Honest Nourish Review: How One Call With An RD Changed My Entire Marathon Nutrition Strategy

It’s no secret that the foods you eat have a huge impact on your well-being. Nutrition affects your energy, focus, immunity, and so many aspects of your long-term health. Yet, with so much (often conflicting) advice available right at your fingertips, deciding what to eat for your own body and goals can feel overwhelming. 

That’s where Nourish comes in. The telehealth platform connects you virtually with registered dietitians (RDs) for personalized, science-backed nutrition advice to reach your personalized goals. 

As a marathon runner, fueling has always been a challenge for me. But after one session with a Nourish RD, I walked away with clear, practical insights I could apply to my training immediately.

Nourish is an online nutrition care platform that pairs users with a licensed registered dietitian based on their individual goals. Unlike one-off consults or generic online programs, Nourish is designed to provide ongoing support to help you develop healthy habits that you'll stick with long-term. 

Users meet regularly with their RD to discuss small and big-picture goals, and the Nourish app has additional resources to help you stay on track between sessions, such as meal plans, recipes, and educational blog posts.

When you first sign up for Nourish, you’ll be prompted to share some basic information about yourself and about your nutrition goals. Nourish will then match you with a few RD options to choose from.

You’ll be able to see a potential match's specializations (e.g. sports performance, digestive health, hormone balance, or general wellness) as well as a short bio.

Regardless of who you pick, the first Nourish session will be a comprehensive nutrition assessment, during which your dietitian will ask questions to gather a deeper understanding of your goals. They’ll then provide you with a personalized care plan.

All Nourish appointments are virtual, and you’ll typically meet with your RD weekly, every other week, or monthly, depending on your preference and goals.

Before my first session with my Nourish RD, I specified that my main goal was to learn more about sports and performance nutrition to help make sure I am fueling properly while training for my fifth marathon.

I was matched with a registered dietitian who is also a former personal trainer and has years of experience working with athletes. Going into my appointment, I felt confident that this was the right match for me, and I was excited that Nourish was able to pair me with someone who really fit my needs. 

In my first appointment, we discussed my current marathon training schedule, what I typically eat in a day, how I fuel my long runs, and how I’ve been feeling overall during my marathon training. I was surprised by how much she dug into my past, my relationship with food, and other aspects of my health. 

I’ve had previous appointments with doctors and experts in which I felt rushed or like I wasn’t being heard—but this was not my experience with Nourish at all. My RD really listened to everything I said, and she often asked follow-up questions to dig deeper.

She explained that the first session was really about gathering information and setting one or two smaller goals. Even though the appointment was centered around goal-setting, my RD still took the time to explain certain terms to me.

My RD helped me identify times when I might be under-fueling (turns out what I thought was carb loading was still not nearly enough for my total mileage!). She broke down simple, research-backed guidelines to help me determine how many grams of carbs I need to aim for before, during, and after runs—and she also helped me understand when I need to be more mindful of fiber and fat (before longer runs) and when I can increase my intake.

In terms of goal-setting, we decided to start by logging my meals for the week so she can get a better sense of where I’m at now and then develop a plan of where I want to be. I set a follow-up appointment for one week later to go over everything and continue to strategize my fueling and nutrition in the next few weeks leading up to my race.

I’ve always been interested in the nutrition aspect of running, but I myself have fallen victim to online advice from people who often have no true credentials. As a runner, it can be overwhelming to try to weed through so many different guidelines and blanket recommendations that aren’t always right for me individually.

After my appointment with Nourish, I felt so much more clarity around my nutrition strategy. I’ve started to implement some of the changes we spoke about, and I’ve already felt a difference in my energy levels and stamina during my more difficult training runs.

It’s personalized. My absolute favorite thing about Nourish is that they don’t give cookie-cutter advice. Again, nothing about nutrition is one-size-fits-all, and I love that my RD spent our full hour session really getting to know me, my health history, my lifestyle, and my goals. The recommendations she gave were tailored to my training schedule and my preferences. This personalization makes me way more eager to follow her advice, and I’m confident it will help me reach my goals.

It’s research backed. I loved that my RD came with resources and materials to walk me through the science behind her recommendations. I could tell she was extremely knowledgeable in nutrition (and in sports nutrition specifically), and I appreciated that she was willing to go as much or as little into the weeds of the research as I wanted. I asked a lot of questions, and she always took the time to answer and make sure I understood everything.

There’s not much I would change about my experience with Nourish. The platform is easy to use and I was extremely pleased with the RD I was matched with. One thing to be aware of, though, is that you are not going to see the best results unless you commit to ongoing sessions and hold yourself accountable between those appointments. One call was definitely impactful, but I can tell that consistent conversations with my RD is what will really move the needle.

I’d recommend it to any other runner or athlete who wants to get a better handle on their nutrition to improve their performance and energy levels.