Meet Your Bariathlete RD Lea Crosetti
Lea Crosetti is a Registered Dietitian and the founder of BariAthletes™ and Food Coach For You. She received her Bachelors Degree in Dietetics from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and completed her internship at LAC + USC Hospital. She is currently working on her Masters Degrees in Exercise Physiology at California State University Northridge.

Lea has specialized in both Bariatric Nutrition and Sports Nutrition. Lea has been developing and running bariatric programs where she was worked with a team of physicians, surgeons, behaviorists, and other coordinating medical staff to assure the continuum of care is being met for her patients. As a triathlete, Lea understands an athlete’s nutritional needs beyond the textbook and knows the key for properly fueling the human body. Lea’s expertise lies in combining her knowledge of physiological changes from bariatric surgery and her skills in meeting the nutritional demands of exercise and sports.

BariAthletes™ was created by Lea when she saw more and more of her post-op bariatric patients lose the weight and start training for endurance events, yet they did not know how to fuel their new anatomy. These endurance events require a lot of fuel which most athletes obtain by consuming large amounts of carbohydrates. Yet having a one ounce pouch for a stomach will not be able to hold ½ of what most athletes eat. In addition, too many carbohydrates (particularly the simple sugars found in sports products) can trigger dumping syndrome, and take the place of needed protein and other nutritious foods. Knowing bariathletes are not able to follow the typical sports nutrition guidelines, Lea has formulated nutrition plans to specifically meet their nutritional needs.

As a writer, Lea contributes to various websites including; TriathleteFood.com, Bicycle.net, and LIVESTRONG.com. She has also been a speaker at the 2009 LA Triathlon Expo and for various nutrition clinics for the LATri Club put on by Kinetics 360.

Professional organizations that Lea belongs to include; American Dietetic Association, Sports Cardiovascular and Wellness Nutrition, Nutrition Entrepreneurs, American College of Sports Medicine, Professionals In Nutrition and Exercise Sports, and Women In Sports and Events.