Real Nutrition & Fitness, LLC

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Real Nutrition & Fitness, LLC

Real Nutrition & Fitness, LLC founded by Heidi M. Williams, MPH, RD, CSSD, LD, NSCA-CPT, CPPC, CSMC Louis, Missouri founded by Heidi M. I received a B.S.

Real Nutrition & Fitness, LLC is a small nutrition & fitness consulting business in St. Williams, MPH, RD, LD, NSCA-CPT, CPPC. As a dietitian, I focus on using balanced whole foods to help people meet their optimal health states. I am a firm believer in food's natural ability to prevent and manage many disease states, and I am passionate about educating people on the raw powers of food. I take a holistic approach to nutrition and I consider food our best medicine and an important source of enjoyment for the mind, body, and soul. I focus on whole food menu planning, so I can help clients bring more colors into their diet, and transform how and what they eat. I also firmly believe that every individual is unique, so I tailor my nutritional approach to each client's personal goals and comfort level. While many experts in the nutrition field advise patients to cut out particular foods from their diet, I help clients say "yes" to foods instead of "no." I also have a personal passion for the environment so I can guide individuals to eat sustainably and local as well. I take a mindful and supportive approach to food, and I help create an environment where one can improve their health and relationship with food. degree in Nutrition and Fitness and a Master of Public Health from the University of Missouri. If you are interested in my nutrition services, please email me and I can send you along some more detailed information regarding my nutrition consulting sessions. If you do not live in St. Louis, I can do virtual sessions as well.

10/14/2025

Last spring, my brothers remodeled my basement and created an awesome mudroom full of so many cabinets! So of course I needed to have an entire cabinet dedicated to my sports nutrition products, being an ultrarunner & sports dietitian. 🙂

Some of my go to products are hydration mix, recovery mix, energy bars, & chews, gels, chews, .second gels, smoothies, peanut butter, waffles & chews. These items have been in my rotation during my entire 100 mile training.

My suggestion to you is to include variety, different flavors, textures, and products. I use other products for fueling but these are my main sports nutrition products! I like to have it organized so it’s easy to grab something on my Friday nights as I prep for my Saturday morning long runs. This is my attempt at organization but some of my bins are over flowing. 😉

10/13/2025

On Friday I finished my last long run before OT 100 - 3 Hours solo @ Greensfelder. I signed up for OT 100 - Ozark Trail 100 - back in May. This is the 100 mile race I have wanted to do since I began running ultras but I was always too scared to sign up - not worried if I could finish, but more worried how I would do in the dark on single track. In 2015 my mom passed away and I wanted to run 100 miles in honor of her but I was too scared of Ozark Trail 100 so I signed up for Tunnel Hill 100 - a much less technical race. Regardless, 10 years later, I decided I’m going to do it so here I am.

I figured I would just coach myself and wing it, like I have been doing since 2011, but for some reason after Western States 100 this year I saw all those athletes cross the finish line and I thought, I wonder if I have more potential and could benefit from a coach. So the beginning of July I reached out to and got paired with .coachrunner. I didn’t have time to search around to be honest because my race was 3 1/2 months away. I asked her if she felt comfortable training me in that little time and she said yes so there you have it. 😉

So far I have gotten way out of my comfort zone, doing meaningful speedwork and attempting to slow down my easy runs. I have forced myself to get off the treadmill and get outside for most of my runs, and I make myself go to the trail every single weekend, sometimes multiple times in a weekend, something I would have never done in the past.

I will be honest, it has been a lot of work. More work than I have ever imagined - as a mom of 3, a wife, an entrepreneur, working at multiple gyms - I am a very busy person. I am not saying this is for everyone, because I very well know my privilege - I only work 30 hours per week, I own my own business so I have a flexible job, and Kristian is very supportive.

Regardless, I’m going to see how this all plays out - hopefully well because I have Hellbender 100 & Angeles Crest 100 next year! But, 2 weeks from today, I hope to have crossed the finish line of OT 100. I know I have put in as much work as I could, so for now I need to trust process.

09/28/2025

I ran 65 Miles this weekend in preparation for my 100 Mile race in 4 Weeks. It brought me to 90 Miles for the week. Something I have not done in well over a decade. Surprisingly I feel ok. A little tired but not exhausted. I made sure to try and prioritize rest, food and nutrition all weekend.

I made sure to fuel with a high carb breakfast every day - usually a bagel with cream cheese plus a smoothie and fruit. I tried to hit at least 70g carbs every morning because I am the person that wakes up with 1 hour or less to get to the trail.

My go to foods during the run included skratch hydration (strawberry lemonade & apple cider), bonk breakers, honey stinger waffles, huma gels, peanut butter and jelly (uncrustables), watermelon, mango, ginger ale, Noka smoothies, chips, pretzels, and water. I had about 24-36oz fluids per hour, including 1000-1200mg sodium, 5g protein, and 90-95g carbs. All these days it was similar temperature, starting in the mid 50s and finishing the run in the 80s, so all very hot days.

Post run I would have a skratch recovery chocolate smoothie in the car on my way home. Friday was an 8 hour run so I got home in time to have pizza and salad for dinner. Saturday was 4 hours and I tried my best to refuel what I missed the day before and Saturday. I had rice, veggies and tofu plus an ice cream cone and dinner was veggie burger on a bun with salad, fries, and more veggies. I tried to prioritize carbs and protein the best I could but at the end of the day, getting in food was the most important. Today was only 2 1/2 hours thankfully & have been trying to catch up on nutrition all day.

Of course this is just what I did this weekend to give you and idea but I’m absolutely not saying you have to follow exactly what I did. Regardless rest, fueling and hydration are always the key to recovery for me.

09/26/2025

Fuel line up for my 8 Hour Training Run tomorrow. I’m planning for 24-32oz fluids per hour, 800-1000mg Sodium per hour, 90-100g Carbs/Hour, & 5g Protein/Hour.

I have a variety of foods to choose from so I don’t get bored. I’m not going to eat it all but it’s a good idea to have options because there’s no telling what you will crave and what sounds good while running all day. I’m also testing out a couple new items as well. Not pictured - Uncrustables, Watermelon, Mangoes, Avocado Wraps, Pickles, & Ginger Ale.

Plan is to get at least 50k tomorrow for my first of 3 long training days this weekend. I am officially 1 month out from OT 100. I am pretty sure I have never trained this well for a race since before I had kids and even then I basically just made it up as I went. 😉

09/14/2025

Rockin Rockwoods 53K. 09.13.25. 7hr22min. 1st Place Female. 4th Overall. Greensfelder County Park.

I went into this race with 2 goals, finish under 7 hours and place top 3. As it got closer to the race, my friend Lisa, who always beats me, dropped out due to an injury. So, I shifted my goal to win it. ;)

It started out perfect. The weather was amazing but then around 3 1/2- 4 hours in around mile 17, it got hot! Plus I was entering the hardest section of the race. I tried my best to keep my sub 12 min mile pace but it just didn’t happen. As the day went on, it got even hotter - felt like 98 by the time I finished the race!

I tried to stay cool with ice around my neck and cold water but it wasn’t enough. Around mile 26 on my way back I was really warming up and I was starting to get chills, which was not good. So I slowed by pace to regroup and gave up on my new goal of sub 7:15. I realized I wasn’t making sub 7 around mile 20-21. Finally I figured my final goal should be sub 7:30. :)

Anyway, I finished it with my slowest time thus far on the hottest race day thus far. I fueled with skratch, bonk breakers, huma gels, nerds clusters, avocado wraps, pickles, oranges, and hydrated with lots of water.

Also, about a week ago I had my ferritin checked and it was incredibly low so I do think that has been affecting my performance. I started taking iron but it hasn’t been long enough to see a change, so hoping with this adjustment I can feel less fatigued.

Overall, I was proud of myself for sticking it out and making it to the finish line considering with all the drops, I went from 10th place overall to 4th place, so to me that was a win! Plus, my kids got to see me at the finish line, so that was a win in and of itself. :)

Thanks to all the volunteers for keeping us cool today - the ice made a big difference. Thanks to for always putting on a top notch race. And thanks to all the runners for being out there and chatting with me & giving high fives, even when we were all struggling! It was a good day in the end, because any day out on the trails is a perfect day. :)

09/05/2025

If you have been here long enough, you are most likely aware of my dislike for the wellness industry. Personally, I find the wellness industry to just reek of privilege and I’m tired of it. I’m so tired of people thinking they are better than others because of how “healthy” they are, or what they deem to be healthy.

I hate to break it to you but almost everything I listed in the wellness slide is a grift. And do you notice a difference? All of the influencers ideas of wellness cost a lot more money than most of what my ideas of what wellness is. Have you ever wondered why? Because these influencers are trying to make money off of you by selling something that is not backed by evidence!

Unfortunately, I’m not making any money off of “Big Produce” even though many influencers think I’m getting paid off by “Big Food” or “Big Agriculture”. I will be sure to let you know when I get my check in the mail from “Big Broccoli.” ;)

In all seriousness, so many people have not mastered the basics of what I have listed in my ideas of wellness. If you are not eating fruits and veggies, or moving your body, or getting enough sleep, the IV infusion you decide to do is not going to suddenly make you healthy, and it’s going to cost you a lot more money.

Unfortunately my idea of wellness doesn’t sound as fun and exciting as the influencers, but I also have a conscience and I can go to sleep every night knowing I’m not grifting people and scamming them to think they are getting healthy. And in my opinion, I believe that “wellness” is just privilege in disguise.

Anyway, that is my thought. I work in the fitness space and have been for almost 20 years so I see this all the time, and it happened to be on my mind that I decided to make a post about it. :)

08/28/2025

School Lunch for my 2nd Grader & Kindergartner. This is the actual lunch I put together for my kids.

Hummus + Pretzels + Carrots + Strawberries + Chips + Skittles. I am a vegetarian so I make them mostly vegetarian lunches because meat is out of my comfort zone. 🙂

Yes, the carrots will probably come home, but I’m hoping they attempt to dip at least one in the hummus. And the skittles have dye in them and I don’t care - it’s the least of my concerns at the moment. I want my kids to not think that desserts are a reward, so they are served with their meals and not something they get because they finished their meal. 🙂

I may post more ideas if I get a wild hair in the evenings as I pack my kids lunches. 🙂

08/26/2025

Biggest Loser Recap. I watched it when it came out & I was planning on writing some profound post and now I’m kind of over it.

The biggest takeaway I had from the entire show, is #1: I am embarrassed for my former self who actually watched this show. I cannot believe I actually thought it was helping people! And my 2nd thought was, no one associated with the show had any sort of remorse. 🤮

Honestly that’s all the energy I can give to this ridiculous show that had a platform to shame fat people and use it as a disguise that they were helping people.

I have been very open on here that I worked at a “weight loss camp” the summers of 2008-2012. Yep, I was an RD for 2 of those years. In my defense I thought I was helping people the first couple years. After I became an RD I realized the diet was completely unsustainable - Hello Snackwells & Fig Newtons. It was a completely fat free diet. Basically the campers were expected to eat as little fat as possible. I know, gross. I mean of course they lost weight because they were essentially restricting calories and exercising multiple hours per day. I cannot say it was my proudest moment that I was involved with this program.

But in my defense, I brought my fitness background to the camp, and had the kids doing fun workout classes, running, and even training for triathlons. To me, that was really amazing to see. But I also dang help but think I could have caused some of those campers to have an unhealthy relationship with food & exercise. I am sick to my stomach thinking about it. Why? Well I’m not a sociopath for one, and I have feelings of remorse, unlike anyone who was associated with the Biggest Loser.

At the end of the day I thought I was helping those kids, and maybe I did help some, but I also believe I caused harm & that was never my intention. With what I know now, after working in the ED field for over 10 years, I absolutely would never support something like this again. All I know is I am grateful that I learned from my mistakes & I will never promote anything like this again, and for that I have to be ok with it. My intention was and still is to help others without causing any harm.

08/26/2025

Nora & I made homemade peach ice cream this past weekend. One of my favorite recipes - my mom used to make fresh peach ice cream when we were kids and love passing along to my girls!

Ice Cream Base:
1 Cup Milk
2 Cups Cream
3/4 Cup Sugar
1 Tbs Vanilla Extract
1 Tbs Almond Extract

Peaches:
2 Cups Peaches
1/4 Cup Sugar
1 Tbs Almond Extract

Mix up the ice cream & then add peaches soaked in sugar & almond extract. Freeze for 4-6 hours. Makes 10-12 cups. Enjoy.

Yes. I let my kids eat ice cream because every childhood summer should include ice cream. Please, do not limit your child’s food intake and “healthify” everything. Let ice cream be ice cream!

Also this recipe is included in my August Newsletter so be sure to sign up @ www.realnutritionandfitness.com

08/18/2025

Let’s talk weighted vests. As you can see in this photo I am not wearing one. I took this picture on a 4-5 mile walk this morning & I will tell you, lots of women were wearing them walking down the street. Side note, I did walk in a very affluent neighborhood this morning which I believe seems to be the target audience for weighted vests. 🙂 I’m not anti-weighted vests but I also don’t believe them to be some miracle for every woman over the age of 35. Plus, I also strength train 4-5 days per week.

Yes, women need to maintain bone density and muscle mass as we age. It is recommended to do this through weight bearing activities. First off, not every woman in that category is peri-menopausal which seems to be the target audience here and many influencers are targeting women that are not even peri-menopausal in my opinion.

I am 43 and I am currently not perimenopausal. Peri-menopause can last anywhere from 4-8 years but honestly, it is such a wide range for so many women. The average age of menopause is around 51 though, but once again, it’s widely variable so please be aware that just because you are in that age range you might not be in that stage yet. And of course, do not get me wrong, everyone can benefit from resistance training.

This is my advice. If you want to use a weighted vest, use one, but not to the point where you are skipping strength training. If you have access to a gym, or weights, strength training is my first suggestion for maintaining bone density and muscle mass. If you do not, then a weighted vest can be a good option because it is a safe way to introduce resistance training for those women who do not already lift. But, it will not be a replacement for strength training in my opinion unless you are physically unable to or do not have access to weights.

Like I said, do what you think is best for you but also don’t feel like you have to give into this trend & said “magic pill”. And of course please do not replace traditional strength training if you are currently participating in resistance training 1-3 times per week.

08/16/2025

20 Mile Trail Run this morning @ Chubb Trail. It took me about 4hr45min with the elevation, heat and humidity. By the time my run was finished it was real feel 98 degrees and 70% humidity so I sweated a lot, and was fairly fatigued. :)

I decided to try a “new to me” nutrition product - . The sour blue raspberry were my favorite! With 36g carbs & 170mg sodium per package they were on point with what I have been looking for! The taste was good too. So I’m officially adding these in with my rotation, including waffles, gels, smoothie pouches, & hydration!

I fuel every 30 minutes on any run 90 minutes or longer. Today with my bonk breakers, Noka smoothies, & skratch, I hit 90-100g carbs, 1100mg sodium, 5g protein, and 30-32oz fluids per hour. I also weighed myself before and after my run and I only lost 1 # so I would say my hydration strategy was a success even though I did slog through the miles!

I have about 2 months until my 100 Mile Race. And instead of just winging it like I normally do, I am all in with the training, fueling, and hydration for this one! If you feel like you could benefit from a 1:1 session before your big race, please reach out so I can help you dial in your fueling strategy as well!

08/08/2025

Exercise on vacation. Do you do it or not? There’s no right or wrong decision in my opinion as long as the intention behind it is positive. I know some people like a vacation to take a break from everything and relax, so there’s no movement involved. Personally I think I would go nuts if I didn’t do anything. It’s not because I have an unhealthy relationship with exercise - I just like to move and I physically feel better! Then there are others that continue working out per usual, but might be missing out on the actual vacation. I like to find the middle ground.

My family tends to do more active vacations that involve hiking, swimming, biking, and being outside so I factor that in. I just like to have my alone time as well because as you may know, being with your family 24/7 is a lot! ;)

For example, when we go on vacation I still do some movement, usually running. I like to have a break from my family for my own mental health and I’m also almost always training for a race. :) But I pull back on my intensity, duration, and expectations. I know I will not get out of shape for missing my routine for 1-2 weeks. And if you think that’ something that will happen, perhaps we need to talk. When I’m at home I’m training much harder, more specifically and including strength training as well, which is usually not an option.

Regardless, if you are the type of person that wants to do nothing, go for it! If you are the type of person that is leaving your family for hours on end on your vacation perhaps you need to revisit your purpose of exercise. Just make sure you are doing what’s best for you!

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