Table 1 The ‘Periodised Nutrition System’

The ‘Repair’ Plate

Green

320–580

0–50

35–50*

~25

CHO:

Rice = ~25–50 g

Pasta = ~25–50 g

Bread = ~40–60 g

Oats = ~30–55 g

Potato = ~125–200 g

PRO:

Chicken breast = ~130–180 g

Beef steak (sirloin) = ~130g-180 g

Beef mince (extra lean) = ~140–190 g

Salmon (fillet) = ~130–180 g

Salmon (smoked) =

~130–180 g

Cod = ~170–230 g

Egg = ~220–240 g

Tempeh =

~140–190 g

FAT:

Avocado = ~80 g

Olive oil =

~13 g

Mixed nuts =

~25–30 g

Mixed seeds =

~25–30 g

Nut butter = ~25 g

Predominantly protein and **low carbohydrate plant based (vegetables, nuts, seeds, some fruits)

Omelette; shakshuka; chicken kebabs with vegetable salad; Turkish egg pot; yogurt, mixed nuts and berries

Zone 1 (< 2 mmol⋅L⁻¹) training session; reduce non-functional mass; train low (glycogen session); recover low / sleep low strategy

Zone one (< 2 mmol⋅L⁻¹) training session: Zone 1 sessions may utilise fat as a fuel and therefore less carbohydrates are required [17]. This may also augment training adaptations (see below).

Reduce non-functional mass:

Lower kcal content of the ‘Repair’ plate is intended to create caloric deficit which can reduce non-functional mass (i.e. reduce fat mass of an individual) [49]

Train low (glycogen session):

Low muscle glycogen status, either by commencing exercise with reduced amounts or depleting throughout the duration of an exercise bout is associated with upregulated nuclear and mitochondrial genome activity through the activity of cell signalling proteins AMPK, PPAR, P38, PGC-1α [18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33, 35]. Chronically, this may increase whole body and intramuscular lipid metabolism which could increase exercise capacity and performance [19, 22, 26, 27, 31,32,33, 35, 36]

The ‘Fuel’ Plate

Amber

520–780

50–100

35–50*

~25

CHO:

Rice = ~75–100 g

Pasta = ~75–100 g

Bread = ~100–150 g

Oats = ~85–110 g

Potato = ~350–400 g

PRO:

Chicken breast = ~130–180 g

Beef steak (sirloin) = ~130g-180 g

Beef mince (extra lean) = ~140–190 g

Salmon (fillet) = ~130–180 g

Salmon (smoked) =

~130–180 g

Cod = ~170–230 g

Egg = ~220–240 g

Tempeh =

~140–190 g

FAT:

Avocado = ~80 g

Olive oil = ~13 g

Mixed nuts =

~25–30 g

Mixed seeds =

~25–30 g

Nut butter = ~25 g

Mixed meal of protein, carbohydrate and **low carbohydrate plant based (vegetables, nuts, seeds, some fruits)

Animal (e.g. meat, fish etc.) or plant based protein (e.g. soya, tempeh etc.) source with carbohydrate source (e.g. rice, pasta, potato etc.) and vegetables (e.g. broccoli, carrots etc.)

Zone one (< 2 mmol⋅L⁻¹) training session; zone two training session (< 2–4 mmol⋅L⁻¹); zone three training session (> 4 mmol⋅L⁻¹); maintain current body composition

Zone one (< 2 mmol⋅L⁻¹) training session: Zone 1 sessions may utilise some carbohydrates as a fuel [17]. Depending on the performance goal(s) of the athlete, it may be appropriate to ensure energy balance and carbohydrate availability [50], even during zone one training sessions.

Zone two (2–4 mmol⋅L⁻¹) training session:

Carbohydrates are the predominant energy source during zone two training sessions and therefore the athlete needs to ensure carbohydrate availability to optimise their performance [17]

Zone three (> 4 mmol⋅L⁻¹) training session:

Carbohydrates are the predominant energy source during zone three training sessions and therefore the athlete needs to ensure carbohydrate availability to reach the required intensities [17]

Maintain current body composition:

The ‘fuel’ plate represents a moderate caloric amount which can be utilised to maintain an athlete’s current body composition [49]

The ‘Perform’ Plate

Red

720–980

100–150

35–50*

~25

CHO:

Rice = ~140–180 g

Pasta = ~140–170 g

Bread = ~200–250 g

Oats = ~150–200 g

Potato = ~600–700 g

PRO:

Chicken breast = ~130–180 g

Beef steak (sirloin) = ~130g-180 g

Beef mince (extra lean) = ~140–190 g

Salmon (fillet) = ~130–180 g

Salmon (smoked) =

~130–180 g

Cod = ~170–230 g

Egg = ~220–240 g

Tempeh = ~140–190 g

FAT:

Avocado = ~80 g

Olive oil = ~13 g

Mixed nuts =

~25–30 g

Mixed seeds =

~25–30 g

Nut butter = ~25 g

Meal high in carbohydrate with moderate protein and **low carbohydrate plant based (vegetables, nuts, seeds, some fruits)

Animal (e.g. meat, fish etc.) or plant based protein (e.g. soya, tempeh etc.) source with carbohydrate source (e.g. rice, pasta, potato etc.) and vegetables (e.g. broccoli, carrots etc.)

Zone two training session (< 2–4 mmol⋅L⁻¹); zone three training session (> 4 mmol⋅L⁻¹); increase lean mass

Zone two (2–4 mmol⋅L⁻¹) training session:

Carbohydrates are the predominant energy source during zone two training sessions and therefore, the athlete needs to ensure carbohydrate availability to reach the required intensities [17]

Zone three (> 4 mmol⋅L⁻¹) training session:

Carbohydrates are the predominant energy source during zone three training sessions and therefore, the athlete needs to ensure carbohydrate availability to reach the required intensities [17]

Increase lean mass:

The ‘perform’ plate can increase caloric intake, promoting increases in lean mass when conducted alongside an appropriate conditioning programme [49]

‘Sustain’ Snacks

Yellow

80–370

20–60

0–10

0–10

N/A

High glycemic index carbohydrates which are lower in fibre content

These are intended to be consumed either pre, during, or post exercise, or as a snack to increase glycogen content whereby this cannot be achieved through repair, fuel and perform plates

Energy ball; ripe banana; dried fruit; rice Krispies bar; sports drink; oat bar; children’s cereal (e.g. coco pops); sweets; Weetabix with honey; jam on white bread; granola with milk or yogurt

Zone 2 training session (< 2–4 mmol⋅L⁻¹); zone 3 training session (> 4 mmol⋅L⁻¹)

Zone two (2–4 mmol⋅L⁻¹) training session:

Carbohydrates are the predominant energy source during zone two training sessions and therefore the athlete needs to ensure carbohydrate availability to reach the required intensities [17]

Zone three (> 4 mmol⋅L⁻¹) training session:

Carbohydrates are the predominant energy source during zone three training sessions and therefore the athlete needs to ensure carbohydrate availability to reach the required intensities [17]

‘Repair’ Snacks

Blue

80–255

0–10

~20

0–15

N/A

Protein snacks

These are intended to be consumed either post exercise as a recovery strategy, or as a snack to increase protein intake whereby this cannot be achieved through repair, fuel and perform plates (e.g. individual has high lean mass)

Protein bar, protein shake, Greek yogurt and berries, seasoned meat or tempeh skewers

Zone 1 (< 2 mmol⋅L⁻¹) training session; maintain lean mass while reducing non-functional mass; train low (glycogen session); recover low / sleep low strategy; increase lean mass

Zone one (< 2 mmol⋅L⁻¹) training session: Zone 1 sessions may utilise fat as a fuel and therefore less carbohydrates are required [17]. By keeping protein intake consistent, through ‘repair snacks’, this helps maintain lean mass [49]

Maintain lean mass while reducing non-functional mass:

Extra repair snacks can increase protein intake. This has been shown to maintain lean mass while reducing non-functional mass (1.6–2.4 g⋅kg⋅bm⁻¹) [13, 49]