💡 Fuel For Thought

Eating big in a world obsessed with small

Picture this: you’re sitting down with your well-earned bowl of pasta after a long run, and around you, everyone’s comparing notes on their latest diet: intermittent fasting, low-carb, pre-holiday "detox". You twirl your fork and quietly wonder: am I doing something wrong?

Nutrition can feel overwhelming when you’re an endurance athlete living in a world that celebrates eating less. Your energy needs are significantly higher than most people’s, yet messages around food often make you question that. Suddenly, the fuelling that sustains your training is labeled “too much,” “too often,” or “too sugary.”

Your body is not broken, it’s built for endurance. It’s a high-performance engine that needs more fuel, not less. While nutrient-dense foods (like fruits, vegetables, lean proteins) are essential, energy-dense options (like pasta, rice, bagels, nut butter, or even a handful of candy mid-run) are what help you meet those demanding energy needs. Without them, fatigue, poor recovery, and even hormonal disruption can creep in, not because you’re undertrained, but because you’re underfuelled.

It takes confidence to eat enough in a culture that praises restraint. But performance thrives on intentional fuelling. So next time you sit down with that pasta bowl, remember: you’re not indulging, you’re investing in your next run, your recovery, your resilience.

In a world striving to shrink, fuelling enough is an act of strength.

🚀 Endurance Highlights

1️⃣ You may not be fuelling as much as you think

There’s no doubt that in-race carbohydrate intake improves performance, but are you really consuming as much as you think? This new study compared what endurance athletes planned to eat, what they thought they ate, and what they actually consumed on race day by weighing all their nutrition products before and after real events (a marathon and a 101 km cycling race).

The results revealed a consistent gap between intention and reality. On average, athletes consumed about 16–17% less carbohydrate than planned with marathoners averaging ~22 g/hr and cyclists ~49 g/hr, both well below the recommended 60–90 g/hr for these types of events. Cyclists tended to fuel better, likely due to easier access to nutrition and better sleep leading into race day, while marathoners not only under-fuelled but also overestimated how much they’d consumed. Interestingly, gastrointestinal issues weren’t to blame, both groups reported similar, mild GI symptoms.

Most endurance athletes underconsume carbohydrates on race day, often without realising it. Better sleep, lower anxiety, and practising your race-day fuelling plan in training could make a major difference to how well you execute your strategy when it matters most.

2️⃣ Beetroot juice and performance: New insights for female athletes

Nitrate supplementation has been well studied and documented as beneficial to performance, but most of that research has focused on male athletes. This new systematic review and meta-analysis looked specifically at its effects in women, analysing data from nine studies involving 114 female participants.

Researchers examined whether acute nitrate intake (most often from beetroot juice) improved muscle strength, power, or sprint performance. The findings showed that nitrate supplementation led to a small but significant improvement in explosive power, such as countermovement jump height and peak power output. However, it had no meaningful effect on muscle strength or sprint performance.

This suggests that while beetroot juice may help female athletes generate power during short, explosive efforts, it’s less likely to improve all-out strength or sprint capacity. As always, individual responses vary, and more research is needed to fine-tune dosage and timing specifically for female athletes.

🕵🏻‍♀️ Retail Finds*

This week's product review: Maurten Solid C 160

While energy gel options are everywhere, energy bars don't seem as popular. Here are my thoughts on this one.

Features & benefits

• Facts per bar: 204 calories, 42g carb, 2.6g protein, 3.2g fat and 250mg sodium.
• Made with gluten-free ingredients but not certified as gluten-free.
• Vegan.

Things to keep in mind

• Very sweet and sticky.
• More moist and dense than an LCM bar/Rice Krispie

Final take

If you're looking at including some solid options as part of your fuelling, this bar could be an option, especially if you don't mind sweeter taste. Given it's high-carb and compact presentation, it can also be a good alternative for pre-training or post-training fuel. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

👩🏻‍🍳 Kitchen Creations

​Download the recipe​​​

Steak fried rice This is a very simple and balanced recipe, perfect for preparing a meal in less than 30 minutes or to use as part of meal-prepping.

I'm committing to sending the most valuable endurance nutrition newsletter. I want to make sure that every piece of content you receive has information that is helpful for you and your journey to achieving your personal best.

Happy fuelling!

Gaby | Endurance Nutrition Specialist

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p.s. I personally read and answer your email replies.

PLUS whenever you’re ready, here are 3 ways I can help you optimise your performance:

1. ​Take the FREE Endurance Nutrition Audit. Not sure if your fuelling strategy is working? This quick 3-minute audit will reveal exactly where you stand and what adjustments could help you perform at your best.
2. ​Book a FREE strategy call. Need expert advice on your next best step? Let’s chat! In this commitment-free call, I’ll help you identify key areas to improve and map out a fueling approach tailored to your endurance goals.
3. ​Join the Fuel To Thrive Academy. Ready to take action? My signature program gives you the ultimate fuelling roadmap to unlock your full potential in sport and life, with proven strategies that have helped endurance athletes fuel smarter, perform better and break records.

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