About the Author

Dan Benardot, PhD, DHC, RD, LD, FACSM, is an associate professor in the nutrition division of the School of Health Professions at Georgia State University and an associate professor in the department of kinesiology and health, also at Georgia State University. He serves as codirector of the Laboratory for Elite Athlete Performance, where athletes receive training and nutrition plans that assist them in their pursuit of athletic excellence.

As the national team nutritionist and a founding member of the Athlete Wellness Program for USA Gymnastics, Benardot worked with the gold-medal-winning women's gymnastics team at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and also worked with the medal- winning USA marathoners at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. He has served as an officer of the US Figure Skating Sports Medicine Society and has had his research funded by several organizations, including the United States Olympic Committee. In addition to working with top athletes from a variety of professional individual and team sports, Benardot serves as the head scientific advisor for Calorie & Pulse Technologies, LLC, which has developed a Web site (www.SportsNutrition Clinic.com) that assists athletes in achieving top performance.

Benardot received his PhD in human nutrition and health planning from Cornell University and a doctor of humane letters, honoris causa, from Marywood University. He is a registered and licensed (Georgia) dietitian of the American Dietetic Association (ADA) and is a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). In addition to authoring numerous journal publications, he served as editor in chief of ADA's Sports Nutrition: A Guide for Professionals Working With Active People (2nd edition), is the author of Nutrition for Serious Athletes, and is a coauthor of the ACSM Fitness Book (3rd edition). Born in Salonika, Greece, Benardot gained his love for sport while growing up in the Lake Placid region of northern New York. He now lives in Atlanta, Georgia, where he enjoys tennis and photography.