This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend a three-day sports nutrition conference at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. I felt privileged to be sitting in a seminar of 50 nutrition professionals, among them the dietitian representing the Brazil Olympic team as well as the dietitian representing the Seoul Olympic team.

It was even more impressive to walk to campus and to pretend to be an elite athlete, even if just for a moment.

As the conference went on and stories were told and research was presented, my respect for athletes grew even more. The pressure some of these athletes face from coaches as well as pressure that they put on themselves to perform or even to look a certain way can be intense.

Wrestlers who have to cut weight from 62 kilograms down to 54 kilograms just to wrestle in a weight class that they can be competitive in is an exact science. It takes a lot of work and discipline to achieve.

There are also stories of young female athletes who are the best on their team, but when they have a DEXA performed, they are showing signs of osteopenia due to stress both nutritionally and physically.

It's even scarier when this data is shown to the coach, and he overlooks it because this is his best athlete and if her health has to suffer then so be it. The message was loud and clear all weekend that not only does it take hard work on the field but it also takes nourishing your body correctly for your particular sport.

Whether you are an elite athlete, student athlete, recreational athlete or even just a wannabe, you can benefit from using nutrition to fuel your sport. It doesn’t take a magic pill, but rather an open mind to think differently about what you eat and, perhaps even more importantly, when you eat it.

Melissa Gerharter MS, RD is co-owner of Joust Strength and Fitness of Ann Arbor. She is also a personal trainer and an adjunct lecturer at Eastern Michigan University. She can be reached at Melissa@joustfitness.com