Who We are

I strive to understand the intersection between food, athleticism, body image, and self-worth. I believe when we cultivate balanced and healthy relationships with our bodies and food, we are liberated. We are liberated to be active, we are understanding of what our bodies and minds need, and we are drawn to support one another. Through food and exploring both evidence-based performance nutrition strategies and how we think about food and our bodies we can begin to better ourselves and our communities. We better ourselves physically through physical performance and being in tune with our bodies and minds. We better our communities through empathetic and empowered communication.

When I started college to become a Registered Dietitian, I originally wanted to go into public health and women’s health. I wanted to help moms, kids, pregnant women, and low-income populations through food and nutrition education and programming. 4 years into a 5 year undergraduate degree I picked up cycling. With rapid speed bike racing became a way of life for me. My community, my income, my time, and my passion centered around racing my bike. With this came a passion for sports nutrition. Not only do I love the nitty gritty of the research, I love working with athletes and active individuals to find creative and practical ways to integrate all of the knowledge the sports nutrition research is constantly teaching us. I am passionate about helping individuals and teams enhance their performance and showing them that through food they can do more than they ever thought was possible of themselves.

I am passionate about helping individuals and teams enhance their performance and showing them that through food they can do more than they ever thought was possible of themselves.

Hi, I’m Jennifer Patricca—a sports dietitian and lifelong runner.

I started as a sprinter in high school and college, then transitioned to distance running and triathlons, eventually completing marathons and an Ironman. I’ve always been fascinated by the connection between food, movement, and performance—which led me to study exercise science and become a registered dietitian.

But several years ago, I hit a wall. I was training hard but not seeing results. I restricted food, thinking weight loss would make me faster—but it only left me exhausted and frustrated.

Everything changed when I learned how to properly fuel my training. I ate more, felt better, and started performing at my best again. Most importantly, I rebuilt a healthier relationship with food and my body.

Now, I’m passionate about helping athletes fuel with confidence, perform at their best, and feel strong in both body and mind.

Fueling with the right nutrition to live and perform optimally has been an interest of mine since I was a kid. From youth MTB racing I learned early on the impact of nutrition. My desire to share information, teach, and educate about nutrition is what ultimately led me to become a dietitian. I started my career as a teacher and I shifted to dietetics because I saw something fundamental was missing in the education of children, young athletes, and parents. I dove head first into dietetics, working specifically with women and children throughout the lifecycle to encourage a new generation of nutritionally educated individuals.

As a mom often in the daily grind, this work again led me to reawaken my passion for biking, all season sports, and the necessity of movement to really live my best life. My passion lies in performance nutrition and how a healthy body relationship, food relationship, and proper training can yield the best performance. I believe in creating a deeper connection with the body and food, enjoyment in eating and feeling nourished. Research is ever changing and is constantly providing better ways to create a healthful life balance. The ultimate goal includes stepwise changes for positive nutrition resulting in better performance and everyday life.

Nutrition is a critical component of sport and performance that is often misunderstood or overlooked. It is so exciting to see an athlete have a breakthrough performance or make big training gains after helping them nail their nutrition. I believe nutrition education can empower athletes to have confidence in their fueling strategies. Confident fueling creates strong and resilient athletes, both mentally and physically, that are more equipped to push themselves and achieve big goals.

I personally have received a lot of misguided nutrition advice by non-experts that made nutrition something that was confusing and stressful, therefore I love using my education to help other athletes navigate the science of nutrition and find what works for them. It is fun and rewarding to help women navigate the nutrition puzzle to optimize their health and reach their goals.

I grew up in Asheville, North Carolina, where my participation in endurance sports began as a runner. Although, when I moved to Colorado for university, I discovered cycling which quickly became a major aspect of my life. I now race off-road with the Mach1 U23 team, and cycling continues to shape how I view discipline, growth, and self-care.

Like many women in sport receiving noise from diet culture, I learned the hard way that restriction does not lead to better performance. Instead, injury, burnout, and mental strain. I trained harder while fueling less. When I began working with a sports dietitian I learned how to properly fuel my training, support recovery, and rebuild trust with my body. My performance, and energy levels finally improved.

Those experiences led me to pursue a degree in nutrition. Through my studies, I’ve developed a deep appreciation for the science behind fueling, including an unexpected love for organic chemistry. My goal as I progress through education and beyond is to help move the field of sports nutrition forward while fostering a culture of balance, community, and compassion within competitive endurance sports. I’m passionate about helping women fuel confidently, perform sustainably, and feel strong.