's going on a big ride in the mountains, sneaking in a quick weekday interval session, or having an easy recovery day, fueling yourself appropriately for the task at hand is the only way to maximize your long-term performance.

How can an athlete gain the advantages from following a low-carb / high-fat diet without suffering from its disadvantages? Consider this approach an attempt at metabolic flexibility. The intent is to up-regulate fat oxidation while not substantially down-regulating glycogen utilization. It’s not completely proven yet, although there is a growing body of research and current studies likely ongoing. In my eyes the principal holds some possibilities and with the limited but promising results I’ve witnessed, I’m willing to keep it in my arsenal of coaching tools.