Something a little different this week — we’re handing the reins to James LeBaigue, a UK-based Registered Sports Nutritionist who helps triathletes take the guesswork out of fuelling.

James works with athletes at all levels — from first-timers to those racing in the Ironman Pro Series — and today he’s sharing three practical nutrition tweaks that can make a real difference to how you train, race, and recover.

A triathlete I was working with once blurted out mid-coaching session:

It made me laugh — but it also perfectly sums up one of the most common nutrition mistakes triathletes make.

Let’s break down that one, as well as two others I see time and time again.

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1. EATING THE WRONG TYPE OF FUEL BEFORE TRAINING

The athlete above had been struggling with energy in their high-intensity sessions.

They thought they were fuelling properly… They were having a healthy snack before their hard swim, bike and run sessions.

But things just weren’t going to plan. Sessions felt sluggish.

After going through this client’s nutrition diary, I noticed they were regularly having a big handful of almonds before training.

Now, I love almonds, and they’re incredibly healthy…

But they’re high in fat and low in carbohydrate, so they don’t provide the quick-release energy needed for training.

Worse still, the fat slows down digestion, meaning any carbs they had eaten were delayed in getting into the system.

This also links to another frequent issue: stomach problems mid-session.

Bloating, cramps, diarrhoea — these are often caused by eating too much fat, fibre, or protein too close to training.

The simple change? We swapped the almonds for rice cakes with honey.

Not sexy, but easy to digest, higher in carbohydrate,… And a night-and-day difference in how they felt during sessions.

If you struggle with either stomach upset or low energy levels during training, review what you’re eating in the couple of hours before a session.

Most of the time, this can be fixed with some simple tweaks which make a world of difference.

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2. FORGETTING RECOVERY NUTRITION

Finish session —> Check Strava stats —> Get some kudos —> Realize you’re ravenous.

Sound familiar?

It’s common for athletes to finish their training sessions, faff around, spy on their club mates training, and before they know it, 60–90 minutes have passed with no food.

(swim sessions are a prime offender)

Then factor in the drive home and a few chores, and recovery nutrition has well and truly slipped through the cracks.

If there’s another session later that day, or even early the next morning, that’s a problem.

After any session, try to aim for:

30g+ of carbohydrate

~25g of protein

And if it’s a harder session, 1g of carbohydrate per kg of bodyweight

Quick options might be:

• A smoothie with banana, oats, peanut butter, honey and Greek yogurt
• A bagel with jam and nut butter
• A ready-to-go recovery drink (a protein shake + table sugar — simple is ok!)

The key isn’t perfection — it’s consistency and timing.

I had a client who was training for their first 70.3 triathlon and was constantly feeling beaten up.

After prioritizing what they ate after training, they said:

It’s not a magic bullet, but my word can it make a heck of a difference!

If you’d like to explore this in more detail, you can watch this YouTube video, which includes three fantastic snacks that you can easily create to boost your recovery!

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3. NOT EATING ENOUGH CALORIES

Even among very experienced athletes, this one sneaks in.

I recently reviewed the diet of a world championship-bound triathlete.

On paper, everything looked solid… Except what they were eating didn’t quite match how much energy they were expending. **

They sheepishly admitted they’d been intentionally under-fuelling by around 300 calories per day — just trying to stay lean.

It’s a common issue with endurance athletes, especially triathletes focused on performance.

But after running through the potential benefits, we added those calories back in, and two weeks later, they messaged me, saying:

Think of your training as the blueprint, and your nutrition as the tools to build the house.

Without the right fuel, your body can’t build as well as it wants to.

If you’re putting in the training but not seeing the performance you expect, calories might be the missing link.

Most athletes I work with — from age groupers to pro-level racers — aren’t under-eating by miles. They’re just under-eating by enough to cause problems.

And once we fix that? The difference is often huge.

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These are the kinds of small, practical tweaks I work on every day with triathletes and runners. My approach is science-backed, but designed for real life — whether you’re prepping for an Ironman or juggling training around a busy job.

If you’ve found this helpful and want more tips like it, you can:

👉 Watch more on my YouTube channel​

👉 Or sign up for my weekly emails right here​

Both are 100% free — and I’d love to have you along.

James

Hope you enjoyed this week's physiology toolkit. I'd love to hear if you enjoyed this one and if you too struggle with workout nutrition? Write back here - I reply 100% of the time.

Yours in physiology,

Carla