Fuel for what you're doing

Why eating around training matters more than what you eat, and how to think about fuelling without turning food into a chore.

Fuelling is simply eating in a way that matches what your body is being asked to do. A hard water session, a weights session, a normal school day — each one needs something a bit different, and getting the timing roughly right makes a bigger difference than most people expect.

This isn't about a strict routine or getting things perfect. It's about a few habits that, done most of the time, mean your body has what it needs when it needs it.

Before training

You don't need a big meal right before a session — that can leave you feeling heavy and sluggish. What helps is something light and easy to digest in the hour or two beforehand: toast, a banana, a bit of cereal. If training is early and there's no time to eat much, even something small before you leave the house is better than nothing.

After training

This is the window that matters most and the one people skip most often. Your body is most ready to recover and rebuild straight after a session, so eating something within about an hour — rather than waiting until the next proper meal — helps you come back stronger for the next one. A simple combination of carbohydrate and protein works well: a sandwich, milk and a banana, yoghurt with fruit. Nothing complicated, just prompt.

On double-training days

Days with two sessions are the ones where fuelling gets missed, usually because there's a gap and "not enough time" gets in the way. The meal or snack in the middle of the day is doing double duty — recovering from the first session and fuelling the second — so it's worth treating it as the important meal it is, even if that means packing something the night before rather than hoping the timing works out.

School days

If training happens around school, the food for it has to leave the house with you in the morning — school kitchens and vending machines aren't always reliable, and kit bags get forgotten easily enough without adding food to the list. Packing something the night before, alongside kit, takes the decision off your plate on a rushed morning.

What this isn't

Fuelling well isn't about hitting a number, following a strict set of rules, or feeling guilty about a day that didn't go to plan. Missing a snack once in a while isn't a big deal — what matters is the pattern over weeks, not any single meal. There's no such thing as a perfect eating week, and chasing one tends to cause more problems than it solves.

Race day is different

Race day isn't the day to try something new. Stick to breakfasts and snacks you already know sit well with you, and keep eating and drinking little and often through a day with gaps between races — a banana or a flapjack between races, something more substantial if there's a longer wait. Nerves before a race are completely normal, and a settled stomach on the start line usually comes from familiar food, not from eating less.

Who to talk to

If you're not sure what's realistic for your training and school routine, your coach can help fit fuelling around your actual programme, and your parent or guardian is often the one doing the shopping, so loop them in. If eating around training feels like a real struggle — not just a busy week, but something that's bothering you — a sports dietitian or your club's welfare officer is a good next step, and your GP is always a sensible place to start too.

Last updated 2026-09-13