per kilogramme of body weight immediately after exercise in the first hour, and repeat each hour until normal eating patterns return. 4. Select carbohydrate-rich foods with a moderate or high GI, such as boiled potatoes or white rice. 5. Include

One of the long-enduring and rarely questioned traditions associated with triathlon events of all kinds is the substantial pasta dinner the evening before race day. After all, who doesn't believe in the hearty, turbo-fuelling advantages of eating a

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

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

to prescribe ferrous sulphate tablets, but you should also look closely at your diet.Strike a balanceA balanced diet should provide adequate iron but, in reality, when you're busy and training (and perhaps trying to lose some weight to improve speed), it can

If broccoli and spinach are the rock stars of the vegetable world, then celery and lettuce are the stage-hands, working hard out of the limelight. For years we've dismissed these pale staples as nutritionally barren, focusing our attention

-hour ride or two-hour run will burn more carbs than a long recreational ride or even a one-hour race. Consume about one gram of carbohydrate per 400g of body weight. The harder you ride, the more glycogen (carbs) you require."You need plenty of energy

If transition is triathlon's fourth discipline, nutrition should be the fifth. Making fuelling mistakes could mean your race ends in disaster. And the longer the event, the more critical your food and drink strategy becomes. But it's not easy

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

jacket potato or bowl of pasta, once seen as a healthy choice, became foods likely to increase your weight.Health warningA number of low-carbohydrate diets have emerged and become very popular, though the total avoidance of carbohydrate is still largely