Nutrition Review and Intervention

Once diagnosed, a qualified sports nutritionist/dietitian should review the athlete in question with the aim of maximising total energy availability and ensuring nutritional adequacy. Such considerations will include:

• Increasing caloric intake to match the demand of training/rest days and recover energy deficit, i.e. does your eating plan match your training plan?
• Ensuring sufficient carbohydrate to support training and recovery (3-12g/kg of body weight per day, depending on sport, exercise intensity, exercise duration and additional daily demands) (Burke et al., 2011).
• Encouraging sufficient protein intake to support recovery needs, support muscle repair and maintenance (1.2-2.4g/kg of body weight daily), aiming for 20-30g at each meal and snack (ISSN, 2017).
• Reviewing the fat content of diet, encouraging a variety of healthy fats through nuts, nut butters, avocado and oily fish (BDA, 2025).
• Considering nutritional profile and potential inadequacies with specific reference to calcium, vitamin d, iron, omega-3, B vitamins and zinc, to name a few (Mountjoy et al., 2023).

In order to assist with dietary assessment and intervention, a sport dietitian/nutritionist may use support tools including food logs, energy availability calculations and resting metabolic rate testing to assist in informing management plans. 

It will be essential for an athlete to plan their training week accordingly, clearly mapping their fuel and refuel windows to ensure optimal energy is taken on board to support the demand of their sessions and subsequent recovery. The athletes’ fuelling and nutritional intake should be adjusted accordingly to both their training schedule and intensity, taking time ahead of the training week to map out their appropriate meals and snacks. Remember consistency is key, avoiding long periods of fasting, aiming to eat every 3-4 hours minimum. In addition, for athletes recovering from REDs, it is advisable to use their recovery days, i.e. non-training days within the week, to minimise exercise energy expenditure, i.e. minimise time on feet, and maximise their nutritional and energy intake, to recover from the previous training days and prepare ahead for the remainder of the training week.