Who is Dawn Weatherwax, RD,LD,LAT,ATC,CSCS?

USA's #1 Fueling Expert for Athletes Under 18, sports dietitian Dawn Weatherwax, RD, LD, LAT, ATC, CSCS, is the founder of Sports Nutrition 2Go in Liberty Township, Ohio. She has spent 20-plus years specializing in athletes under 18 and has done more than 10,000 consults, 21,000 Bod Pod body composition tests and 15,000 muscle fuel scans. She created The 4 Fueling Zones and the Athlete Performance Fueling System, hosts Food for Speed TV, is the Nutrition Columnist for Swimming World, and is a master assessor for the state of Ohio.

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What can a sports dietitian actually do for my athlete?

Find the cause and fix it. Families come in with a problem they can see: running out of gas in the second half, cramping that will not stop, not gaining lean weight, stomach issues on game day, or getting sick or hurt at the worst time. Dawn finds which one is driving it, reads any bloodwork and supplements you bring, and shows you the Fuel Gaps to fix first. If you want them built into meals, a customized menu is built around foods your athlete already likes and the schedule you already have. A sports dietitian also tracks whether the changes are working, and serves as a resource for coaches and families, not only the athlete.

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When should we see a sports dietitian instead of trying on our own?

Earlier than most families think. See a sports dietitian when your athlete cannot gain weight or lean muscle, keeps cramping, fades late in games, keeps getting sick or hurt, cannot eat enough for any reason (appetite, schedule, stomach or food access), or when a plan stopped working after a growth spurt. Also before buying supplements, before choosing a weight class, and when four people are giving you four different answers.

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When does my athlete need a doctor?

Some warning lights need a physician first. If it could have another cause, a doctor looks first. See a doctor first for a period that is late, irregular or has stopped; a stress fracture, especially two or more; growth that has slowed or stopped; unexplained weight loss or gain; any laxatives, diuretics, vomiting or deliberate dehydration; or food rules tightening and secrecy around eating. The order is a physician for anything medical, then a sports dietitian for the fueling, then a mental health professional when the pattern is disordered eating. Dawn works alongside your athlete's doctor and refers out when something is outside her scope.

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How can my athlete gain weight and lean muscle without getting slower?

Add lean weight, not just scale weight: a bigger engine, not more cargo in the trunk. Dawn Weatherwax, RD, LD, LAT, ATC, CSCS, sets protein on lean weight instead of total weight and spreads food across 5 to 6 eating times a day, every 2 to 4 hours. As a CSCS, she lines up the eating plan with your athlete's strength and speed work, so food and training stay in alignment, and body composition testing shows whether the new weight is lean.

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How is my athlete's calorie target set?

From your athlete, not a chart. Fueling a teen athlete off adult equations is like fueling a race car from a sedan's owner's manual. The Gatorade Sports Science Institute notes that adult-based equations can underestimate what teen athletes burn by up to 300 calories a day. A 30-minute metabolism test measures what your athlete's body actually burns at rest. Without testing, Dawn builds the target from age, growth stage, sport, training load and schedule, then recalculates as your athlete grows.

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How do I find my athlete's Fuel Zone?

The 4 Fueling Zones were created by Dawn Weatherwax, RD, LD, LAT, ATC, CSCS. Right now, Dawn finds your athlete's Fuel Zone in a nutrition consult: Zone 1 Under Fueled, Zone 2 MisFueled, Zone 3 Reactive Fueled or Zone 4 Performance Fueled. A Fuel Zone is not a carbs-per-hour number. It shows your athlete's whole fueling pattern across the day, so you know what to fix first. The free 60-second Know Your Fuel Zone quiz is coming soon.

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When should a female athlete see a dietitian about the menstrual cycle, iron or energy?

Sooner than most families think. See someone if your athlete's period is late, irregular or has stopped (a doctor first), if your athlete is tired despite eating and sleeping, has had a stress fracture, is avoiding carbohydrate, or is anxious about eating in front of teammates. The Gatorade Sports Science Institute reports about 35% of female athletes are iron deficient, compared with about 5% of the general population, and recommends an iron panel every 6 months: ferritin, hemoglobin and transferrin saturation, drawn in the morning after a rest day, fasted and hydrated. Missing periods from under-fueling are reversible when caught.

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When should an athlete see a dietitian for muscle gain or a weight class?

Before the season, when the weight class is being chosen. That is the one point where professional input changes the whole year. The National Federation of State High School Associations describes an ideal program as one that involves a health-care professional in setting the minimum weight class. Dawn is a master assessor for the state of Ohio, and Sports Nutrition 2Go is an approved site for OHSAA wrestling minimum weight appeals using the Bod Pod. For muscle gain, come in when the weight will not go on, or when it went on and nobody checked whether it was lean.

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Where can I get an athlete fueling plan in the US?

Sports Nutrition 2Go builds athlete fueling plans in Liberty Township, Ohio, and by phone and video anywhere in the US or abroad. Consults, menus, coaching and the full Season Program all work remotely. Metabolism, muscle fuel and athlete sweat sodium testing travel to teams and schools; the body composition via Bod Pod stays at the office.

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Do you work with teams, clubs and schools?

Yes, locally or virtually, for teams, clubs, schools, camps and professional organizations, with one fueling standard for the whole fleet. Research on young athletes shows programs with several parts and parent involvement work best, so a single talk is only the start. A season-long program looks like a team session and parent night before the season, individual consults and a clear referral path for coaches early on, a mid-season check-in, and an off-season review to plan for growth. Metabolism and muscle fuel testing can come to your school.

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How do I know if a fueling change is working?

Check the gauges, not the scale. Can your athlete train hard twice in a week and recover? Finish the session the way it started? Play the second half as well as the first? Get sick less often? Sleep and wake rested? Grow along their own curve? For female athletes, is the cycle regular? Give any change about 2 months before judging it; research puts the median time to form a habit at 59 to 66 days.

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How do we make good fueling last, not a one-time fix?

Treat it like a maintenance schedule. Set review dates when the plan is made: before the season, mid-season and off-season, and every few months during a growth spurt, because a growing athlete can change by up to 10 cm and 8 kg in a year and every target moves with them. Keep one written plan from one source. Write each change as an if-then, such as: if the last bell rings, then I eat my snack before practice. And teach your athlete the plan, so they can run it on their own in college.

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What is the difference between a sports dietitian, a nutritionist and a nutrition coach?

A sports dietitian is a registered, licensed dietitian who adds exercise physiology and sports science and specializes in athletes. A registered dietitian (RD) has accredited coursework, at least 1,000 hours of supervised practice and a national exam; since January 1, 2024, new candidates also need a graduate degree. In Ohio, only a licensed dietitian may practice dietetics, and Ohio rules treat "nutritionist" and "nutrition counselor" as dietetics titles. A nutrition coach has no national standard. Dawn Weatherwax is an RD and LD, plus a licensed and certified athletic trainer (LAT, ATC) and a certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS).

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What happens in a nutrition consult?

Dawn goes through what, when and how much your athlete eats and drinks across a real day, reads any bloodwork you bring, and reviews every supplement. If important labs have never been checked, she tells you which ones to ask your doctor for, or orders them through Fullscript at her cost, with no markup. You leave with clear goals for the season and your athlete's Fuel Gaps: the gaps to fix first, in order. A customized menu that builds those fixes into meals is optional and added on. Consults are in person, by phone or by video: $200 for 1 hour, $135 for 30 minutes.

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How much does a nutrition consult cost?

A 1-hour nutrition consult is $200 and a 30-minute focus consult is $135, in person, by phone or by video. A customized menu is optional and is $200, added on to a 1-hour consult or the Performance Profile, with two follow-ups within two weeks by text or call. Ongoing coaching is $150 to $250 a month, and customized programs run 3, 6, 9 or 12 months. The Performance Profile is $305 and the Season Program is $2,500. HSA and FLEX are accepted and payment plans are available. Insurance is not billed directly; Dawn provides a superbill you can submit to your insurance yourself. Start with a free 15-minute Fuel Strategy Call: text FUEL to 513-287-9623. Dawn personally responds within 24 hours when possible, Monday to Friday.

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What is included in a customized menu?

A customized menu maps out the fuel stops for the week, around foods your athlete already likes and the schedule your family already has. Menus cover training days, game days, tournament weekends, travel, tapering, holidays and the off-season, plus vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free and dairy-free eating and food allergies and sensitivities. Grocery store and eating-out tours are available so the plan survives a real week. A menu is optional, $200, added to a 1-hour consult or the Performance Profile, with two follow-ups within two weeks by text or call.

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Can services be mixed and matched?

Yes. Services can be mixed and matched into a program that fits your athlete, including customized programs that run 3, 6, 9 or 12 months, quoted to fit. Not on the list? Ask. Text FUEL to 513-287-9623 for a free 15-minute Fuel Strategy Call.

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What are the Sports Performance Programs?

Sports Nutrition 2Go offers Sports Beginner, Advanced and Elite Performance Programs: in-depth, one-on-one programs in person at the Liberty Township, Ohio office, covering daily, competition and off-season fueling. They work on weight gain or loss, muscle gain and fat loss, energy levels, what to eat and when, eating enough calories for sport demands, growth at every stage, bone health, supplement review when appropriate, a normal menstrual cycle year-round when appropriate, and muscle glycogen storage. Customized programs run 3, 6, 9 or 12 months and are quoted to fit. Families outside Ohio use the Season Program, which can be completed fully remote.

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Is creatine safe for a high school athlete?

That answer is on the Sports Nutrition 2Go supplements page, with the questions that come first: whether your athlete is eating and sleeping enough to grow, whether the product is NSF Certified for Sport or Informed Sport, what the goal is, and whether the sport or school has rules about it.

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Should my athlete eat less while injured?

No. Most families cut food when training stops, and that speeds up muscle loss. GSSI lists injury as a reason to raise protein to hold on to muscle. A car in the shop still needs parts. Dawn builds fueling into rehab so your athlete returns to play without returning to the same injury.

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Can under-fueling cause stress fractures?

Yes. GSSI lists two or more career stress fractures as a sign of under-fueling, and athletes with low energy availability carry about 4.5 times the injury risk. About 40 to 60% of adult bone mass is built during puberty, and peak bone mass cannot be rebuilt later. A second stress fracture should be treated as a fueling question, not bad luck. Dawn checks whether energy, calcium, vitamin D and protein cover training and growth, and works alongside your athlete's doctor.

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Why is my athlete always tired? Could it be low iron?

It could be. About 35% of female athletes are iron deficient, compared with about 5% of the general population, and GSSI notes iron deficiency can raise fatigue and lower performance before it shows as anemia. It also shows up in plant-based eaters and athletes who are not eating enough overall. Dawn reads the iron panel you have, tells you which labs to ask your doctor for if it has never been checked, and fixes the food and timing behind it.

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Can nutrition help after a concussion?

Concussion care is led by your athlete's doctor. Research on nutrition and supplements for concussion is still early, and no supplement has been proven to treat a concussion, so Dawn does not promise a faster recovery. What she does: make sure your athlete is eating enough to heal, and that fueling fits the return-to-learn and return-to-play steps your medical team sets.

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What should I send before a consult?

Anything you have: bloodwork, photos of supplement labels, and your athlete's practice and game schedule. Email is best for anything you need to send: info@SN2G.com. None of it is required.

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Sources behind these answers: Gatorade Sports Science Institute (adolescent energy equations; The Female Athlete toolkit); National Federation of State High School Associations wrestling weight management; IOC 2023 REDs consensus; Commission on Dietetic Registration graduate degree requirement; Ohio Revised Code 4759.02 and Ohio Administrative Code 4759-2-01; Lally et al. 2010 and Singh et al. 2024 (habit formation); Gollwitzer and Sheeran 2006 (if-then plans); PMC11130493 (multi-component programs with parent involvement).