Francesca Caccamo: if I don't eat on this strict diet today and I have a Korean corn dog, like Tomorrow you're gonna wake up and you're gonna get back at it and you're gonna practice and you're gonna fuel your body in the right ways and everything's gonna be okay. if you were not eating three meals a day. If you were not drinking water, if you were not sleeping enough, I don't think creatine is something you should be doing or taking.
Sam Nott: Frankie, is it true that the old cliche still stands that breakfast is the most important meal of the day? She played field hockey at the University of New England, graduated with a degree in nutrition, and now runs evidence-based workshops for athletes to fuel their bodies properly. Frankie, how did a field hockey player end up becoming the person teaching athletes how to eat?
Francesca Caccamo: So I think growing up, my whole life, I played three sports in high school as well as continue to play two in college. And I think I saw the gap in nutrition education for these young athletes. I also think myself, I was trying to figure out the best ways to feel my body, and I think I've always had a love for food and also like balance is my biggest thing. I think a lot of athlet athletes will try to be on these strict diets that think this helps perform, but I also think They're young, so like middle and high school athletes need to know that balance is a very important part of their lifestyle. Like they're not gonna get anywhere if they're cutting out all their favorite foods. So that's something that I like to preach. And also I think in today's world, I think it's very the diet culture and everything on social media is super hard for young young teenagers to navigate. So I think being in those positions myself is really really impacted me and I wanna be able to help young athletes who wanna have a future in college athletics as well as even just high school just be able to navigate those ways better.
Sam Nott: Yeah, and I I want to come back to this idea of balance because I saw a post where you were eating a Korean corn dog and you said ten out of ten, which I think is awesome.
Francesca Caccamo: yes. I I also like like I will try if I see a new thing on TikTok, I'm like, this food sounds cool. Like I wanna try it and I'll try it. And I think that's the biggest thing too. Like you shouldn't be, if I eat this and my all my goals are gonna be all my goals are gonna turn to crap. if I don't eat on this strict diet today and I have a Korean corn dog, like Tomorrow you're gonna wake up and you're gonna get back at it and you're gonna practice and you're gonna fuel your body in the right ways and it'll everything's gonna be okay. So I think that's the biggest thing,
Sam Nott: And in your own athletic career playing three sports in high school, two sports in college, what were those sports? And then where did you l finally have the realization that man, I need to take care of the way I'm fueling myself?
Francesca Caccamo: So I played field hockey, ice hockey, and lacrosse in high school. And I think just starting in high school, like the rigorous schedules that high school athletes have. So you'd get up, you'd go to school, you'd go to practice, come home, do your homework, sleep, and repeat. So I think having those rigorous schedules and trying to figure out, like, okay, when am I gonna eat dinner if I have practice at four to six? Like, am I gonna eat before? Am I gonna eat after? I think just thinking about that and also noticing how much more. I was eating because I was so I was working out a lot and practicing in games and I think just noticing that like myself and as I was getting older and even like around me like seeing what other people were eating and then I'd have people be like, Yeah, I I didn't eat I didn't eat breakfast today. I had a little a snack at lunch and now we're gonna go practice. And you could tell and I could tell for myself if I wasn't fueling properly. If I didn't eat breakfast that morning, then even at school I felt tired or I felt like I wasn't I wasn't able to perform my best at practice. So I think noticing the changes in myself and also like seeing it firsthand with my teammates, I think that really made a difference. But yeah.
Sam Nott: So f from my own experience, it didn't really hit me until I was about a junior in college. I was a college baseball player. And during my season I had lost about twenty pounds because I thought I was eating healthy, right? You know,
Francesca Caccamo: Yeah.
Sam Nott: very low calorie, very low fats. I didn't know what the heck I was doing, to be honest, but I lost twenty pounds without wanting to lose twenty pounds. I'll keep it as simple as that. Do you remember a time where you had this realization, like, man, I gotta figure this out or it's gonna hurt me?
Francesca Caccamo: Yeah, I think especially like my first year of college field hockey. I came in, I was mainly I could play whatever, but I surprisingly was a mid. not n don't really love the running, but if I'm in my smart, then I think that makes it ten times easier. so I think quickly when I began to realize how different high school to college field hockey was, like all the running, the stops and goes and all Like you really don't have a lot of time to rest, so it's a lot of endurance. So I think that my first few games, I would get to halftime and I'd be like, Wow, like I I'm really I'm I'm pretty low in energy right now. So I think the next few games I started to bring, I would have a halftime snack. So it's either like gummies or some quick carb. Sometimes we'd have time to go in the locker room too, so I'd get eat like peanut butter and a banana or something like that. But just Something like during the game to keep me going and then from then on I think I've had a snack at every game. Like it's like a routine that I do. Like I wanna always have and sometimes I don't eat it and sometimes I don't need to, but usually I like to have some type of snack like packed in my bag or I'll give it to the athletic trainer and just in case, because you never know. And even if some other people will come in and we'll have a ten o'clock game and they'll like, Yeah, I had I had an apple and peanut butter for breakfast and then That's all they've had and they're they're starting right mid. So it's like, okay, realistically that's not gonna get you through the whole game. So I think having snacks was a big thing. Like in the first few college games I was like, Wow, like I d I definitely need to eat more than I think I do.
Sam Nott: And so there's definitely a difference between doing it for yourself, which you're talking about, and then having a desire to help others with it. So you go on, you get your degree in nutrition, and now you're running workshops for athletes. How did you know it was something that you wanted to share with others?
Francesca Caccamo: So again, I think I saw the vast how the education was lacking in the younger population. I also just really love to be involved in sports and I don't think I ever want to like let that part go. so I think it's a way for me to like still be passionate about things and help other athletes like perform and hopefully win games and do well at practice and get better because just thinking back in my experience, like if there was somebody to go to, like, hey I saw this TikTok about how carbs are bad for you or how carbs like all these things people are navigating. I think that was my biggest push. Like I want younger athletes to have to have the resources that they need to like perform with their best.
Sam Nott: Yeah, and trying to keep it as simple as possible to start off here. If if I knew nothing about nutrition, how would you explain it to me as if I I were ten years old?
Francesca Caccamo: I'd say the main thing that you want to focus on is three meals a day. I'd say you want to focus on colors on your plate. So making sure you get as many colors as you can. And then we have our proteins, veggies, carbs, dairy, healthy fats, all of the important micro and macronutrient nutrients. but yeah, I think the biggest thing would just be having those three balanced meals and focusing on having your protein, having your carbs, every single micro and macronutrient. and just balance. Like you shouldn't be eating a salad and like a salad for lunch every day. Like you need to have a salad and add add croutons, add chicken, add avocado for healthy fats. Like that's another big thing. I like to focus on adding things. So, like, yes, I had that Korean corn dog, but for dinner I made sure I had a super high protein. I had chicken, I had a potato, asparagus, like a super balanced meal. But even like I know a lot of people I was talking to some middle school across boys from Messelinski. That was one of my workshops. And they were like, my favorite food is cereal. I love to have cereal in the morning, which cereal's just the cereal and milk. So something that I like to do is make like a loaded cereal bowl. So I put cereal, milk, peanut butter, sprinkle some chia seeds, like honey. You can sometimes add granola, like any type of addition to that to make it more of a balanced meal overall.
Sam Nott: Yeah, I wanna I want to talk about something here where you said balance is important and different colors and carbs and fats and proteins and balancing everything. Can you compare and contrast some of the popular advice that you see online for people that might be training for aesthetics or just looking good versus what you actually need to do to fuel as an athlete?
Francesca Caccamo: So I think again carbs is a big one. I think a lot of the times people say carbs are bad and carbs make you gain weight and this and that. But I think in reality, like carbs are your main energy source, especially as an athlete. Like that's what's gonna get you going in the long in the long run. Also, fats, fats are very important. So fats is like the long-term storage. So that's gonna help you with endurance. So if you're like an endurance runner, you wanna make sure you're getting those healthy fats. I think another one is definitely I already talked about it a little bit, but like these strict diets that people are going on. I think, yes, it can be beneficial, but I think the long term outcome, like you want to have sustainable like habits that you can go for the rest, like you don't want it to be, I can go on this diet and I can only do it for three, four months. And then after that, you're like, wow, this is like this is kinda hard. Like this is kind of taking a toll on my body. So I think having like Yes, you can if you would like to go high carb, high protein diet, yes, but also making sure you're like balancing it throughout that. So I think that's another big thing, like habits, like making habits. I think you see all these like TikToks, it's like, these are my healthy habits of the morning. And like I think I use that a lot for inspo, but also like making it your own. So we see all these influencers and people who are doing this like fitness. And which is some some of it's really good content, but I think a lot of people sometimes get stuck and are like, Okay, I can't do exactly what she's doing, so I'm not gonna look I'm not gonna look like that, or I'm not gonna I can't get the exact food that she's eating, so it's gonna be hard for me to replicate it. But I think again, knowing yourself and knowing that every athlete and every person's different, so it's not it's not gonna all work out the same. So like somebody could have this for dinner and like I don't know, think that's the biggest thing, like knowing that everybody's different and everybody's training for different things. So even if you're both endurance athletes, like your body might your body might digest this better than this person's body. So I think just knowing that everybody's different in that aspect too.
Sam Nott: Yeah, the comparison trap is something that is so big these days. But talking about some things that you just said, I have to ask you, what does it mean to listen to your body?
Francesca Caccamo: So I think I think this could go for a lot of things. I think starting off with like exercising and working out and stuff like that, I think even personally, like in my collegiate career, I think there's a lot of like injuries happen or you're not feeling a hundred percent that day or you hurt yourself but you're like, Hey, I really we have this really important game and I wanna practice so I can play like I think listen it like also thinking about the long run. Like if you play, are you gonna hurt hurt yourself even more? I think also food wise, like listening to your to your body listening to your cravings. I think that's another big thing. Like like I said, I was craving the Korean cord dog and I went and got it. Because again, it's not gonna hurt me in the long run. And if that's what's gonna make me happy in that given moment, then that's what I'm gonna do. And I think again, a lot of these young athletes, like I talked about before are listening to everything they see online and wanna be like this this star athlete who eats this, this, and this for dinner. So maybe they'll replicate it. Maybe it doesn't work for them. But I think also just just knowing and like learning that if if that's something you're gonna crave, go satisfy that craving. and I think even working out, I've Definitely it's a lot different like having like usually I have a set running schedule and stuff that I need to do during the summer and I have like none of it now because I don't have a season I'm training for. so I think trying to figure out like a balance between like do I work out every day? Do I lift every day? Like I've tried to find other ways of moving. So like I have a walking pad, I use that a lot, or I'll go on like a hike, or any type of like pickleball is really fun. Or any type of active way of moving your body instead of lifting five days a week. I think that's like super important too. Especially post collegiate athl like athletic career. I think that's super hard for people to figure out. Cause I was eating a whole bunch more when I was a college athlete, because I'm working out a lot, which makes sense. And I think going from that to going to I'm not working out every day. I'm not, I don't have double sessions. Like just trying to figure out how to manage that and not not work out every day and completely like burn myself out. So I think also rest days are super important. So like if you get up and you have you're supposed to hit legs and you're not feeling it, like it's okay to take a rest day. And I think the narrative online is like, like you're in your bed scrolling and I'm here at the gym. Like I think Sometimes you need to be in your bed scrolling for a couple like sometimes that's what you need. And I think that's a whole narrative, which is a whole nother story on social media. But again, I think I think it's super important to just listen to yourself and what you need and try to figure out those habits and what you need to like do for the long term.
Sam Nott: Yeah, I agree with you. It's so easy to get caught in the trap of just copy and paste what they did and all of a sudden you'll you'll be exactly like them when everyone's a unique individual in themselves. So if if we had to do this and create a foundation, what are the let's say four most important things in nutrition? Number one, we'll say balance because we already talked about it. What would you say are the other three?
Francesca Caccamo: I'd say so number one, balance. I'd say number two would be variety. So having a variety of things on your plate, having a variety of things for workout, for work because I think nutrition goes hand in hand with like your physical and even your mental. so I think overall variety. I also think Sleep plays a huge role in nutrition. If you're not getting enough sleep, you're gonna be up at two A like some people are up at two AM and then that you you're craving a snack and you're gonna eat something at which if you need a snack at two a.m. that's fine. But if you can get on a good sleep schedule and figure that out first, then that's also gonna help you fuel your body better and do that. I think hydration's also super important. I think a lot of people like are into the electric which electrolytes are super good for you. I think it's hard to find a good one and there's like a lot of research still being done on like the best ones and stuff like that. But I think water's like a super important thing that some athletes just don't just don't think about. So I think hydr like I always I always have a water bottle. That's like my biggest thing wherever I go. I have a water and I make sure I keep that with me. That's something I said in these workshops too. I was like make sure You should all have a water bottle at school. You should have it everywhere you go in your car, just so that it's there. Because I think it's hard. You talk to a lot of people and they're like, Yeah, I've had I've had a couple of sips of water today, like and then they had their coffee and their energy drink and their which I think is a whole nother story, the caffeine. But I think hydration is super important. So balance, variety, sleep and hydration, I guess. Yeah.
Sam Nott: So I I think those are all very interesting. How does your approach to eating either when you first wake up or before you go to sleep impact performance?
Francesca Caccamo: So I think a lot of like late night late night cravings is a big thing. So like eating a big greasy dinner before you go to bed, I I know that affects me. I think knowing yourself too. Another big thing is eating breakfast in the morning. I feel like a lot of people will skip that and think, that's I don't have time or I don't have this. But again, I think if you want to perform better and you wanna be better than the next person on the field, then I think that's something Very easy to start with. So maybe meal prep energy bites, or you could do egg bites, or you could do something quick, just a peanut butter and banana. But something in the morning is like super important. Even if you're not an athlete. If you have a whole workday ahead of you, like if you're not eating breakfast, then you're already your body's already one step behind. I think also I always have a glass of water in the morning before I eat anything, and it's kind of just a way to already get some water in my body, but also It's like a habit that I've created. So it's an easy way to do it without thinking about it. and then, like I said, like the late night eating. I mean, it doesn't really I a lot of people are like, don't eat past this time. But like if that's the only time that you can eat dinner or get a third meal of the day, then that's the that's the time you need to eat. If that's what's gonna work best for you, then that's what I think some people are like, okay, I got home at 10. I only had two meals today, like I'm super hungry, but I've heard I shouldn't eat past this time because I don't digest and I don't I think that like the biggest thing is you need to eat three meals. Like every person, even if you're not an athlete, even if you're if you're just if you're going to work every day, like that's something that everybody should do. And I've I've had practices. I used to play club ice hockey and I would get home at 1130 and I would still sit down and I would eat even English muffin, peanut butter, banana, like something, because you just burnt all those calories, all that energy, and you're gonna wake up in the morning probably super hungry, which I mean I still was after eating that at night. But I think I think that's another big thing, like focusing on if this if this is your time, I think time management also. If this is if you can't eat until ten thirty, then maybe think about that and prep a dinner. Have it have it in the fridge so you can pop it in the microwave, heat it up. And eat it right before you go to bed. And I think meal prepping is also super, super important, especially for college athletes and stuff like that. And high school and middle school. Anybody for that, for that matter. I think that's a super, super cool key to helping fuel your body.
Sam Nott: And that's the whole reason I asked that question is because the majority of sports are played in the evening time. So it's like, okay, come home, you shower, eat, and go to bed. And a lot of advice says, you know, don't eat because of or don't eat right before you go to bed. And is it Frankie, is it true that the old cliche still stands that breakfast is the most important meal of the day?
Francesca Caccamo: would c second that. I think breakfast is a very important meal today, yes.
Sam Nott: Talk to us quickly about creatine.
Francesca Caccamo: Okay, so I there's a lot of everything online about I personally have taken it for a little bit during college athletes I think it or during college athletics. I think it can help, but I think it's also very hard if you were not eating three meals a day. If you were not drinking water, if you were not sleeping enough, I don't think creatine is something you should be doing or taking. I think if you have your diet set and you're eating three meals a day, you have snacks, you have a pre-workout snack, you're eating breakfast, you're hydrating. I think that's a very awesome tool that you can use. again, I think it can be hard to know how much to take, and I think I would recommend that people try to be as knowledgeable about it and like look make sure you're you're taking the right amounts. But I think again, water's a big thing when you're taking creatine. You need to make sure you're hydrated. if you're doing the things you can already, then I think that's a great addition. But if you don't have those healthy habits already with your eating, then I think that's something you would need to work on before you add that to your regimen.
Sam Nott: So exactly like it's supposed to be a supplement to, not a replacement for. Yes.
Francesca Caccamo: Exactly. Yep.
Sam Nott: Frankie, the idea of simple wins is more than just the scoreboard. What does simple wins mean to you?
Francesca Caccamo: I think simple wins is building your habits that are gonna take you through high school, college, through your older years. I think building habits that you can sustain for a lifetime. I think a lot of people are athletes and like don't know what they're gonna do after that, but I can assure you it will be okay. You will find other ways to be active, But I think yeah, just being able to build those healthy, sustainable habits that you can follow for the majority of your life.
Sam Nott: I love it because like you're saying, nutrition is gonna impact you for the rest of your life, Frankie, you've got great advice and you're definitely feeling a need for others. Where can people find you online?
Francesca Caccamo: So I am on Instagram at Frankie's Fit. I also have a TikTok, which is Francesca Cack. I can make sure I send you all of those things. But I usually I post lots of recipes, lots of meal ideas, and just nutrition content on Instagram and also we'll do recipes and stuff on TikTok. So definitely check all of those out if you need some meal inspo. but yeah.
Sam Nott: We'll make sure it's all in the show notes. Frankie, appreciate your time today. Thank you.
Francesca Caccamo: Yes, thank you so much for having me.
Sam Nott: Frankie, is it true that the old cliche still stands that breakfast is the most important meal of the day? She played field hockey at the University of New England, graduated with a degree in nutrition, and now runs evidence-based workshops for athletes to fuel their bodies properly. Frankie, how did a field hockey player end up becoming the person teaching athletes how to eat?
Francesca Caccamo: So I think growing up, my whole life, I played three sports in high school as well as continue to play two in college. And I think I saw the gap in nutrition education for these young athletes. I also think myself, I was trying to figure out the best ways to feel my body, and I think I've always had a love for food and also like balance is my biggest thing. I think a lot of athlet athletes will try to be on these strict diets that think this helps perform, but I also think They're young, so like middle and high school athletes need to know that balance is a very important part of their lifestyle. Like they're not gonna get anywhere if they're cutting out all their favorite foods. So that's something that I like to preach. And also I think in today's world, I think it's very the diet culture and everything on social media is super hard for young young teenagers to navigate. So I think being in those positions myself is really really impacted me and I wanna be able to help young athletes who wanna have a future in college athletics as well as even just high school just be able to navigate those ways better.
Sam Nott: Yeah, and I I want to come back to this idea of balance because I saw a post where you were eating a Korean corn dog and you said ten out of ten, which I think is awesome.
Francesca Caccamo: yes. I I also like like I will try if I see a new thing on TikTok, I'm like, this food sounds cool. Like I wanna try it and I'll try it. And I think that's the biggest thing too. Like you shouldn't be, if I eat this and my all my goals are gonna be all my goals are gonna turn to crap. if I don't eat on this strict diet today and I have a Korean corn dog, like Tomorrow you're gonna wake up and you're gonna get back at it and you're gonna practice and you're gonna fuel your body in the right ways and it'll everything's gonna be okay. So I think that's the biggest thing,
Sam Nott: And in your own athletic career playing three sports in high school, two sports in college, what were those sports? And then where did you l finally have the realization that man, I need to take care of the way I'm fueling myself?
Francesca Caccamo: So I played field hockey, ice hockey, and lacrosse in high school. And I think just starting in high school, like the rigorous schedules that high school athletes have. So you'd get up, you'd go to school, you'd go to practice, come home, do your homework, sleep, and repeat. So I think having those rigorous schedules and trying to figure out, like, okay, when am I gonna eat dinner if I have practice at four to six? Like, am I gonna eat before? Am I gonna eat after? I think just thinking about that and also noticing how much more. I was eating because I was so I was working out a lot and practicing in games and I think just noticing that like myself and as I was getting older and even like around me like seeing what other people were eating and then I'd have people be like, Yeah, I I didn't eat I didn't eat breakfast today. I had a little a snack at lunch and now we're gonna go practice. And you could tell and I could tell for myself if I wasn't fueling properly. If I didn't eat breakfast that morning, then even at school I felt tired or I felt like I wasn't I wasn't able to perform my best at practice. So I think noticing the changes in myself and also like seeing it firsthand with my teammates, I think that really made a difference. But yeah.
Sam Nott: So f from my own experience, it didn't really hit me until I was about a junior in college. I was a college baseball player. And during my season I had lost about twenty pounds because I thought I was eating healthy, right? You know,
Francesca Caccamo: Yeah.
Sam Nott: very low calorie, very low fats. I didn't know what the heck I was doing, to be honest, but I lost twenty pounds without wanting to lose twenty pounds. I'll keep it as simple as that. Do you remember a time where you had this realization, like, man, I gotta figure this out or it's gonna hurt me?
Francesca Caccamo: Yeah, I think especially like my first year of college field hockey. I came in, I was mainly I could play whatever, but I surprisingly was a mid. not n don't really love the running, but if I'm in my smart, then I think that makes it ten times easier. so I think quickly when I began to realize how different high school to college field hockey was, like all the running, the stops and goes and all Like you really don't have a lot of time to rest, so it's a lot of endurance. So I think that my first few games, I would get to halftime and I'd be like, Wow, like I I'm really I'm I'm pretty low in energy right now. So I think the next few games I started to bring, I would have a halftime snack. So it's either like gummies or some quick carb. Sometimes we'd have time to go in the locker room too, so I'd get eat like peanut butter and a banana or something like that. But just Something like during the game to keep me going and then from then on I think I've had a snack at every game. Like it's like a routine that I do. Like I wanna always have and sometimes I don't eat it and sometimes I don't need to, but usually I like to have some type of snack like packed in my bag or I'll give it to the athletic trainer and just in case, because you never know. And even if some other people will come in and we'll have a ten o'clock game and they'll like, Yeah, I had I had an apple and peanut butter for breakfast and then That's all they've had and they're they're starting right mid. So it's like, okay, realistically that's not gonna get you through the whole game. So I think having snacks was a big thing. Like in the first few college games I was like, Wow, like I d I definitely need to eat more than I think I do.
Sam Nott: And so there's definitely a difference between doing it for yourself, which you're talking about, and then having a desire to help others with it. So you go on, you get your degree in nutrition, and now you're running workshops for athletes. How did you know it was something that you wanted to share with others?
Francesca Caccamo: So again, I think I saw the vast how the education was lacking in the younger population. I also just really love to be involved in sports and I don't think I ever want to like let that part go. so I think it's a way for me to like still be passionate about things and help other athletes like perform and hopefully win games and do well at practice and get better because just thinking back in my experience, like if there was somebody to go to, like, hey I saw this TikTok about how carbs are bad for you or how carbs like all these things people are navigating. I think that was my biggest push. Like I want younger athletes to have to have the resources that they need to like perform with their best.
Sam Nott: Yeah, and trying to keep it as simple as possible to start off here. If if I knew nothing about nutrition, how would you explain it to me as if I I were ten years old?
Francesca Caccamo: I'd say the main thing that you want to focus on is three meals a day. I'd say you want to focus on colors on your plate. So making sure you get as many colors as you can. And then we have our proteins, veggies, carbs, dairy, healthy fats, all of the important micro and macronutrient nutrients. but yeah, I think the biggest thing would just be having those three balanced meals and focusing on having your protein, having your carbs, every single micro and macronutrient. and just balance. Like you shouldn't be eating a salad and like a salad for lunch every day. Like you need to have a salad and add add croutons, add chicken, add avocado for healthy fats. Like that's another big thing. I like to focus on adding things. So, like, yes, I had that Korean corn dog, but for dinner I made sure I had a super high protein. I had chicken, I had a potato, asparagus, like a super balanced meal. But even like I know a lot of people I was talking to some middle school across boys from Messelinski. That was one of my workshops. And they were like, my favorite food is cereal. I love to have cereal in the morning, which cereal's just the cereal and milk. So something that I like to do is make like a loaded cereal bowl. So I put cereal, milk, peanut butter, sprinkle some chia seeds, like honey. You can sometimes add granola, like any type of addition to that to make it more of a balanced meal overall.
Sam Nott: Yeah, I wanna I want to talk about something here where you said balance is important and different colors and carbs and fats and proteins and balancing everything. Can you compare and contrast some of the popular advice that you see online for people that might be training for aesthetics or just looking good versus what you actually need to do to fuel as an athlete?
Francesca Caccamo: So I think again carbs is a big one. I think a lot of the times people say carbs are bad and carbs make you gain weight and this and that. But I think in reality, like carbs are your main energy source, especially as an athlete. Like that's what's gonna get you going in the long in the long run. Also, fats, fats are very important. So fats is like the long-term storage. So that's gonna help you with endurance. So if you're like an endurance runner, you wanna make sure you're getting those healthy fats. I think another one is definitely I already talked about it a little bit, but like these strict diets that people are going on. I think, yes, it can be beneficial, but I think the long term outcome, like you want to have sustainable like habits that you can go for the rest, like you don't want it to be, I can go on this diet and I can only do it for three, four months. And then after that, you're like, wow, this is like this is kinda hard. Like this is kind of taking a toll on my body. So I think having like Yes, you can if you would like to go high carb, high protein diet, yes, but also making sure you're like balancing it throughout that. So I think that's another big thing, like habits, like making habits. I think you see all these like TikToks, it's like, these are my healthy habits of the morning. And like I think I use that a lot for inspo, but also like making it your own. So we see all these influencers and people who are doing this like fitness. And which is some some of it's really good content, but I think a lot of people sometimes get stuck and are like, Okay, I can't do exactly what she's doing, so I'm not gonna look I'm not gonna look like that, or I'm not gonna I can't get the exact food that she's eating, so it's gonna be hard for me to replicate it. But I think again, knowing yourself and knowing that every athlete and every person's different, so it's not it's not gonna all work out the same. So like somebody could have this for dinner and like I don't know, think that's the biggest thing, like knowing that everybody's different and everybody's training for different things. So even if you're both endurance athletes, like your body might your body might digest this better than this person's body. So I think just knowing that everybody's different in that aspect too.
Sam Nott: Yeah, the comparison trap is something that is so big these days. But talking about some things that you just said, I have to ask you, what does it mean to listen to your body?
Francesca Caccamo: So I think I think this could go for a lot of things. I think starting off with like exercising and working out and stuff like that, I think even personally, like in my collegiate career, I think there's a lot of like injuries happen or you're not feeling a hundred percent that day or you hurt yourself but you're like, Hey, I really we have this really important game and I wanna practice so I can play like I think listen it like also thinking about the long run. Like if you play, are you gonna hurt hurt yourself even more? I think also food wise, like listening to your to your body listening to your cravings. I think that's another big thing. Like like I said, I was craving the Korean cord dog and I went and got it. Because again, it's not gonna hurt me in the long run. And if that's what's gonna make me happy in that given moment, then that's what I'm gonna do. And I think again, a lot of these young athletes, like I talked about before are listening to everything they see online and wanna be like this this star athlete who eats this, this, and this for dinner. So maybe they'll replicate it. Maybe it doesn't work for them. But I think also just just knowing and like learning that if if that's something you're gonna crave, go satisfy that craving. and I think even working out, I've Definitely it's a lot different like having like usually I have a set running schedule and stuff that I need to do during the summer and I have like none of it now because I don't have a season I'm training for. so I think trying to figure out like a balance between like do I work out every day? Do I lift every day? Like I've tried to find other ways of moving. So like I have a walking pad, I use that a lot, or I'll go on like a hike, or any type of like pickleball is really fun. Or any type of active way of moving your body instead of lifting five days a week. I think that's like super important too. Especially post collegiate athl like athletic career. I think that's super hard for people to figure out. Cause I was eating a whole bunch more when I was a college athlete, because I'm working out a lot, which makes sense. And I think going from that to going to I'm not working out every day. I'm not, I don't have double sessions. Like just trying to figure out how to manage that and not not work out every day and completely like burn myself out. So I think also rest days are super important. So like if you get up and you have you're supposed to hit legs and you're not feeling it, like it's okay to take a rest day. And I think the narrative online is like, like you're in your bed scrolling and I'm here at the gym. Like I think Sometimes you need to be in your bed scrolling for a couple like sometimes that's what you need. And I think that's a whole narrative, which is a whole nother story on social media. But again, I think I think it's super important to just listen to yourself and what you need and try to figure out those habits and what you need to like do for the long term.
Sam Nott: Yeah, I agree with you. It's so easy to get caught in the trap of just copy and paste what they did and all of a sudden you'll you'll be exactly like them when everyone's a unique individual in themselves. So if if we had to do this and create a foundation, what are the let's say four most important things in nutrition? Number one, we'll say balance because we already talked about it. What would you say are the other three?
Francesca Caccamo: I'd say so number one, balance. I'd say number two would be variety. So having a variety of things on your plate, having a variety of things for workout, for work because I think nutrition goes hand in hand with like your physical and even your mental. so I think overall variety. I also think Sleep plays a huge role in nutrition. If you're not getting enough sleep, you're gonna be up at two A like some people are up at two AM and then that you you're craving a snack and you're gonna eat something at which if you need a snack at two a.m. that's fine. But if you can get on a good sleep schedule and figure that out first, then that's also gonna help you fuel your body better and do that. I think hydration's also super important. I think a lot of people like are into the electric which electrolytes are super good for you. I think it's hard to find a good one and there's like a lot of research still being done on like the best ones and stuff like that. But I think water's like a super important thing that some athletes just don't just don't think about. So I think hydr like I always I always have a water bottle. That's like my biggest thing wherever I go. I have a water and I make sure I keep that with me. That's something I said in these workshops too. I was like make sure You should all have a water bottle at school. You should have it everywhere you go in your car, just so that it's there. Because I think it's hard. You talk to a lot of people and they're like, Yeah, I've had I've had a couple of sips of water today, like and then they had their coffee and their energy drink and their which I think is a whole nother story, the caffeine. But I think hydration is super important. So balance, variety, sleep and hydration, I guess. Yeah.
Sam Nott: So I I think those are all very interesting. How does your approach to eating either when you first wake up or before you go to sleep impact performance?
Francesca Caccamo: So I think a lot of like late night late night cravings is a big thing. So like eating a big greasy dinner before you go to bed, I I know that affects me. I think knowing yourself too. Another big thing is eating breakfast in the morning. I feel like a lot of people will skip that and think, that's I don't have time or I don't have this. But again, I think if you want to perform better and you wanna be better than the next person on the field, then I think that's something Very easy to start with. So maybe meal prep energy bites, or you could do egg bites, or you could do something quick, just a peanut butter and banana. But something in the morning is like super important. Even if you're not an athlete. If you have a whole workday ahead of you, like if you're not eating breakfast, then you're already your body's already one step behind. I think also I always have a glass of water in the morning before I eat anything, and it's kind of just a way to already get some water in my body, but also It's like a habit that I've created. So it's an easy way to do it without thinking about it. and then, like I said, like the late night eating. I mean, it doesn't really I a lot of people are like, don't eat past this time. But like if that's the only time that you can eat dinner or get a third meal of the day, then that's the that's the time you need to eat. If that's what's gonna work best for you, then that's what I think some people are like, okay, I got home at 10. I only had two meals today, like I'm super hungry, but I've heard I shouldn't eat past this time because I don't digest and I don't I think that like the biggest thing is you need to eat three meals. Like every person, even if you're not an athlete, even if you're if you're just if you're going to work every day, like that's something that everybody should do. And I've I've had practices. I used to play club ice hockey and I would get home at 1130 and I would still sit down and I would eat even English muffin, peanut butter, banana, like something, because you just burnt all those calories, all that energy, and you're gonna wake up in the morning probably super hungry, which I mean I still was after eating that at night. But I think I think that's another big thing, like focusing on if this if this is your time, I think time management also. If this is if you can't eat until ten thirty, then maybe think about that and prep a dinner. Have it have it in the fridge so you can pop it in the microwave, heat it up. And eat it right before you go to bed. And I think meal prepping is also super, super important, especially for college athletes and stuff like that. And high school and middle school. Anybody for that, for that matter. I think that's a super, super cool key to helping fuel your body.
Sam Nott: And that's the whole reason I asked that question is because the majority of sports are played in the evening time. So it's like, okay, come home, you shower, eat, and go to bed. And a lot of advice says, you know, don't eat because of or don't eat right before you go to bed. And is it Frankie, is it true that the old cliche still stands that breakfast is the most important meal of the day?
Francesca Caccamo: would c second that. I think breakfast is a very important meal today, yes.
Sam Nott: Talk to us quickly about creatine.
Francesca Caccamo: Okay, so I there's a lot of everything online about I personally have taken it for a little bit during college athletes I think it or during college athletics. I think it can help, but I think it's also very hard if you were not eating three meals a day. If you were not drinking water, if you were not sleeping enough, I don't think creatine is something you should be doing or taking. I think if you have your diet set and you're eating three meals a day, you have snacks, you have a pre-workout snack, you're eating breakfast, you're hydrating. I think that's a very awesome tool that you can use. again, I think it can be hard to know how much to take, and I think I would recommend that people try to be as knowledgeable about it and like look make sure you're you're taking the right amounts. But I think again, water's a big thing when you're taking creatine. You need to make sure you're hydrated. if you're doing the things you can already, then I think that's a great addition. But if you don't have those healthy habits already with your eating, then I think that's something you would need to work on before you add that to your regimen.
Sam Nott: So exactly like it's supposed to be a supplement to, not a replacement for. Yes.
Francesca Caccamo: Exactly. Yep.
Sam Nott: Frankie, the idea of simple wins is more than just the scoreboard. What does simple wins mean to you?
Francesca Caccamo: I think simple wins is building your habits that are gonna take you through high school, college, through your older years. I think building habits that you can sustain for a lifetime. I think a lot of people are athletes and like don't know what they're gonna do after that, but I can assure you it will be okay. You will find other ways to be active, But I think yeah, just being able to build those healthy, sustainable habits that you can follow for the majority of your life.
Sam Nott: I love it because like you're saying, nutrition is gonna impact you for the rest of your life, Frankie, you've got great advice and you're definitely feeling a need for others. Where can people find you online?
Francesca Caccamo: So I am on Instagram at Frankie's Fit. I also have a TikTok, which is Francesca Cack. I can make sure I send you all of those things. But I usually I post lots of recipes, lots of meal ideas, and just nutrition content on Instagram and also we'll do recipes and stuff on TikTok. So definitely check all of those out if you need some meal inspo. but yeah.
Sam Nott: We'll make sure it's all in the show notes. Frankie, appreciate your time today. Thank you.
Francesca Caccamo: Yes, thank you so much for having me.
