10 minute read
FUELING PASSION AND PERFORMANCE
By Melissa Powell
Brinya Kydd, a current dietetic intern at Anne’s College, and Kieran Paterson, a former intern now working in performance science research, are living proof of how academic knowledge can fuel athletic success. Kydd, a natural bodybuilder, and Paterson, who worked with the FSU women’s soccer team during their 2023 national championship season, have both leveraged expertise gained through FSU’s Dietetic Internship. The Dietetic Internship, which requires at least 1,200 hours of supervised practice, is designed to prepare future dietitians with hands-on experience in areas like clinical nutrition and sports nutrition, helping them merge their passion for nutrition with real-world athletic performance.
BRINYA KYDD: THE NATURAL PATH TO BODYBUILDING
When Brinya Kydd stepped onto the bodybuilding competition stage for the first time, she brought more than just muscle — she brought a nutrition plan fueled by her passion for dietetics — and left with a victory.
Kydd, an Exercise Physiology master’s student majoring in Sports Nutrition, has integrated her academic knowledge into her personal fitness and bodybuilding journey, demonstrating the profound impact nutrition can have on physical performance.
Kydd’s path to dietetics began during her undergraduate studies at FSU where she initially explored Food and Nutrition Science and ultimately found her calling in dietetics. Kydd graduated with her bachelor’s in spring 2023. Through FSU’s Dietetic Internship, she’s now working to become a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN).
As a natural bodybuilder, she relies on food and diet, not anabolic enhancements, to meet her nutritional needs, setting her apart from enhanced bodybuilders who utilize substances like growth hormones that accelerate muscle growth, increase strength, and improve recovery. This decision makes her background in dietetics even more crucial.
Bodybuilding is almost 90% nutrition. I don’t think I could have done as well as I did without the knowledge that I had.
“Your protein intake must be sufficient and should come from different bioavailable sources,” she said.
Kydd’s trek to the bodybuilding stage came during her final year of graduate coursework at FSU. After joining a gym with a strong bodybuilding community, she decided to take the plunge. “I thought, ‘It’s my last year in Tallahassee. I’m going to pursue bodybuilding because it’s going to be something I can be proud of, and it’s going to make me really focus in on my last year,’” she said.
As a dietetic intern, Kydd has now completed coursework and is cycling through her clinical rotations at Boca Raton Regional
Hospital. She will be completing her sports nutrition rotation at the University of Miami in the spring of 2025 near her hometown of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She applied only to FSU for her Dietetic Internship and master’s studies; not only because of her love for the school, but also because of its unique Sports Nutrition track, which has built an even stronger foundation for her bodybuilding success.
MASTERING MEAL PLANS
“I always try to stick to the principle of making sure your plate is colorful, knowing how important it is to incorporate a variety of proteins, and the strategies behind meal timing,” she said. “It’s applying a lot of the sports nutrition-type of ideas that I’ve learned within the program.”
Finding which nutrition strategies worked best for her personally was a fulfilling part of the journey, she says. “All the principles that we learn aren’t going to work for everyone, so it was cool to see exactly what worked for me.”
Customizing her own meal plans and combining that with her coach’s training and programming expertise translated into success. Through careful planning and collaboration with her coach, Kydd was able to balance her training regimen and nutrition, ultimately achieving her goal of winning her first competition, the NPC Orlando Pro/Am Championships.
“My coach was very open and excited about the fact that I’m a sports nutrition graduate student,” she said. “I’d let her know, for example, that a certain type of carb before the training is better for me. Instead of having a sweet potato before I work out, I want to have rice, because it will digest faster and won’t bloat me.”
As a natural bodybuilder, Kydd also emphasizes the importance of incorporating whole foods into her diet and a wealth of micronutrients such as iron and other vitamins and minerals.
“Because I was in school at the same time I was prepping, I’m already eating less food than many people. I wanted to make sure the food I am eating is very nutrient dense to support brain function through those long study nights,” she said. “A common misconception is that bodybuilders only eat bland, unseasoned food, but mine was not because whatever food I am eating, I want to make sure I like it.”
The Dietetics program has given me the tools to make informed decisions about my diet.
One of the key challenges Kydd faces as a natural bodybuilder is maintaining muscle mass while in a caloric deficit. “Without enhancements, it’s harder to hold on to muscle, so I have to be very intentional with my protein intake and meal planning,” she explained.
GIVING BACK THROUGH DIETETICS
Kydd’s passion for dietetics stems from her own experience with weight and health challenges growing up. “I was always overweight as a kid, and I got to an unhealthy point in my life where I had doctors telling me I was developing preliminary health problems. During my senior year of high school, I was not doing my best mentally or physically, and I decided I really wanted to make a change, so I started doing my own research.”
Though she didn’t know much about fitness and nutrition at the time, she learned along the way and fell in love with the process. “I love working out and I love cooking, and seeing how food literally changed my life as a teen, I figured why not make it a career?” she said.
Now, one of the many options she’s considering once becoming an RDN includes pediatric nutrition.
“I do think back to when I was younger, and if I hadn’t made that choice to take control of my health, I don’t know where I’d be today,” she said. “I feel an immense need to give back to the community I grew up in because there was no dietitian, nobody who told me how to be healthy, and nobody who taught us about food in school.”
While taking on pediatric nutrition as a passion project, she also envisions a future as a sports dietitian, potentially working with collegiate athletes or owning her own private practice. She currently owns her own online nutrition coaching business, fuelwellnutrition.net, and looks forward to learning more about her options throughout clinical rotations. “Even before bodybuilding, I wanted to be a sports dietitian. I’m still figuring out exactly what I want to do, but I know I want to stay in the fitness and nutrition space,” she said.
As for bodybuilding, Kydd is open to wherever the sport takes her next.
“That was my first show ever. I want to see my natural potential, and at the end of the day, I’m always going to be changing strategies and responding to what’s working best for me. My knowledge of nutrition has taken me so far already.”
KIERAN PATERSON: NUTRITION AND ATHLETIC EXCELLENCE
When dietetic intern Kieran Paterson chose the FSU women’s soccer team for his Sports Nutrition rotation, he knew he was stepping into a championship-caliber program. With four national championship titles, 10 ACC Tournament titles, and seven continuous years of being ranked in the top 25, the women’s soccer team and its support staff are no stranger to high performance — and neither is Paterson.
As a former collegiate soccer player himself, he brought both passion and expertise to his role, blending his love for the game with the science of nutrition to help fuel his team’s success. Now, after completing the Dietetic Internship and graduating with his master’s in Exercise Physiology as a Sports Nutrition major in spring 2024, Paterson serves as the Outreach Director and Performance Science Research Associate at the FSU Institute of Sports Sciences & Medicine just down the street from the Seminole Soccer Complex.
As a dietetic intern and master’s student, Paterson worked under the guidance of the team’s dietitian to provide nutrition education and counseling on an individual and group basis throughout the season, planed and ordered all the players’ meals for home and away games, and provided each player with their recovery shakes and supplements before, during, and after practices and games. Working with a national championship team meant Paterson got a front-row seat to what it takes to perform at the highest level.
“It truly feels like you’re in a professional setup. So many of the coaches and support staff have come from a high-performance background; they value the data and really bring out that high standard in the everyday workings of the program,” he said.
For Paterson, the most rewarding part was the trust the coaches and support staff placed in the nutrition team. “They respect the importance of nutrition and really leaned on us for support in this area,” he shared. “They ensured, especially early in the season, that we had allotted time to educate the team on the need for nutrition and the various aspects of fueling a top collegiate athlete.”
PREPARING FOR THE NATIONAL STAGE
Feeding a team of elite athletes isn’t easy, especially when they’re on the road for high stakes matches like the national championship.
With any team, it’s always difficult as a dietitian to plan meals that will satisfy everyone’s taste or food preferences.
But the FSU women’s soccer team was different — they understood how important nutrition was, especially on game days.
For the national championship in Cary, North Carolina, Paterson traveled with the team and was responsible for making sure everything went smoothly. “For these athletes, in such high stakes matches, it’s of utmost importance to keep everything outside of the match as ‘normal’ as possible,” he said. That meant making sure meals arrived on time, food was familiar, and any personal diet restrictions were accommodated — all while being away from home.
SHAPING A CAREER IN SPORTS NUTRITION
Paterson’s background as a soccer player at Ashland University made a big difference in how he approached his role. “Growing up in the sport and previously being a collegiate athlete added to my passion for seeing these athletes succeed,” he said. He knew firsthand the physical and mental demands of being a student-athlete. “I feel as if it also helped me hold some credibility with the players,” he added.
Reflecting on his time as a dietetic intern, Paterson credits the experience with shaping his career path. “The DI provided a range of experiences that I personally felt exposed me to navigating the world of dietetics as a new professional,” he said. “Dietetics is an evidence-based field. Therefore, we need to recognize the importance of relying on the evidence and staying up-to-date and relevant in an evolving profession.” It’s a lesson he continues to carry forward in his role today. ∎
