Ali Disher

By July 15, 2013 Profiles

Ali Disher

Advanced Sports Dietitian, Level 1 Anthropometrist

Qualifications & Training
Accredited Practising Dietitian

  • Advanced Sports Dietitian
  • Exercise Physiologist
  • Level 1 Anthropometrist
  • PhD in progress: The Effect of Dietary Manipulation of Hydration Status and Exercise Performance

Ali is a keen problem solver, and loves the satisfaction of helping her clients reach their goals by optimising and individualising the way that they fuel their bodies. Ali grew up as one of the few girls in a large extended family, and as a result, she feels very comfortable on the sidelines at the rugby or on the riverbank at regattas – recovery nutrition at the ready! Ali was heavily involved in club and school sports herself, and while netball remains a part of her weekly routine, Ali has since developed a love for distance running.

It was when Ali was living in the UK that she met a Premier League dietitian who started the sports nutrition ‘fire’ in her belly. Ali returned to Australia to complete her studies in Dietetics and Exercise Physiology, and as a student became involved in sports performance nutrition for the NRL and A League.

Through her own sporting endeavours as well as her clients’, Ali’s curiosity of the physiological responses has led her to a PhD; when she isn’t seeing clients, you’ll find Ali in the lab, researching the effects of diet and hydration on sports performance. Ali also works at the Gold Coast AIS as a Sports Nutrition Fellow.

Specialties 

  • Hydration and sports performance
  • Meal plans to optimise body composition while supporting training goals
  • Fat loss
  • Lean muscle gain
  • Performance nutrition & race plans
  • Meeting event milestones: how to fuel effectively during training phases
  • Team sports: rugby league and union, football (soccer), netball
  • Ultra endurance events – running, cycling
  • Child and adolescent nutrition – optimising intake for physical and mental performance
  • Food intolerances: management while continuing to train effectively

Work History 

  • Australian Institute of Sport – Sports Nutrition Fellow
  • Dietitian, Rosalie Medical Centre
  • QRL Referees – High Performance Dietitian
  • QUT Sports Nutrition/Exercise Physiology tutor
  • Princess Alexandra Hospital Research Officer
  • Brisbane Private Hospital Diet Monitor
  • Race Around Australia – travelling dietitian to world record holding ultra-endurance cyclist & runner

Two things I can’t live without are:

I couldn’t go a day without my music (preferably a fresh new running playlist), but if we are talking basic necessities, then I could not live without my family, and my mates.
 
9am on a Sunday morning, and I am:
Optimistic answer: on a board in the ocean!
Realistic answer: sipping coffee either on the back deck or at a cafe, after a morning run along the river.

My favourite training session is:
VIP access to the spin room when no classes are on (i.e. sneaking in) – cranking my own music, with the UV lights on!

Tea or coffee:
Coffee in the morning, tea before bed!
 
My last meal would be:
Something Mexican – you can’t go wrong!
 
One thing I wish everyone in the world could know about nutrition is:
Most people don’t know just how well they can perform when they’re fuelled properly – so many of us are functioning on a mere fraction of our full capacity and feeling rubbish without even realising it. Nutrition really is a science if you’re fuelling your body for competition!
 
My nutrition philosophy:
Listen to your body. Eat small amounts often, and eat a wide variety of fresh foods. Enjoy food, and do your best to respect where it’s come from.

Ali practices from our James St clinic on Thursday, and The Work Well (Paddington) on Friday. Please call the clinic on
07 3852 2434 or 07 3876 2100 respectively to make your appointment with Ali.