Amy Stephens Nutrition – Nutritionist in New York City's West Village

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Amy Stephens

MS, RDN, CDCES, CSSD

Licensed dietitian

specializing in sports nutrition

and eating disorders

Amy Stephens is a registered dietitian, certified specialist in sports nutrition, blogger, runner and food coach. She has over 20 years experience working with amateur and high-performing Olympic level athletes to achieve their sports performance goals using the latest science-backed approaches. Currently, Amy serves as team dietitian for Empire Elite Track Club, a high level group of athletes focused on making the US Olympic team. She coaches elite athletes on nutrition for optimal performance and recovery to maximize their personal success. She has traveled with her team to the Olympic trials in Eugene, OR as well as many other qualifying meets. There, Amy learned first-hand how to fuel high performing athletes for competition.

Amy also works as a collegiate dietitian for NYU Track and Field team which is located in New York City, New York. Amy meets with the team regularly to provide education on performance nutrition, meal plans, and race day nutrition.

Amy has experience working with athletes that struggle with proper fueling with a history of eating disorders, including RED-S. She works with her athletes to find holes in their current eating plans and creates easy-to-follow steps to improve their health and performance. Amy can work with you to create a nutrition plan to give you peak performance in any sport. Amy has worked with athletes focused on running, (marathon, track, ultra runners), pickleball, baseball, tennis and cycling. She is a runner herself and recently ran her first Boston qualifying (BQ) time in 2021.

Latest Blog Posts and Press

Guide to Carb Loading for a Marathon

September 21, 2023

The greater the amount of glycogen present in your body, the greater your body’s capacity to run faster and for a longer duration. Having fully replenished glycogen stores on the day of a race can significantly enhance your ability to endure the 26.2-mile journey and potentially boost your performance by 2-3% (as noted by Hawley).

How to prevent GI issues in runners

September 6, 2023

We all know far too well that gastrointestinal issues can derail a training run or race physically and mentally. Cramping, bloating, and diarrhea can quickly worsen dehydration and become very painful or even debilitating. In this post, I outline some easy strategies to help you feel better and improve performance when facing GI issues. By following these nutrition strategies, one can improve symptoms and performance as a whole.

How to Restore Your Period as an Endurance Athlete

August 25, 2023

Athletes burn tons of extra calories each day because of the high demands of their training. If their nutritional needs are not being met, they may be underfueling. For female athletes, underfueling poses a high risk for secondary amenorrhea, which is defined as the absence of three or more periods in a row by someone who has had periods in the past. It can lead to a variety of other health issues, specifically impacting bone health and lowering immunity. Unfortunately, secondary amenorrhea is extremely common in female runners.

eating disorders

How to develop a healthy relationship with food

Eating disorders can have mental and physical affects on athletic performance. Amy will help you develop and restore a healthy relationship with food.

sports nutrition

How to fuel athletes

Whether you’re an amateur enthusiast or a seasoned pro, Amy will collaborate with you to select optimal foods to reach your full potential.

relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S)

How to help athletes that struggle with RED-S

When supporting an athlete dealing with REDS it’s crucial to prioritize their physical and mental well being. Amy will provide a comprehensive evaluation and create a treatment plan that focuses on the athlete’s short and long-term goals.

Amy's comprehensive approach has helped me focus on moving away from previous short term goals and provided me the tools to focus on living a truly healthy + balanced life. As I moved my perspective towards a gradual lifestyle change, replacing restriction with balance, I have been able to lose thirty pounds. Grateful for our continued work together into the future.

I’ve been working with Amy now for over a year and she has been tremendously supportive providing valuable insight and information which has shown impactful results in my quest to improve health.

During the marathon, I followed the same hydration and nutrition strategies Amy taught me and it worked! Best of all, I shaved an hour off my marathon time from 2019 in NYC! Thank you for all of your helpful advice and I look forward to working with you again next cycle for half marathon training!

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Carb loading is the last phase of your marathon tr

Carb loading is the last phase of your marathon training. Load up on carbs to top off glycogen for the 26.2 journey.

#marathontaper #carbloading
#chicagomarathon #marathonfueling #marathonnutrition #sportsrd
#distancerunner #chicagomarathon

Carbohydrates are the main source of fuel for endu

Carbohydrates are the main source of fuel for endurance athletes such as runners, soccer players, field hockey, and tennis. Use this plate as a guide to ensure you are eating the right balance of nutrients to optimize performance. Half of the plate is carbohydrates, one quarter is protein and one quarter vegetables. Eating too much of one nutrient will throw off the balance and displace other important nutrients. Your body needs all of these foods to perform at its best.

#runnersdiet #crosscountryrunning #soccernutrition #sportsrd #healthyathlete #balancedplate #runnergirls #sportsnutrition

Fall marathon prep! If you’re racing a fall mara

Fall marathon prep! If you’re racing a fall marathon, here are 4 things you can be doing right now!

1. Focus on recovering after workouts and long runs by eating plenty of carbs. Aim for 50-100 grams of carb + 20 grams of protein. For example, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, fruit smoothie or eggs and toast.

2. Practice your race day breakfast. Figure out which food feels the best before long runs. Best options are oatmeal with peanut butter and banana or a bagel with peanut butter.

3. Stock up on your gels/gus or whatever nutrition products you’ll need to run your best. Make sure to purchase extra!

4. Start thinking about carbohydrate loading. Carb loading is accomplished by adding in more carbs the weeks leading up to the marathon. The goal is to to top off glycogen stores. This is especially important if you have a busy schedule. Think about which meals and snacks you'll have in hand for a successful carb loading week.

#marathonfuel #fallmarathon #endurancenutrition #nycmarathon #chicagomarathon #berlinmarathon #lululemon

Iron deficiency is common among endurance athletes

Iron deficiency is common among endurance athletes. The prevalence is 50% among female and 30% among male athletes.

Iron is an important nutrient to endurance athletes because it carries oxygen and produces energy. Low levels of iron mean that fewer red blood cells are available to carry oxygen and generate power.

Stages of deficiency are established by Dr. Peeling and published in the International Journal of Sports Nutrition Exercise and Metabolism.

> Stage 1—Iron deficiency (ID): iron stores in the bone marrow, liver and spleen are depleted (ferritin < 35 μg/L, Hb > 115 g/L, transferrin saturation > 16%). Treat with food first approach by including many iron-rich foods along with Vitamin C.

> Stage 2—Iron-deficient non-anemia (IDNA): erythro- poiesis diminishes as the iron supply to the erythroid marrow is reduced (ferritin < 20 μg/L, Hb > 115 g/L, transferrin saturation < 16%). Iron supplementation is recommended.

> Stage 3—Iron-deficient anemia (IDA): Hb production falls, resulting in anemia (ferritin < 12 μg/L, Hb < 115 g/L, transferrin saturation < 16%). When levels are this low, consult with your physician about the cause and best treatment options.

Risk factors for low iron:

During a training block, iron levels can drop 25-40%.

Menstruation for females
Underfueling/Low calorie intake (RED-S)
Endurance athletes
Altitude training
Vegan or vegetarian diets
Have a history of low iron stores

Symptoms of low iron:

Initially, symptoms are not overt, however, you may feel tired overtime or less of a desire to complete a workout. Most common symptoms include:

fatigue/lethargy
dizziness
negative mood
poor performance

Check out my blog post on iron for endurances athletes for more information.

Peeling P, Blee T, Goodman C, Dawson B, Claydon G, Beilby J, Prins A (2007) Effect of iron injections on aerobic-exercise perfor- mance of iron-depleted female athletes. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab 17(3):221–231.

#irondeficiency #vegandiet #veganathlete #marathonrunner #collegerunner #collegeathlete #endurancetraining #sportsrd #femaleathlete #femaleathletes #eatingdisordersinsport #ironrichfoods #performancenutrition

Social media can be a great place for athletes to

Social media can be a great place for athletes to connect with other athletes, share content about their own journeys, and follow their favorite pros. However, social media can also become a toxic environment for those who are not cognizant of its impact.

Check out the full post for tips on how to use social media in a positive way.

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#socialmedia #athletes #collegeathlete #sportsrd #sportsdietitian #mentalhealthawareness #bodyimagemovement #runnersofinstagram #girlrunner

Many athletes have been struggling to exercise in

Many athletes have been struggling to exercise in the warmer weather. I was interested to learn more about how the weather impacts performance and the best times of the day to exercise.
I sat down with my friend Michael Schlacter, an atmospheric scientist out of Cornell University. We discussed how the dew point affects runners more than temperature or humidity. I compiled the notes from our chat onto these slides.

#dewpoint #marathontraining #collegeathlete #fitnesstraining #sportsrd #trackandfieldlife #runoutside #lovetorun #girlrunner #femaleathlete #hydration #exerciseoutside

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Amy Stephens, MS, RDN, CDCES, CSSD

Licensed dietitian

Specializing in sports nutrition and eating disorders

info@amystephensnutrition.com | 646.391.4868 | Book your Session

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