Joe Bastianich is a restaurateur, winemaker, author and a judge on the FOX series "MasterChef." An avid runner, Joe has competed in numerous marathons and triathlons and will be tackling his first full Ironman in Kona this October. With that experience in these two worlds, he offers The Chart's Fit Nation Triathlon Challenge community his thoughts on having satisfying meals while training.

Whether you are already athletic and looking to up your game with a triathlon, or are just beginning your journey on the road to getting fit, what you put in your body plays a big role in the performance you’ll get out of it.

We’ve been taught to think of food – especially carbs – as our enemy, and that couldn’t be further from the truth. Food is what fuels our bodies, allowing us to physically push ourselves to reach our own potential for fitness and athleticism. But when we think about a diet to match a healthy active lifestyle, too often we mistakenly buy into the old adage that getting in shape means resigning to a bland and unsatisfying diet of meager proportions. For someone who’s spent their entire life in some of the best Italian restaurants in the country, bland, meager, and unsatisfying just isn’t going to cut it.

Read Athletes, please, eat the pasta!

Previously - Joe Bastianich's rock 'n' roll dreams

iReport recently asked what you dreamed of becoming when you were young. And then tell them what you actually did grow up to be.

iReporter Joshua Estrin was just hanging out, minding his own business in a vineyard when good ol' Joe Bastianich comes up strumming on his guitar. Seemed like the perfect opportunity to ask what he'd be doing if he hadn't ended up feeding people Italian food and wine with more than 20 restaurants and most recently, the 40,000+ square foot "Eataly" Italian food emporium.

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