HOW TO ADAPT A SUGAR-FREE DIET

Lisa Melvin is aiming to fuel her Ironman-targeting 2017 season on a diet free from added sugar. Renee McGregor highlights why and when to include glucose and fructose

While we should all be watching our intake of sugar, as an endurance athlete there are going to be times when your body will need glucose or fructose in its simplest form in order to perform optimally. It’s also important to remember that added sugar should make up no more than 5% of your total energy intake. As an athlete, Lisa’s overall requirements of energy are therefore higher than the average person.

While she demonstrates a good regular meal pattern, the fact that she’s often feeling tired through the day would suggest that Lisa isn’t meeting her requirements, specifically in carbohydrates or dairy. I’d swap the coconut oil in her morning porridge for milk and include a milk-based drink prior to bed as this has proven to aid recovery through the night.

Lisa’s overall training volume is high, so in order for her to benefit from the high-intensity sessions in particular, it’s essential that she makes the right choices pre- and post-training. Only then will Lisa have enough fuel to reach the paces she needs and gain both adaptation and progression.

When it comes to fuelling racing, Lisa’s body will use in the region of 30-60g of carbs per hour so it’s important to provide this during the event. While she can use fruit such as bananas and dried fruit in order to stick to a no-added sugar strategy, studies have shown that easily absorbable carbohydrate such as glucose and fructose are best for optimal performance. It’s therefore advisable to practise with these foods during training to avoid any nasty gastric surprises come race day! For more food swap suggestions, see below.