. The trick is to get maximum muscle repair and metabolism boost with minimum belly expansion by opting for lean, nutrient-rich cuts. Chicken breast is the obvious choice, and though this low-fat protein hit should definitely be part of your nutrition plan

brain, a proper nutrition plan may take a back seat.But proper nutrition is central to your training and to race success. By fuelling correctly and ensuring you're hydrated before, during and after training, you will perform and feel better and still

yourself before and after a session. (One kilogram of weight loss is equivalent to one litre of fluid.) Once you know your sweat loss you can prepare your fluid-replacement strategy for training and races.Pre-planningFor an event such as Ironman Nice ensure

Q I’m planning to run a marathon, but I’m also trying, unsuccessfully, to lose weight. When I run, my appetite increases, and I find that I eat more and put on weight rather than lose it. What can you suggest?A Perhaps surprisingly, losing body

With three disciplines to consider, it's easy to make mistakes when you're eating and drinking during training and racing. That's the bad news. The good news is that it's easy to avoid triathlon's common nutritional pitfalls if you plan ahead

while training is also an absolute must. As a rough guide, try to drink 500ml of water, diluted juice or a sports drink two hours before a run, and another 150ml just before you leave. During If you plan to run for less than an hour, plain water should

ate delivered energy and good nutrition. That meant turning to whole foods."Appleman lost six stone and ran his first marathon. The key has been planning. "It can be tough to find healthy options on the go," says Appleman. Nutritionist Ruth Carpenter

: your calorie and carbohydrate intake needs to match your training energy output. However, as your training volume increases and then tapers, so should your food intake. Planning your pre-race diet needn't be a nutritional nightmare: here are 25 handy

Q. I want to practise my nutrition for race day but my trainer says I should wait until a few weeks before the race so I get the maximum benefit - is he right?A. It's imperative that you experiment during training to find out what will work best

drink after training. This could be a milkshake, fruit smoothie, yoghurt or just a glass of milk - Helen often does this already if she isn't planning to eat immediately after training. Vitamins and minerals Helen's intake of iron, copper, selenium