Learning from Louise Burke
The scientist who proved you should fuel for the work required—not eat the same thing every day
The Story
In the 1980s, coaches told every athlete the same thing: "Eat carbs. Lots of carbs. Always."
Louise Burke thought that was lazy science.
As Head of Sports Nutrition at the Australian Institute of Sport for nearly 30 years, Burke asked a simple question: What if the right diet depends on what you're training for today?
Her answer changed how every Olympic team in the world thinks about food.
Who is Louise Burke?
| Credential | Detail |
|---|---|
| Role | Chief of Nutrition Strategy, Australian Institute of Sport; Chair in Sports Nutrition, Australian Catholic University |
| Known For | "Fuel for the Work Required" — periodizing nutrition like training |
| Teams/Athletes | Australian Olympic teams (5 consecutive Summer Games), IOC Nutrition Working Group |
| Recognition | Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for services to sports nutrition |
Burke has been called the "architect of modern sports nutrition." When the International Olympic Committee needs nutrition guidelines, they call her.
What ISP Students Learn
Lesson 1: Match Your Fuel to Your Training
"Carbohydrate intake should not be static but periodized according to the specific goals of each training session."
The old way: Eat 8g of carbs per kilogram of body weight. Every day. No matter what.
Burke's way: On hard training days, eat more carbs. On rest days, eat fewer. Match your fuel to the work you're doing.
This sounds obvious now. It wasn't in 1995.
Burke proved that training with strategically low carbs on easy days actually makes your body better at burning fat. But you need high carbs for intense sessions—or you'll just feel terrible and train poorly.
What this means for young athletes: Don't eat the same thing every day. Your body needs different fuel for game day vs. recovery day.
Lesson 2: Food First, But Not Food Only
Burke coined this phrase to fight two extremes:
- Athletes who think supplements will save them (while eating garbage)
- Athletes who refuse all sports products because they're "processed"
Her hierarchy:
- Base: Real food. Always. This is 90% of the job.
- Sports foods: Gels, drinks, bars—useful during competition when you can't eat a sandwich mid-race
- Supplements: Only when proven to work (caffeine, creatine, beetroot juice) and only when the base is solid
"Many athletes obsess over the tip of the pyramid—marginal gains from beta-alanine—while neglecting the massive base of energy availability and sleep."
What this means for young athletes: Don't buy expensive supplements if you're not sleeping 8 hours and eating vegetables. Fix the foundation first.
Lesson 3: The Best Science Gets Tested in Real Competition
Burke didn't just publish papers. She traveled to five consecutive Olympic Games as the Australian team dietitian.
Every question from the training room—"Does ice slushie help in the heat?" "How much protein after lifting?"—went straight to her lab. Every lab finding went straight back to athletes.
This "research-led practice and practice-led research" model is rare. Most scientists never see their ideas tested under pressure.
What this means for young athletes: The nutrition advice at ISP comes from experts who've worked with Olympic gold medalists—not just people who've read about them.
Lesson 4: Challenge the Dogma (Carefully)
When the ketogenic diet became trendy for endurance athletes, some scientists dismissed it. Others embraced it blindly.
Burke did something harder: she ran the "Supernova Studies"—gold-standard research with elite race walkers to actually test whether keto worked.
Her finding: Keto athletes burned more fat, but they got slower. The metabolic shift came at the cost of performance at high intensity.
She didn't reject the idea. She tested it. That's real science.
What this means for young athletes: Be skeptical of trends, but don't dismiss everything new. Ask: "What does the evidence actually show?"
Key Takeaways
| Lesson | One-Liner |
|---|---|
| Periodize nutrition | Match your fuel to your training—not a fixed formula |
| Food first | 90% of nutrition is real food; supplements are the last 10% |
| Test under pressure | Real-world performance matters more than lab results |
| Question, then verify | Don't follow trends blindly—but don't dismiss them either |
How This Shows Up at ISP
Louise Burke's work is woven throughout the Bio Skill Tree in MyPath:
- Fueling Consistency tracks whether students match their eating to their training load
- Periodization challenges teach students to adjust nutrition for game days vs. rest days
- The "Performance Plates" concept (different plate compositions for different days) comes directly from Burke's framework
When ISP students learn about carbohydrate timing, they're not memorizing a textbook. They're learning the same principles Burke taught to Australian Olympic teams.
Learn More
"Fuel for the work required—not the work you did yesterday or the work you hope to do tomorrow."