Gained some excess weight over the festive season??  Then it is time to take part in my 6 week Body Bootcamp designed to kick-start you into better eating habits for the New Year. 

Body Bootcamp plans includes 6 weeks of meal plans, training diary, and 3 nutrition appointments - initial review (body fat analysis, skinfold calipers, photos) half way review (week 3) and final review (week 6).  If this sounds like the incentive you need, give me a call now.  Price for 6 week Body Bootcamp $220.

Get your December copy of 'Good Health' to find my 4 week meal planner to prevent 'party season' weight gain.  Good tips and advice to help you maintain your weight and feel great over Xmas and New Year.  For more detailed individual meal plans and expert advice on how to manage your weight call me today for an appointment:  Rachel 021 336262 or 07 5747126

Ironman is just around the corner and it is time to make sure your nutrition is sorted!!
For those of you unfamiliar with Ironman it is a tough race which can last between 7.5-15 hours long.  The race comprises of a 3km swim, 180km bike ride and 42.2km run. 

Energy requirements are huge for athletes and keeping adequately hydrated and fuelled for the event is important to delay fatigue and keep the body working optimally.  I advise that athletes carbohydrate load for at least 48 hours prior to the event in amounts of at least 10-12g carbohydrate/kg body weight.  This is a large amount of energy to consume but the additional carbohydrate with a tapered training load will top up the muscle glycogen stores so that the athlete is fully charged on the day of the event.

I have been working with many athletes over the last year, fine tuning their training nutrition in order to maximise results for these one day. 

Rachel's top tips for Ironman

Practice, practice, practice - not just with your physical requirements but with food.  Learn what foods and supplements are best for your body and do not change these on the day!

Get up early and have a familiar easily digested low Glycaemic Index meal.  Drink plenty of water and electrolyte drinks up until the event.

Hydrate adequately throughout the day - drinking at least 300-1 litre of fluid every hour depending on body size, sweat rate, gastric emptying and weather on the day! 

Rolling buffet - use the bike to eat more solid food and plenty of it - it is the longest leg of the race and for many the toughest.  Your body will be ready for some more substantial food and sometimes supplements will not be enough.

Aim to consume between 30-50g of carbohydrate every hour of the race - this will depend on your individual energy requirements - generally the larger the athlete the more energy required.

This is the tip of the ice-berg in getting sports nutrition right for an event.  If you are keen to learn for then contact me for a consultation.

Good Luck

Recently I got to catch up with my fellow Sports Nutritionists and Dietitians at a meeting at the NZRU and yes.....I got to hold the Rugby World Cup.  Not only was the day an exciting and thought provoking meeting, but memorable as well.  Well done to Katrina Darry who was part of the support team and the All Blacks Dietitian.  She was integral in insuring players had all their nutritional requirements being met and helping provide the critical support they needed to have the correct fuel to train, recover and win!  Well Done Kat!!!  Lets hope the nutrition support I provide for Bay of Plenty rugby leads them into plenty of wins in 2012!

Martin came to see FoodFX to understand how to maximise his athletic potential by fine tuning his nutrition and hydration strategies for training and competitions. 

"Thanks for the advise and monitoring you have done, it has been very worthwhile and given the last round of results everything certainly paid dividends.  Martin Wouters