There’s a lot of information out there about sports gels and it can be confusing. There's a huge variety of brands and flavours and the content of them varies as well. Not all gels are created equally.

Here are some tips to consider when you’re buying your gels:

1. Carbohydrate content

• Carbohydrate content can range from around 20-50g of carbohydrate per gel depending on the brand.
• You don’t have to consume it all at once

2. Type of carbohydrate

• A lot of gels are made up of maltodextrin (two glucose molecules joined together) which is very easily broken down in the gut and absorbed quickly into the bloodstream.
• Some products contain maltodextrin and fructose which is a different type of sugar and is absorbed differently across the stomach lining
• The right one for you depends on your overall nutrition plan

3. Is it isotonic or not?

• Isotonic = the same salt concentration as our cells and our blood
• Hypertonic = more concentrated
• Hypotonic = less...

It can be a challenge to eat and drink when you’re running. Your tummy is jiggling up and down, it’s hard to breathe and chew. It’s also common to experience gut symptoms like nausea, bloating, diarrhoea and vomiting.

Here are some practical strategies to help you eat on your feet: 

• Practice!

  • If you’re not used to doing anything at all, start with just a small sip of water and slowly build up over time
  • Your gut is very trainable - start building up slowly, being gradual, and being consistent to your approach to fuelling
  • Assist with increased blood flow to the gut by taking on small amounts of nutrition, more frequently instead of a whole gel or bar at a time
  • Avoid following carbohydrate targets per hour you’ve pulled from the internet – this is a recipe for disaster
    
    

• Have a periodised approach

  • You don’t need to fuel the same all year round
  • Focus on building up your gut tolerance in the lead up to races and back off in your...

Coffee & Questions Today we talked all about gels!

I answered your questions:

• Why do gels upset my stomach?
• Can they be mixed with water?
• Do they need to be consumed all at once?
• What to look for when buying gels?
• How much do you need during endurance events?
• Are bloks/chews better for women?
• Are there gels safe for use during pregnancy?

There were so many good questions! Watch the replay to see the discussion or read the transcript below

Not all gels are created equal! Some are better than others but at the end of the day, it comes down to personal preference and what fits in as part of your overall nutrition plan.

_{I have definitely seen a movement away from commercial sports nutrition products towards more real food options.}

_{If you're looking for more real food options to fuel your training, check out my Fuel Your Adventure Recipe Book! It contains a collection of Dietitian Approved energy bars and balls to fuel you from your very own kitchen.  ...}

My Top Tips for how to Lose weight and still maintain energy levels through ironman training - without affecting performance

1. Eat strategically
2. Get a sports Dietitian Approved meal plan
3. Let training drive the change
4. Do it earlier rather than later
5. You shouldn’t be race weight all year
6. Conversely - you don't want big fluctuations of 5-10+kg
7. Slow and steady wins the race
8. Track changes with skin folds -  not the scales
   
   

If you are looking for a Sports Dietitian to help you with training and racing nutrition, learn how you can work with me HERE

TRANSCRIPT

Good morning everyone! Welcome to Coffee and Question! So I had a couple of weeks break there because my voice failed me, it’s still feeling pretty scratchy. So I'll see how it goes today, see if it holds up for me. But I'm sorry about the delay, a bit late – the internet is not working this morning and a bit of carnage going on in our house as well.

I’m definitely a bit...

Today on Coffee & Questions I answered a great question - How do you Carbohydrate Load?

Watch the replay for all of the gold nuggets, or read the quick summary below.

I've been up to my eyeballs in Carb Loading plans recently with everyone doing Cairns 70.3 or Ironman this weekend. A common theme is that nobody has known how to do it properly

Want to know how well you've mastered the skill of Triathlon Nutrition? 

Have you got lots of areas for improvement? 
Are you on the right track? 
Or are you nailing the fourth leg?

Download the ULTIMATE Triathlon Nutrition Checklist and find out!

What is Carbohydrate Loading?

Where you load or store more carbohydrate in our muscles - muscle glycogen

Just like you fill up your car with petrol, you can fill up your fuel tank (glycogen)

This process takes time - 24-48hours

So eating a pasta meal the night before is not going to be particularly useful. 1. it's not enough carbohydrate and 2. the timing...

Today on Coffee & Questions I answered Maggie's question on RED-S

"I Currently have RED-S for the second time while marathon training - is this something I'm prone to?"

What is it?

Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S)

The syndrome refers to impaired physiological function including, but not limited to:

• metabolic rate,
• menstrual function,
• bone health,
• immunity,
• protein synthesis,
• cardiovascular health

caused by relative energy deficiency - either by inadequate energy intake and/or increased energy expenditure

We need energy to support:

Daily function, growth and exercise. The body fuels exercise first - so if you're not eating enough to support training, you don't have enough energy to support daily function and this can have long term impact on our health.

RED-S is a continuous spectrum ranging from the healthy athlete with optimal energy availability, regular menses and healthy bones to the opposite end of the spectrum characterised by amenorrhoea, low EA...

Today on Coffee & Questions I talked about race nutrition during the back end of an Ironman, in particular the run.

With Cairns IM only 8 weeks away, now is the perfect time to be perfecting your Ironman race nutrition plan. 

Here are the key points I talked about today:

1. Success in an IM comes from minimal fatigue from the swim and bike

2. The types of foods suitable for running - eating on your feet

3. The importance of practising with on-course nutrition

4. Train your gut! This includes both nutrition AND hydration

5. Do Sweat Testing to understand your individual hydration needs

6. Explore any cramping issues

7. What Caffeine options are there on the run?

8. Don't try anything new on race day!
   
   

If you're interested in Sweat Testing (and are located in Brisbane), register your details HERE to get notified about our upcoming sessions.

Should you eat before exercise? And if you do what should you eat?

Coffee & Questions is back!!

One of the biggest issues faced by the Dietitian Approved crew is fuelling for their training. Today I give you a few key pointers for fuelling before training. When it's a good idea to do training fasted versus when to fuel before training.

Sorry about the poor image quality - on the to-do list this weekend is to buy a new webcam!

If you need help with meeting your fuelling needs, invest in a Sports Dietitian to develop a customised plan for you!

www.dietitianapproved.com.au/services

If you're looking for a more cost-effective option, check out one of our Online Courses for a great place to start.

See you next week!

Taryn

A question I get asked frequently in the clinic – What do I eat before a race?

Generally, I'd suggest organising a specific RACE NUTRITION PLAN for your specific event as everyone is different, but here are a few general guidelines to help you get started...

Pre-Race Meal Timing - How long do you have?

What you eat before a race depends on how long you’ve got to digest and absorb it. If you have multiple hours (for e.g. Byron Bay OD which doesn't start to lunchtime), something heavier and more solid is probably going to be ok.

Compared to a shorter time-frame i.e. 1 hour or less, something smaller and easily digestible will work best. In saying that, everyone is different and you need to figure out what works best for you.

If you know you are a nervous racer and food sits in your stomach for a while, I'd suggest getting up a little earlier to ensure you have something to eat 2-2.5 hours prior to the race start.

Go for a smaller volume but...

Coffee & Questions - 29th May 2020

Today I talked about my fave topic - Triathlon Nutrition!