RJ Performance Nutrition

16/09/2026

I really care about this stuff. Everyone has challenges and barriers when it comes to food — whether they’re practical, financial, emotional or psychological. We need to be realistic and attuned to individual needs in how we structure nutrition advice and make changes.

There’s a lot that goes into making nutrition genuinely individual — and I often think one of the last things it’s about is calories, macros and whatever the latest ‘superfood’ is.

A little snapshot of my brain during our consultations… before we even get to what you’re eating.

Your plan should be your plan.

14/09/2026

Kind words from an absolute champ ⛰️🏃‍♀️

Privilege to work with earlier this year in prep for Skyrunning Federation world champs. Coming back from injury, her goal was to fuel properly for sport and a genuinely active lifestyle - building a nutrition foundation that would help keep her injury-free and running strong.

Adele definitely challenges herself but also finds real enjoyment in the sport and training, and was an absolute pleasure to work with. We built out a periodised nutrition strategy, increasing carbohydrate and fat intake, structuring consistent fuelling across the day, and adjusting around training load (and Adele’s busy life).

We also looked at micronutrient intake to support recovery and performance - and helped her get the most out of strength training days versus endurance with nutrition approaches. On top of that, we nailed down race day nutrition, including carb loading, hydration and recovery, so she could go into champs confident.

Can now be spotted post race in a field with choc milk 🥛😂

Well done Adele - I’m inspired for some sky running in future (although I’ll be a long way behind)

12/09/2026

It’s IM Wales weekend! Which was the last time I raced, a good few years ago now.

A few learnings from both sides. To everyone racing this weekend - enjoy!!🐉

AND DON’T FORGET YOUR PINK BAG. Running up that hill twice is not advisable 😂 learnt the hard way.

(I’m not huge on talking about my injury side of things, so this isn’t about that — it’s in hand, manageable and there are much worse things).

10/09/2026

It’s Great North Run weekend! 🏃‍♀️

Some last-minute tips and tricks to help you get the most out of your race.

Carb loading is more than just a large bowl of pasta the night before. It helps fill your glycogen stores (your body’s main fuel stores), ready to fuel you through your race.

Full glycogen stores provide enough carbohydrate to fuel around 60–90 minutes of moderate-high intensity exercise. So filling the tank in advance can make a real difference over half marathon distance.

Good luck to everyone running on Sunday! 🧡 and most importantly ENJOY!!

09/09/2026

Wondering if you actually need to fuel your next race?

I’ve had lots of questions this running season about whether in-race fuelling is needed for 5K, 10K and half marathon races.

The truth is, in-race fuelling is highly individual. It depends on your expected finish time, gut tolerance, weather conditions and how well fuelled you are at the start line.

Your body stores carbohydrate as glycogen in the muscles and liver, providing an important fuel source for around 60–90 minutes of fairly hard exercise – assuming you arrive with reasonably full glycogen stores. The higher the intensity, the more quickly you use carbohydrate. As glycogen availability drops, this can limit your ability to sustain your pace – not what you want on race day.

- 5K: Fuelling well beforehand is generally plenty. No need for mid-race gels.

- 10K: It depends on your expected race duration, but some strategic in-race carbohydrate is worth considering.

- Half marathon: Taking carbohydrate during the race is likely to support performance & help you maintain race intensity.

Want to know more, including pre- and post-race considerations? Check out the blog post via link or bio or here —> https://www.rjperformancenutrition.com/fuelling-for-5km-10km-and-half-marathon-races/

06/09/2026

Perimenopause can be a challenging time, bringing changes in body composition, appetite, training tolerance, recovery and energy levels.

Increasingly, research shows that many of these changes aren’t inevitable consequences of changing hormones alone. Sleep disruption, cognitive and vasomotor symptoms can have a very real knock-on effect on training, appetite, food choices and energy levels.

I often see women who have responded by restricting carbohydrates (or have perhaps been historically and are now feeling the effects more), but are left struggling with fatigue, cravings and increasingly inconsistent training.

Whilst we may need to think differently about diet and exercise during perimenopause, carbohydrate restriction is unlikely to be the answer - particularly for endurance athletes.

Often, simply distributing carbohydrate better across the day, fuelling around training and bringing overall intake more in line with requirements can make a real difference to cravings and energy - and help make regular, consistent training feel achievable again.

09/08/2026

Five weeks to the Great North Run!

I’ve written a free fuelling guide to get you to the start line confident and ready to enjoy the day - carbohydrate targets by finish time, hydration around the drinks stations, race morning timings, and a page to write your own plan on.

Free - get it here ——> https://www.rjperformancenutrition.com/great-north-run-fuelling-guide

10/07/2026

I feel like the marketing around protein just keeps growing. Almost every product seems to have a “high protein”, “added protein” or “source of protein” version.

It’s understandable that people feel like protein is the key nutrient in their diet.

But as with most things in nutrition, it’s the balance, according to individual needs, that counts.

I have so many conversations with people who are “scared of carbs” (their words), still questioning whether they should be avoiding fruit, whilst at the same time struggling with energy levels, cravings, recovery, performance and mood (the list goes on).

This isn’t an anti-protein message. Protein is incredibly important and high protein products have some practical uses. But sometimes the current messaging means people prioritise protein at the expense of other nutrients - particularly carbohydrates (in my experience).

Very rarely is my primary concern somebody’s protein intake, frequently it’s inadequate carbohydrate intake. Often a starting point is to stop replacing everyday foods with their “protein” versions and just have the regular bagel, the pasta or the cereal.

Carbs aren’t the enemy, and good nutrition is about more than simply adding protein. It’s about getting the right balance of carbohydrates, protein, fats, micronutrients and overall energy intake to support your body, health, training and performance.

Of course - medical conditions and other factors can influence individual requirements including carbohydrate requirements, timings and type.

04/07/2026

03/07/2026

Many endurance athletes don’t deliberately under-fuel, they just underestimate how much carbohydrate they might actually need.

Carbohydrate is the body’s most readily available source of energy, important for both exercise and normal physiological function. As training volume increases, so do your carbohydrate requirements.

Current sports nutrition guidance recommends approximately:

🏃 Moderate training (~1 hour/day): 5–7 g carbohydrate/kg/day

🏃‍♀️ Moderate-high endurance training (1–3 hours/day): 6–10 g carbohydrate/kg/day

But what does that actually look like as food?

This shows one example of what the lower end of current carbohydrate guidance can look like on your plate, based on an endurance athlete weighing around 65kg.

For context, that’s roughly:
- 2 porridge pots
- 1 full microwave rice pouch
- 1 full tin of rice pudding
- A generous serving of pasta (the bowl is a little deceptive!)
- 1 bagel with jam
- 1 apple
- 1 individual rice pudding pot
- Cereal bar
- A generous serving of dried fruit

One of the most common things I see in clinic is athletes with a high training load but a relatively low carbohydrate intake. Matching your carbohydrate intake to your training demands can support performance, recovery, energy levels, overall health and help ensure you’re well-fuelled for your next session.

This is just one example of how current carbohydrate guidance can look in practice, not how you should build your diet everyday (individual needs will vary). The aim isn’t to copy these exact foods, but to help visualise what these recommendations can actually look like.