The Science
“What, when, and how we fuel our bodies can have a big impact on achieving what we set out to do each day.”
Tara D. Thies
Registered Dietitian Nutritionist
Gainful Science Advisor
Tara D. Thies
Registered Dietitian Nutritionist
Gainful Science Advisor
Our team is dedicated to making the expertise of the pros available to every body, and we’ve assembled a panel of experts to help us design the best products on the market. Our Science Advisory Board has worked with internationally recognized, elite athletes — from Olympic Medalists to NBA champions — to optimize their performance, and we’re proud to bring their expertise to you.
Nutrition, Supplementation & Recovery
Dr. Dana Lis earned the trifecta — she’s a Registered Dietitian (RD), a PhD and a holder of the International Olympic Committee Diploma in Sport Nutrition. She brings her extensive expertise in nutrition, supplementation, and recovery from an international career in research and Olympic and professional sport. She’s provided nutrition support to the Golden State Warriors and to multiple Olympic medalists in track, cycling and swimming.
Performance Training
Teena Murray brings extensive knowledge of high-performance strength and conditioning to Gainful, thanks to her work with elite athletes. She’s advised 3 NCAA Final 4 teams, mentored 3 WNBA 1st round draft picks, worked as the Performance Director to Team USA’s Women’s Hockey team, and was the 2012 Guiding Woman in Sport. Teena was Vice President of Health and Performance at the Sacramento Kings from 2018 to 2022, and is now Senior Vice President, Integrated Performance at Pittsburgh Penguins.
Sports Science & Exercise Physiology
Dr. David Martin brings 30 years of experience working with Olympic and professional athletes, recently as Director of Performance for the Philadelphia 76ers. He advises Gainful on sports science and exercise physiology, topics on which he has 110+ peer-reviewed publications. He received his MSci degree in Exercise Physiology from Northern Michigan University, a PhD in Physiology from the University of Wyoming and completed a research assistantship at the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO.
Sports Nutrition & Supplementation
Tara D. Thies brings expertise in supplement formulation, sports nutrition, and product development from a 20+ year career, including 18 years at Clif Bar. She’s also worked as an RD for professional athletes on the US Ski and Snowboard Team, as well as athletes affiliated with Team Clif, The North Face, and Patagonia. She is the owner and lead dietitian of Summit Nutrition Strategy.
Gainful marries nutrition science with individual nutrition considerations by asking the same types of critical questions used by Dietitians when creating individual nutrition plans. For example, protein needs vary by a person's weight, activity type, duration, and intensity level. Every single ingredient in their products is added with a specific nutrition purpose in mind, giving careful thought to the benefit it will have on the body. When product development is done with nutritional purpose as the lead driver, the consumer can be assured there are no extraneous “junk” ingredients.
Pre-, during, and post-workout each have different nutritional requirements for optimally functioning systems involved in energy delivery, muscle recovery, and hydration. Consuming the right product for each time period ensures you are getting the nutrients needed for an overall positive impact on performance, today and in future workouts. Pre-Workout is crafted to prep your muscles, mind, and metabolism for activity, Hydration is formulated to reduce dehydration during workouts, and Protein is formulated to support key recovery periods after workouts.
Protein is the building block needed to build and repair muscles. It is found in every cell of our body, and is essential for the growth and repair of cells and tissue. Whether you are an athlete or someone who works out several times a week, you need more protein than a sedentary person. Athletes protein needs often exceed what they are able to eat at meals and snacks. 20-35 grams of protein help support muscle protein synthesis and satiety—this amount can be eaten in about 3-4 ounces of meat, but that isn't always practical before or after a workout or pre-sleep when your muscles need protein the most.
Simply, it is because what and how we eat is highly personal, individual, and complicated. Every body is different and responds differently to different combinations of nutrients. Given there are only three macronutrients, you might think that it wouldn't be that complicated, but three macronutrients can be combined in a variety of different ways (or consumed individually) to optimize function in the body and help people meet a wide range of different health and athletic goals.
There are no quick fixes or magic pills to get you to your goals. You have to do the work, including aligning what you eat with those goals as part of a lifestyle, not as a temporary diet. Creating a plan based on nutrition principles backed by science, and marrying that with your personal lifestyle preferences, goals, and desires helps create a sustainable eating plan that supports who you are and what you do. If you truly want to live an athletic and active lifestyle, you need to let that drive your food and supplement choices.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
