Second Arrow Nutrition Consulting

Home
United States
Greenville, SC
Second Arrow Nutrition Consulting

We provide evidence-based nutrition support for athletes of all levels, specializing in endurance sports, RED-S, and eating disorders.

Founded by Alex Winnicki, MS, RDN, CSSD, Contact us to get started! Alex Winnicki MS, RDN, LDN, CSSD, is a performance dietitian and board-certified specialist in sports dietetics based in Greenville, SC. With a background in professional cycling and NCAA athletics, Alex brings extensive experience to athletes of all levels. Specializing in endurance sports, RED-s, and disordered eating/eating disorders, Alex focuses on health optimization as the foundation of performance. Alex is committed to helping his athletes improve not only their sports nutrition know how, but also strengthening their relationship with their body and food. Originally from Winston-Salem, NC, Alex transitioned from a career in welding and robot programming at John Deere-Hitachi to pursue professional cycling with the UCI team: Cyclus Sports p/b Starlight Apparel. It was during this time that Alex recognized the critical need for evidence-based nutrition education among athletes. After earning degrees in nutrition and dietetics from Appalachian State and Lamar University, Alex further refined his expertise as a Performance Dietitian and Gatorade SNIP Fellow at Northwestern University. For the past two years, Alex served as a Sports Dietitian and then Director of Olympic Sports Nutrition at Liberty University, as well as the Assistant Cycling Coach. Since leaving the NCAA Alex has founded Second Arrow Nutrition where he is committed to bringing research-backed and individualized nutrition guidance to endurance athletes across the country.

10/31/2025

Top 5 Winter Fueling Choices 💥

Fueling all winter adds up fast — so here’s how to train smart and save big. These are my go-to mixes and gels that deliver great performance without draining your wallet 👇

💧 Drink Mixes

Formula 369: $0.59/serving | $1.96/100 g — bulk, unflavored, crazy affordable.

SIS GO: $1.00/serving | $2.70/100 g — simple, proven hydration, not my fav for high but can work.

Fluid Performance: $0.83/serving | $3.33/100 g (before my 20 % off code — comment below!)

Compare that to 👇

Maurten: $3.64/serving | $4.61/100 g

Skratch Labs: $0.92/serving | $4.82/100 g

You can see why I stick with these more budget-friendly, equally effective options. And honestly — nothing beats making your own mix (check my pinned story for DIY recipes).

⚡ Gels

Carbs Fuel: $2.00/gel | $4.00/100 g — best value, 2:1 glucose:fructose ratio. I said 1:1 in the video! Oops 🫣

SIS Gel: $1.00/gel | $4.55/100 g — maltodextrin only, not ideal for high-carb fueling.

For comparison….
SIS Beta Fuel: $2.50/gel | $6.25/100 g

Honey Stinger: $1.67/gel | $6.94/100 g

Maurten 100: $3.60/gel | $14.40/100 g 😳

Neversecond: $3.50/gel | $11.68/100 g — pricier but performs; my discount code drops it to mid-range.

If you’re going premium, go Neversecond or Carbs Fuel — both great ratios, taste, and results.

💬 Drop “WINTER FUEL” below and I’ll DM you the 20 % off code to stretch your training dollars even further. Use the discount code in my bio for 10% at

10/28/2025

🏁 End of race season = time to recover...
🌥 and time to check what’s under the hood.
🧬 Vitamin D drops fast when the sun does.
🧪 Test. Don’t guess.

Looking at my levels, my vitamin D has dropped from late spring / early summer. Knowing the trend helps me know when to throttle on or off supplements, or avoid them all completely. For example, my ferritin (stored iron) is above 100, well above the need for supplementation. If I blindly supplemented with iron it could have some health risks!

Read more on the Blog!
Link in bio or copy here…
https://www.secondarrownutrition.com/post/why-you-should-get-your-blood-work-done-now

10/09/2025

New office decor 🍩 A testament to all foods fit and a nod to Winston-Salem 😉🥵

Next time a client thinks I’m the food police or that I’m gonna guilt them over dessert, I’m hitting the hot n ready sign.

09/30/2025

The inevitable result of watching the latest season of great British baking show is I return to baking and food photography. This will come as a surprise to no one, and we will all be better for it. The end.

on a more nutritious note, the cake in this recipe is a standard olive oil chocolate cake recipe, but the icing is a little different. 18 ounces of hot sweet potato (without the skin) puréed with 12 ounces of dark chocolate chips in a food processor. Let cool in a piping bag and you’ve got a slightly healthier chocolate frosting . This can also double as a sweet spread similar to Nutella.

08/26/2025

TNGA Fueling Recap - 28,500kcal over 3.5 days. Clean eating zealots drop hate mail below.

Here’s what fueled the ride — repeats tallied up 👇

🍫 Bars & Sweets

Pop-Tarts — 1,505 kcal | 256g carbs ✔✔
Clif Bar — 500 kcal | 90g carbs ✔✔
Bobo’s Oat Bar — 520 kcal | 75g carbs ✔✔
Cinn Toast Crunch — 250 kcal | 50g carbs ✔✔
Nerds Gummy Clusters — 1,098 kcal | 260g carbs ✔✔
Skittles — 946 kcal | 220g carbs ✔✔
Dried Cherries — 260 kcal | 66g carbs ✔✔
Dried Blueberries — 198 kcal | 50g carbs ✔✔
Cashews — 326 kcal | 18g carbs ✔✔
Newton’s Fig — 446 kcal | 100g carbs ✔✔

🥤 Drinks & Mixes
Skratch Drink Mix — 406 kcal | 102g carbs ✔✔
Coke bottle — 384 kcal | 104g carbs ✔✔
Monster Energy — 444 kcal | 108g carbs ✔✔
Gatorade (20 oz x2 + Whey Bar) — 915 kcal | 120g carbs
Powerade (4 bottles) — 323 kcal | 84g carbs
Red Bull — 159 kcal | 39g carbs

🥪 Savory / Meals
Tortillas — 600 kcal | 100g carbs ✔✔
McD Quarter Pounder — 1,100 kcal | 82g carbs ✔✔
McD Fries Large — 365 kcal | 63g carbs
Domino’s Pepperoni Pizza (whole) — 2,880 kcal | 320g carbs
Peanut Stew w/ Sweet Potato — 495 kcal | 80g carbs
Lance PB Crackers — 358 kcal | 56g carbs

🍪 Snacks & Extras
Lays Chips (4 bags total) — 1,534 kcal | 150g carbs
Oreo Cookies — 324 kcal | 51g carbs
Chips Ahoy Cookies — 327 kcal | 51g carbs
M&Ms Peanut — 254 kcal | 31g carbs
Twix Bar — 245 kcal | 33g carbs
Haribo Gummy Bears — 509 kcal | 115g carbs
Sour Patch Kids — 345 kcal | 87g carbs

⚡ Total Tally Highlights
Most repeated: Pop-Tarts, Clif Bars, Nerds, Skittles, Tortillas, McD

Carbs on carbs on carbs baby🍬🥯🍟
Balance? Not so much 😅 but the miles got done.

08/21/2025

Final thoughts on TNGA…
I went into this thinking it’d be a fun way to explore Georgia—something like my old rides through Western NC, with a few beers and scenic backroads. What I got instead was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Not a race (for me), but still a relentless challenge: brutal terrain, tough logistics, and long stretches of silence and self-reflection. I had no clue what I was getting into, and honestly, that naivety helped—if I’d known how hard it would be, I might’ve thought twice.

But I’m glad I didn’t.

What stuck with me wasn’t just the physical grind—it was the people. The shared moments at gas stations, swapping tips, encouraging each other, trading stories. It was watching dots move across the map after I finished and feeling genuinely excited for people I’d never even met, knowing what they were going through out there.

This wasn’t about “fun” in the traditional sense. It was about being stripped down to the core, and finding something solid there. I spent 95% of the ride with no music or distractions—just mindfulness, breathing, climbing, accepting whatever came next. That mindset helped me stay centered, take it one day at a time, and appreciate every smooth stretch, every small joy, every hard-earned moment of rest.

More than anything, this ride reset something in me—my understanding of my own limits, my tolerance for discomfort, and my gratitude for the little things. I have so much respect for anyone who lined up for this thing, whether they finished or not. The challenge is real, and so is the growth that comes from it.

08/13/2025

From Alabama to South Carolina—TNGA week is here! 🚵‍♂️ Friday I roll out from the AL/GA border for 5 days, 400+ miles, and 40,000 ft of climbing across North Georgia’s backcountry, gravel, and singletrack—plus a bonus ride home to Greenville.

Ultra days mean 9–11 hrs of motion and 6,200–7,400 kcal burned—about 4× my basal metabolic rate (BMR). Replacing that much energy on the move is a puzzle: Tour de France riders and elite skiers have been known to hit 4–5× their BMR, but most research says 2.5× is the sustainable ceiling.

For this trip, breakfast is antioxidant-packed berries mixed into Cinnamon Toast Crunch + Grape Nuts with coconut, cashews, dehydrated milk, and protein powder. Lunch is space-saving tortillas with PB\&J (chia jam for the win). Dinners are AlpineAire meals boosted with rice or pasta, mac & cheese powder, and chicken packets for extra carbs and protein. Mid-ride fuel? Gels, gummy bears, and Pop-Tarts—cheap, dense, and effective. Two liters of fluids on board at all times, with streams and gas stations to keep me topped up.

Also using as many Caf Gels as possible thanks to

Not racing—just chasing an epic adventure. Follow my dot on Trackleaders (link in bio) and watch for stories, sights, and snacks along the way. Full nutrition breakdown coming soon on the blog.

06/20/2025

🚨Dietitian side quest🚨 Today’s MTB ride turned into a foraging expedition. Rode through a tunnel of chanterelle mushrooms and couldn’t help myself. I love forgaging, but nothing quite makes me second guess myself harder 😅 I think these babies are destined for tacos or a risotto this weekend.

05/07/2025

🚴‍♂️✨ See you at WNC Bike Fest! ✨🚴‍♀️

This Saturday, May 10 | 2‑8 PM I’m setting up the Second Arrow Nutrition Consulting booth at Ecusta Brewing in Brevard,NC. Swing by, say hi, and learn how working with a sports dietitian can:
• turn carbs into free speed 🚀
• boost recovery so you’re ready for the next lap 🛠️
• keep you healthy for the long haul 💪

Grab a brew, hop on a guided ride, and check out the silent auction—then come get quick fueling tips or a mini consult on the spot. Let’s chat about watts, snacks, and everything in between.

Tag your riding crew and come level up your nutrition game! 🌲🔥

Also we will be raffling off a month of FREE Nutrition Coaching!

05/06/2025

I…absolutely bonked. As a sports RD, something I pride myself on is my ability to plan and fuel—but man, did I get humbled.

The Cohutta 100 was my first A‑race of the year, an event I put on the calendar back in November because, well, it was scary. I’ve never done a 100‑mile MTB ride, and while I’ve logged several 7–12‑hour rides in the past, I’d never raced over six hours. I’d also never spent a full race season off‑road! This year I wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone, and I’ve been having a blast doing so. Even when I get humbled along the way, each setback is just a chance to learn and better help myself—and others—in the future.

I’d targeted about an 8‑hour race time and figured ~100 g/hr of carbs would do, considering much of the day would be tempo and that usually fuels my big days out. I actually ended up hitting the gas a bit more and took in 117 g/hr for seven hours, with 600 mg of caffeine and 5–6 liters of fluid. I felt awesome through miles 75–80 but had no idea how much of a slog the last hour up Big Frog Road would be. Right around the mile‑84 aid station, I felt a bonk coming on—something I hadn’t experienced in about seven years. I took my last 90 g of carbs and was out of food right before (or after—honestly, I don’t remember) the aid station. With a rolling course and fewer than 10 miles to the final aid station at mile 93, I thought I was okay. Seven hours in is not the time to gamble, and I paid the price—dying a thousand deaths on the long grind to that last stop, where I downed three gels and then fumbled through the final three miles of downhill singletrack to the line.

This year is all about pushing myself in new ways, so I think it’s safe to say I’ve done that thus far!

Final race time: 8:10:56 — 1st in my age group, 9th overall.
With a 3rd overall at 6 Hours on the Ridge and 8th overall at The Whole Enchilada (fighting in a group for 4th), I’m pretty proud of the season so far. 🙂

Up next: Marathon MTB Nationals and a slammed summer and fall MTB schedule!

03/28/2025

Air quality can change fast and has a big impact on outdoor exercise—especially for people with asthma, heart issues, or other respiratory conditions. When the AQI (Air Quality Index) goes above 100, sensitive individuals should limit strenuous activities, and everyone should pay attention to any breathing difficulties. Above 150, it’s wise to shorten or move workouts indoors, and if AQI climbs to 200 or beyond, consider canceling outdoor practices or competitions altogether. Keep an eye on your local AQI (visit airnow.gov) and adjust your workouts to protect your health!

This current map shows AQI above 100 in darker yellow / orange. Considering winds conditions for the week this may change.

Please share with any athletes in the area

Address

Greenville, SC
29601-29617

Website

https://www.secondarrownutrition.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Second Arrow Nutrition Consulting posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Practice

Send a message to Second Arrow Nutrition Consulting:

Shortcuts

Want your practice to be the top-listed Clinic in Greenville?