Episode 223 - From Zero to Ironman in Five Months

What happens when you go from no triathlon experience to Ironman in just five months?

In this episode, I chat with Daniel Walker – a classic Type A, all-in triathlete – who did exactly that. But despite his relentless training, Dan was under-fuelled, under-recovered and chasing the wrong metrics. What started as a fat loss mission turned into a complete transformation in the way he trains, eats and performs.

We dive into:

• Why going “all in” without strategy doesn’t work
• The dangerous side effects of under-fuelling
• How the TNA program helped Dan nail his nutrition, troubleshoot race day failures and finally see results

Whether you’re just getting into the sport or pushing for Kona, Dan’s journey is a must-listen for any triathlete who’s been winging it with their nutrition.

Links:

Check how well you’re doing when it comes to your nutrition with our 50 Step Checklist to Triathlon Nutrition Mastery

Start working on your nutrition now with my Triathlon Nutrition Kickstart course 

It’s for you if you’re a triathlete and you feel like you’ve got your training under control and you’re ready to layer in your nutrition. It's your warmup on the path to becoming a SUPERCHARGED triathlete – woohoo!

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Episode Transcription

Episode 223: From Zero to Ironman in Five Months

Welcome to the Triathlon Nutrition Academy podcast. The show designed to serve you up evidence-based sports nutrition advice from the experts. Hi, I'm your host Taryn, Accredited Practicing Dietitian, Advanced Sports Dietitian and founder of Dietitian Approved. Listen as I break down the latest evidence to give you practical, easy-to-digest strategies to train hard, recover faster and perform at your best. You have so much potential, and I want to help you unlock that with the power of nutrition. Let's get into it.

Taryn Richardson (00:00)
Daniel Walker does not do things by halves. But even with an all-in approach, he still wasn’t getting the results he wanted. You can train hard all you like, go all in, and still miss the mark if your nutrition isn’t right. For Dan, it wasn’t until he started fuelling properly that everything began to click.

Dan only discovered the sport of triathlon back in 2025. And in true Daniel style, within four or five months, he was on the start line of Ironman Cairns. That tells you everything you need to know about his personality.

He joined the TNA program with one very specific goal: to lose weight and take pressure off the osteoarthritis in his hip. He wasn’t really interested in performance, fuelling, day-to-day nutrition, or any of the stuff I bang on about all the time. Just fat loss. That was his primary focus.

But what he ended up getting from the program was so much more.

In this episode, Daniel shares how he went from being an under-fuelled athlete with no idea how to eat for three sports, probably chasing the wrong metrics if we’re honest, to completely rebuilding the way he thinks about performance, gut training, and nutrition.

So if you’ve been training hard, eating less, and still can’t figure out why you’re not seeing results, Daniel’s story is a must-listen. And if you’re ready to stop winging it and learn how to fuel properly, come and join us inside the Triathlon Nutrition Academy program.

Go to dietitianapproved.com/academy and register your interest for our next cohort.

Welcome to the podcast, Dan. Good to talk to you outside of Power Hour. Your background is in MMA and dirt bike racing. What made you switch to triathlon?

Daniel Walker (01:36)
Thank you very much for having me, Taryn.

I’ve always liked picking something, learning everything I can about it, and going all in. I think your intro absolutely nailed that.

When I was younger, it was cricket. I played high-level cricket from 15 through to 25 until I realised I wasn’t going to play for Australia. That’s when MMA entered the picture.

I met my wife in Thailand and convinced her to move over from Sweden. When she came over, I was training morning and night and she was working nights, so we never saw each other. That didn’t feel fair, so I stepped away from MMA and went back to a bit of dirt bike riding.

One thing led to another, and six months later I was racing all in. Unfortunately, when your ambition exceeds your ability on a dirt bike, you break bones. I ended up in hospital four separate times in one year. Fractured two vertebrae, punctured a lung, broke all my ribs, and broke my collarbone twice.

Then I had my first child. It was time for a change. I wanted something safer but still missed racing. I went to golf and loved the process of getting better, but that ran its course. I needed something that brought fitness and health gains.

That happened after a bit of a heart scare. The doctor said if I was 50, he’d consider it a healthy heart, but suggested I make some changes. That led me into cycling, then Zwift, then Zwift racing.

Three months later, a friend was doing triathlon. It looked difficult, so I wanted to do it. I dived in head first. I bought a TT bike before I’d even done a triathlon session. From there, it was history.

Taryn Richardson (03:52)
You’re next level. So you’ve just started triathlon, bought a TT bike you probably didn’t know how to clip into, and went from nothing to Ironman in about five months. Why skip the shorter distances and go straight to Ironman?

Daniel Walker (04:15)
It was my 40th birthday. Maybe a midlife crisis.

I had a friend who couldn’t attend because he was doing the Melbourne 70.3. The next morning I watched him on the tracker and thought, I have to go see this. I watched him come down the run chute, cross the finish line, hug his family, and that was it. I knew this was for me.

Later that night I caught up with another mate, Mick, a four-time Ironman. I said I was thinking of doing Busselton. Over a couple of drinks he said, no, Cairns is the one to do.

I got home around 11pm, a little tipsy, and entered Ironman Cairns. The next day, we started.

Taryn Richardson (05:04)
And you don’t have an endurance background. How did you think nutrition was going to work before you learned how to do it properly?

Daniel Walker (05:14)
I thought I’d be like Tadej Pogačar with rice cakes and custom blends. I had no idea. I just thought you ate every 20 or 30 minutes. I didn’t know about gut training. It’s a steep learning curve.

Taryn Richardson (05:31)
What about day-to-day nutrition when you’re training multiple times a day?

Daniel Walker (05:37)
That’s why I enlisted your help. I wanted to lose weight and eat healthier. From MMA, weight loss meant cutting carbs. I’d go down to 20 grams of carbs a day, train three hours, and drop eight kilos in six weeks.

I thought that would work again. Then my coach said if I pushed beyond a 500-calorie deficit while under-fuelled, I’d risk stress fractures and injury. That was the moment I realised I couldn’t do this alone.

Taryn Richardson (06:16)

You joined TNA with one goal: weight loss. What surprised you most once you started learning how to fuel properly?

Daniel Walker (06:41)
I opened the first module and it was recovery nutrition. I thought, where’s the weight loss module?

I usually binge courses on double speed, but this forced me to slow down. Within a week or two, recovery nutrition changed everything. Sessions backed up better. Combined with power data and working with you, it was a game changer.

And the thing nobody’s ever taught me before was patience. I’m not patient, but you’ve helped me get better at it.

Taryn Richardson (07:41)
I’ll take that win. The program is built systematically for a reason. You start with foundations because that’s where the biggest gains are made.

You can’t skip ahead, even though people try. But now you get it.

Daniel Walker (08:40)
Absolutely. I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Taryn Richardson (08:45)
Once you slowed down and followed the structure, how did that help you actually learn?

Daniel Walker (09:02)
It taught me patience and allowed me to retain the information. There’s a time commitment with Power Hour, but if you commit, you level up.

Now I’m confident in my nutrition. Execution is on me. You can’t physically stop my snack accidents, but I’m getting better.

Taryn Richardson (09:37)
I can’t take the donut out of your hand, but I can teach you how to snack better.

Was there a lightbulb moment for you in Power Hour?

Daniel Walker (10:09)
Yes. Fuelling ratios.

At Cairns I relied on on-course nutrition and it failed. Power Hour helped me troubleshoot that. Now I’m 100 percent self-sufficient. I rely on my own nutrition. Maybe Coke and water on course, but that’s it.

Taryn Richardson (10:46)
Being self-sufficient is powerful. Aid stations fail. Gels run out. When you rely on yourself, your plan stays intact.

Daniel Walker (11:36)
Absolutely. I learned the hard way with caffeine. I ended up with over 1000mg and it did not end well.

Taryn Richardson (11:49)
More is not better with caffeine.

You came in chasing fat loss. What changes have you noticed that have nothing to do with the scales?

Daniel Walker (12:14)
Patience again. I now add healthy choices instead of taking things away. Add fruit, add vegetables, add better options. Eventually the less healthy stuff just disappears.

Taryn Richardson (13:01)
That’s exactly it. I’m not the fun police. It’s about timing and strategy, not banning foods forever.

Daniel Walker (13:35)
As soon as you get on the trainer, donuts are fair game. That’s fuel.

Taryn Richardson (13:45)
I knew you’d say that.

Was there a moment where everything finally clicked?

Daniel Walker (14:07)
Post-Ironman Cairns. We broke down what went wrong and fixed it. Learning to rely on myself removed so many variables. That mindset now applies to all my training and nutrition.

Taryn Richardson (14:42)
Weekly access to an advanced sports dietitian is massively underrated. We can troubleshoot fast, and that suits you.

Daniel Walker (15:37)
I thought one or two sessions would do it. Now I know why that doesn’t work. This is education, not a quick fix.

And Power Hour lets you learn from other athletes too. You realise you’re not alone.

Taryn Richardson (16:39)
You came in wanting one thing and left with a complete shift in thinking. That’s been amazing to watch.

Daniel Walker (16:59)
My last build proved it with data. Best build I’ve ever had. Unfortunately I crashed and broke my collarbone, so Melbourne didn’t happen. We’ll showcase it at Geelong.

Taryn Richardson (17:31)
Leaner doesn’t always mean faster.

Daniel Walker (17:36)
Leaner in a healthy way. We’re optimising body composition now.

Taryn Richardson (17:47)
Exactly. Fat loss, not muscle loss. Language matters.

Daniel Walker (18:30)
That’s why I use performance data now. If power drops, we reassess fuelling. Slow, smart progress. Even if it kills me a little inside.

Taryn Richardson (19:04)
Patience again. Biggest game changers?

Daniel Walker (19:07)
Confidence. Evidence-based advice. Knowing exactly what to do removes stress. Nutrition is no longer something I worry about.

Taryn Richardson (19:45)
Any advice for beginners?

Daniel Walker (20:07)
Ironman too early was a mistake. It set me back physically. I’m focusing on 70.3s now to become a better athlete.

That said, I wouldn’t change it. But I’d recommend building up first.

Taryn Richardson (21:19)
Or even sprint and Olympic.

Daniel Walker (21:22)
Nah. Everyone can do those.

Taryn Richardson (21:26)
Of course.

Daniel Walker (21:31)
I’ve upgraded my bike. Again.

Taryn Richardson (21:43)
Does your wife know?

Daniel Walker (21:47)
I’ll tell her before this airs.

Taryn Richardson (22:21)
Final advice for all-in athletes like you?

Daniel Walker (22:38)
Nutrition is the first discipline of triathlon. Get that right and everything else improves.

Taryn Richardson (23:04)
That’s a mic-drop.

Daniel Walker (23:34)
It’s even more important for beginners. You can leapfrog years of mistakes.

Taryn Richardson (23:55)
What’s next for you?

Daniel Walker (24:08)
Kona. Not tomorrow. A few years away. Nice qualification is the next goal, starting at Geelong.

Taryn Richardson (24:59)
You were back on the trainer two days post-surgery.

Daniel Walker (25:02)
Absolutely. Movement helps me recover.

Taryn Richardson (26:03)
And after Kona?

Daniel Walker (26:10)
Get better. Adjust nutrition. Adapt to the environment. And yes, you’ll get many emails from me.

Taryn Richardson (26:47)
As long as you’re in alumni.

Thank you, Dan. Your story shows what’s possible when you stop winging it and do things properly. If this resonates, head to dietitianapproved.com/academy and register your interest.

Daniel Walker (28:34)
Thanks so much, Taryn. See you soon.

Taryn Richardson (28:37)
See you later. 

Thanks for joining me for this episode of the Triathlon Nutrition Academy podcast. I would love to hear from you. If you have any questions or want to share with me what you've learned, email me at [email protected]. You can also spread the word by leaving me a review and taking a screenshot of you listening to the show. Don't forget to tag me on social media, @dietitian.approved, so I can give you a shout out, too. If you want to learn more about what we do, head to dietitianapproved.com. And if you want to learn more about the Triathlon Nutrition Academy program, head to dietitianapproved.com/academy. Thanks for joining me and I look forward to helping you smashed in the fourth leg - nutrition!