I decided to see Alex because I wanted to improve my diet and ensure I was eating the right things to help me train for a marathon. I also wanted to lose a bit of weight and gain strength. There is a lot of information about nutrition but it is often very hard to work out what is right and what isn’t, especially taking into account individual factors and needs.

Alex took my body measurements and also took a detailed history about my eating habits, diet and exercise. Alex then conducted a diet analysis and exercise analysis to work out my nutritional and energy needs and provided me with an eating plan, outline of my protein and carbohydrate requirements and how these change depending on what exercise I do on a day to day basis.

Alex highlighted that overall my diet was healthy but I was consuming too many carbs particularly on non-training days and not enough protein. My portion sizes were also too big.

I have lost around 2kg so far in around 2 months of following the plan. I have also found that I can manage eating smaller meals and feel full more quickly. I have been able to sustain a faster pace whilst running for a longer period of time and haven’t experienced the sugar hits/downturns as I used to before.

I have a better understanding of which foods are high in protein, carbs and fat and also what my nutritional requirements are. I am also more aware and mindful of what I am eating and this has helped me to reduce my food intake (particularly of bad foods) and make informed choices. I plan to see Alex again to have my measurements re-checked and in order to understand what I can do to increase my energy intake whilst not undoing what I have done so far when it comes to full marathon training.