Replenish and Rise

Replenish and Rise BSc Nutrition and Dietetics
MSc Sports Nutrition
Performance Nutrition | Disordered Eating Specialist
121 Consults

27/08/2026

Top tips for travel nutrition for athletes:

PREP IF YOU CAN (I know this is annoying, but is such a good way of making sure you are meeting your needs). Overnight oats; yoghurt and granola; sandwiches; pasta or grain salads; coffee or tea in a travel cup; SNACKS (cereal bars, fruit, yoghurt, jaffa cakes or other biscuits)

Make sure you take plenty of fluids with you and stay hydrated throughout

If you have no time to prep, meal deals with additional snacks are completely okay. Just be aware that if you are an athlete and trying to meet high daily carb requirements, you may need additional carb-y snacks as well as your meal deal sandwich or sushi

A high dose vitamin C supplement (0.25-1g/day) may help reduce the risk of illness if you are travelling with little sleep and in crowded areas where your infection risk is up

If you are sleeping on the plane / train, an eye mask and ear plugs will be your best friend
 
Hope this helps 🧡

25/08/2026

Further information below 👇
 
When we think about nutrition during the marathon, we need to consider 3 things:
- Meeting carbohydrate needs to provide the body with energy throughout your race
- Choosing options which your gut can tolerate
- Practicalities of carrying and taking the nutrition
 
Sports nutrition guidelines suggest that you need up to 90 grams per hour of carbohydrates when running >2.5hrs (Thomas et al., 2016), and some elite athletes are now pushing these limits to 120 grams per hour or more, although benefits to performance are still being explored (Podlogar and Wallis, 2022).
 
However, if you are a recreational marathon runner (and most of us are!), you may not be practiced in taking any carbohydrates during events. If this is the case, I would recommend slowly building yourself up in training using amounts of carbs that you can tolerate. DO NOT TRY ANYTHING NEW ON THE DAY. If you have only practiced with 30, 40, or 60 grams of carbs per hour in training, do NOT go out on race day blasting 90 grams of carbs per hour. This is a recipe for an unfinished race and multiple trips to the loo.
 
When choosing your nutrition, you need to think about what will work for you. Gels, chews, and sports drinks are all perfectly fine. If you are planning on aiming for more than 60 grams of carbs per hour, make sure you are choosing products that have a 1:0.8 or 2:1 glucose to fructose ratio. This is because your gut can only absorb a maximum of 60 grams of glucose per hour, and more than this can cause gut distress. Choosing a mix of glucose and fructose can therefore help gut tolerance.
If you are going less than 60 grams of carbs per hour, sweets, normal gels, maple syrup or honey sachets, and sports drinks are great options.
 
Make sure you also stay hydrated throughout the race, as dehydration can also increase gut issues.
 
Please let me know what you think in the comments 💪🧡

References
DOI:10.1249/MSS.0000000000000852
DOI:10.1007/s40279-022-01757-1

Ever heard of set point theory? If not, read on…Set point theory is the idea that your body has a weight range / fat mas...
21/08/2026

Ever heard of set point theory? If not, read on…

Set point theory is the idea that your body has a weight range / fat mass that it is happy at. Genetics plays a large part in determining this range, and your body will fight to keep you in it.

For example, if you try to push your weight below this range, your body may push back. You may feel hungrier, think about food constantly, get physical symptoms of starvation such as feeling cold, hormone disruption (such as losing your period), or hair loss, and your metabolism slows. This is thought to be your body’s way of trying to keep you in its safe and healthy range.

Alternatively, if you have a healthy balanced diet, full of nourishing food as well as pleasurable experiences, exercise regularly (not excessively), and your physical health is stable for you, you are likely sitting in your set point range.

The difficulty comes when society and diet culture tell us we need to look a certain way, and this ‘look’ (which seems to differ person to person and even through years and seasons) may not marry up with most people’s set point range. This leaves people chasing a weight or body shape that isn’t healthy for them. If you have experienced this, it is not your fault. But the next step is acceptance of the body you have, and learning how to keep it healthy so you can enjoy life and all its experiences.

Let me know your thoughts 🧡

14/08/2026

Feeling tired or more breathless than normal?

This could be signs of an iron deficiency, alongside poor recovery, dizziness, hair shedding, restless legs, and exercise which feels much harder than usual. If you notice these symptoms, please seek advice from your GP so they can assess your symptoms and do appropriate investigations.
 
Endurance athletes are at an increased risk of developing an iron deficiency from increased losses (from sweat, the gut, and foot strike haemolysis). As well as this, menstruating athletes and vegetarian/ vegan athletes may be at an even higher risk.
 
An iron deficiency can have significant impacts on endurance performance:
-              One meta-analysis (Burden et al., 2015; DOI: 10.1136/bjsports-2014-093624) found that correcting iron deficiency in non-anaemic iron deficiency athletes produced a moderate, significant effect on VO2max
-              In a systematic review of iron supplementation in female athletes and performance, it was concluded that iron deficiency negatively affects endurance performance by 3-4% (Pengelly et al., 2025; DOI: 110.1016/j.jshs.2024.101009)
-              In a large study including 1190 athletes, those with iron deficiency (19.7%) had lower VO2 peak values (Keller et al., 2024; DOI: 10.1016/j.nut.2024.112516)
 
Top tips for getting iron into your diet:
 
Eat regular iron-containing foods: red meat, chicken, fish, pulses and beans, dark leafy vegetables, nuts and seeds, fortified foods such as some breakfast cereals.
Pair these foods with vitamin C as this will help the absorption.
 
Avoid having tea, coffee, or calcium containing foods around 2hrs pre/post having a high iron meal or snack. This is because they will reduce the iron absorption.
 
Let me know any questions in the comments 👇

10/08/2026

DOUBLE SURF DAY? Here’s how to fuel it…

Surfing is high intensity, intermittent exercise i.e. it runs on CARBS. If you’re surfing twice, your fuelling plan matters. Save this 👇

BEFORE SURF ONE
Dawnie? Keep it small + easy to digest: banana, toast with honey, juice.
Got time to digest? Go bigger: porridge, cereal, toast with jam.
Hydrate BEFORE you paddle out. A 2-hour session = 2 hours with no fluids

STRAIGHT AFTER SURF ONE (the golden window)
Carbs + protein + fluids within 30 mins–1 hr of finishing (with a particular focus on CARBS in this window)
Think: yoghurt + granola, eggs on toast, or some local cuisine if you’re on an exotic surf trip (I would HIGHLY recommend hoppers if you are in Sri Lanka)

KEEP TOPPING UP
Replenishment doesn’t stop there. Aim for 1–1.2g carbs per kg body weight, every hour, for the first 4 hours after surf one (this is especially important if you have an important/ big surf coming up within 8hrs).
Fast-release carbs win here: bagels + jam, bananas, dried fruit, smoothies.

THROUGH THE DAY
Regular meals, snacks and drinks.

BEFORE SURF TWO
About 1-2hrs before, same as round one - easy carbs + top up fluids.

AFTER SURF TWO
Full recovery mode: carbs, protein, fluids, a proper meal (+ dessert if you want)
Two surfs = 4+ hours of exercise. Your energy intake needs to be WAY up today.

Follow for the rest of the series, and comment which day you want covered next 👇

03/08/2026

Do you need electrolytes supplements?

Sodium is the electrolyte we lose most of in sweat, and is the one we think most about around exercise. It also helps with hydration and fluid balance.

BEFORE EXERCISE
Sodium can be helpful if you struggle to drink before exercise and tend to go in dehydrated. Adding around 100-125mg sodium per 100ml of fluid (just under 1/2 level tsp salt per litre), or 275-420mg per 100ml of your target fluid volume if using capsules or salty foods can drive thirst and support drinking. If you tend to go into exercise hydrated, this is less relevant.

If you are planning on doing an event where you are unable to replace fluid losses due to high sweat rates, or you struggle to drink during exercise, contact a sports nutrition professional for tailored advice on pre-exercise hyper hydration.

DURING EXERCISE Sodium doesn’t improve performance directly. It only helps if it results in you drinking more.

FOR MOST SWEATY SPORTS - you could season to taste: up to 1000-1200mg per litre (~1/2 level tsp salt or less) to help you drink taste nicer so you drink more to stay hydrated.

WHEN IT GETS SERIOUS Blood sodium is at risk of falling if ALL of these apply:
* exercise lasting over 4 hours
* sweat rate under 1.8 litres per hour
* replacing more than 70% (but less than 100%) of fluid losses
Typically endurance/ultra events or long team sessions in the heat. Sweat testing and individualised advice is recommended - speak to a registered sports nutrition professional.
Sweating more than 1.8 litres an hour? Dehydration becomes the bigger risk. Also worth getting advice.

AFTER EXERCISE 275-420mg sodium per 100ml can help fluid retention, but mainly when you’re drinking plain water on its own. Alongside a meal, or with milk, you’re already covered.

FORMS 1 level tsp salt = roughly 2300-2400mg sodium.
Sports drinks are often lower in sodium.
Supplements range from 300-1000mg per tablet and are the pricier option - genuinely useful when you need precision.

General guidance only. If you have a condition such as POTS your needs will differ - please speak to your GP.

Any questions, drop them below 👇

DOI: 10.1186/s44410-025-00011-9

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