Triathlon nutrition is a field where bad advice is loudly promoted and simple truths are quietly ignored. The marketing budgets are enormous. The conflicting opinions are endless. And somewhere underneath the supplements, the gels, the keto-versus-carbs debates, and the influencers selling overpriced meal plans — there's a relatively simple set of nutrition principles that actually works for amateur triathletes.
After three years of trial, error, one spectacular bonk at kilometre 60 of a 75km ride, and a lot of reading, here's what I actually eat as an amateur triathlete. No supplements I don't believe in. No restrictive protocols. No food guilt. Just what works in real life, on real training schedules, around real jobs.
The Fundamentals Nobody Argues About
Strip away the noise and the disagreements, and every sports nutritionist on Earth agrees on the same four things. Adequate carbohydrates to fuel your training intensity. Sufficient protein to repair muscle damage. Healthy fats to support hormonal function. Enough total calories to sustain training without chronic deficit. That's the entire foundation of triathlon nutrition. Everything else — timing, supplements, specific food choices — is optimization around those four pillars. Get them right and you're already ahead of 80% of amateur triathletes who are still chasing the perfect protocol.
My Real Daily Eating Pattern
I don't follow a specific diet. I eat whole foods most of the time, eat things that aren't "optimal" occasionally without guilt, and don't obsessively track calories or macros. What I do structure deliberately is the pattern of when I eat what. Here's the rough framework on a training day:
- Morning (training days): Oatmeal with sliced banana, honey, and a small handful of nuts. Coffee. Eaten 90 minutes before training. Carbohydrate-first, easily digestible, nothing fancy.
- Post-workout (within 30 minutes): Protein shake or Greek yogurt with berries. The recovery window is real. Don't romanticise it — but don't miss it either.
- Lunch: The largest meal of my day. Rice or pasta, a generous protein portion (chicken, fish, or legumes), vegetables, olive oil. Simple, filling, anti-inflammatory.
- Afternoon snack (training days): Fruit, nuts, a piece of dark chocolate. Light, but never skipped — skipping it costs me in the evening session.
- Evening: Lighter than lunch. Vegetable-heavy. Protein included. Simple carbohydrates reduced. I sleep noticeably better when I don't go to bed full.
"You cannot out-train a poor diet. But you also don't need a perfect diet. You need a consistent, adequate one."
Race-Week Carbohydrate Loading: The Real Protocol
Two to three days before a race of Olympic distance or longer: increase carbohydrate intake significantly. Target around 8 to 10 grams of carbs per kilogram of body weight per day. Reduce fat and fibre slightly (less digestive volume). Maintain normal protein intake. The goal is maximal glycogen storage in muscles and liver before race morning.
This is not, despite popular misinterpretation, an excuse to eat pizza for three days. It's a deliberate protocol. White rice, pasta, bread, potatoes, bananas, honey, simple cereals. Easily digestible carbohydrates in larger-than-usual quantities. Done correctly, you'll feel slightly heavier and slightly bloated by race morning — that's the glycogen and the water it binds to. You'll thank yourself at kilometre 30 when you still have energy.
Fuelling During Training and Racing
Under 60 minutes of training: water is sufficient. Over 60 minutes: begin fuelling. Here's my protocol that I've refined over hundreds of long sessions:
- At 45 to 60 minutes in: first carbohydrate source. A gel, a banana, a date bar — roughly 30 to 40g of carbs.
- Every 30 to 40 minutes after that: repeat. The mistake amateurs constantly make is waiting until they feel hungry to eat. By then you're already behind, and it takes about 20 minutes for what you eat to actually become usable energy. Stay ahead of the deficit.
- Electrolytes: essential in hot weather or any session over 90 minutes. I use electrolyte tablets dissolved in water instead of sports drinks. Lower sugar, more sodium, more effective for the same money.
The Foods That Consistently Work for Me
- Before training: Oatmeal, banana, white rice with a pinch of salt, toast with peanut butter and honey. Boring. Reliable. No surprise GI issues mid-session.
- During training: Dates, banana, homemade rice cakes, Maurten gels for hard or very long sessions only.
- Post-recovery: Greek yogurt, eggs, salmon, sweet potato, berries, leafy greens.
- Daily staples: Olive oil, mixed nuts, legumes, whole grains, dark leafy vegetables, a generous variety of seasonal fruit.
Hydration: The Most Underestimated Variable
Most amateur triathletes are chronically under-hydrated and don't realise it. Even mild dehydration — just 1 to 2% of body weight in water loss — measurably reduces aerobic performance. That's the equivalent of training at full effort but getting only partial returns. Brutal math.
My baseline: 2.5 to 3 litres of water per day on training days, more in summer or after heavy sweat sessions. I monitor urine colour as the simplest feedback metric possible — pale yellow is the target. Dark yellow means I'm already behind. Crystal clear means I'm probably overdoing it and flushing electrolytes. The goal is the boring middle.
What I Don't Worry About
Supplements beyond magnesium and the occasional electrolyte tab. Fancy recovery drinks. Pre-workout powders with proprietary blends. Branded "endurance" food products priced at three times the cost of real food. Macros tracked to the gram. Eating perfectly on weekends. A glass of wine with dinner once a week. None of these move the needle for an amateur triathlete. They're noise. Real food, eaten consistently, with attention to timing around training — that's the entire game.
1. Never train more than 75 minutes without eating something during. 2. Always eat within 30 minutes post-workout. 3. Drink 500ml of water before any session. 4. Never try new foods on race day. 5. Carbohydrate-load two days before any race longer than 90 minutes. 6. Sleep is a nutrient. Don't sacrifice it for an extra session.
Triathlon nutrition stops being complicated the moment you remove the marketing. Eat mostly real food. Fuel your training appropriately. Recover well. Sleep enough. Adjust based on how your body actually feels, not on what an Instagram coach with affiliate links is selling. The rest, almost all of it, is noise designed to separate you from your money. The simple version works — and it's been working since long before sports nutrition became an industry.