Triathlon Nutrition Academy

Pros are fuelling at up to 200 grams of carbs an hour. Should you be chasing that number too?
High carb fuelling is the hottest topic in endurance sport right now, and the numbers keep climbing. INEOS Grenadiers are fuelling their riders at up to 150 grams of carbs an hour on big Touar de France stages, and pro triathlete Cameron Wurf recently said he took on 200 grams an hour on the bike in a recent Ironman (yes, 200, in one hour). Every age grouper watching that unfold is tempted to copy it. In this episode Taryn breaks down the real science behind high carb fuelling, why it works for the pros, and the one thing most age group triathletes skip completely before they try to chase that number themselves.
You'll learn:
Why the pros are pushing carb intake so high, and what the official guidelines actually say
The genuine recovery benefits of higher carb fuelling, backed by real research
Why eating past your absorption ceiling can wreck your race instead of fuelling it
Why your fuelling ceiling is nothing like the pro's ceiling, and why that's completely fine
A real athlete example of building fuelling tolerance the right way, over time, not overnight
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Why high carb fuelling is exploding in endurance sport
01:24 Meet Taryn and what this episode covers
02:19 The science behind pro level carb intake
03:42 The recovery benefits backed by research
04:08 The catch: high dropout rates from gut issues
05:14 Why there is a ceiling on how much carb can help you
05:38 The cycling study that found more was not always better
06:34 Where unused carbs actually go
07:01 Why your absorption capacity is not the same as anyone else's
08:07 The trap of copying the pro's number
09:39 How the pros actually built their tolerance
10:51 Why gut training is not a DIY podcast protocol
11:54 What you can start doing today
13:34 Case study: Lynn's fuelling turnaround
15:11 The real takeaway: find your number, not theirs
REFERENCES
- King, A. J., O'Hara, J. P., Morrison, D. J., Preston, T., & King, R. F. G. J. (2018). Carbohydrate dose influences liver and muscle glycogen oxidation and performance during prolonged exercise. Physiological Reports, 6(1), e13555. https://doi.org/10.14814/phy2.13555 | PubMed
- Viribay, A., Arribalzaga, S., Mielgo-Ayuso, J., Castañeda-Babarro, A., Seco-Calvo, J., & Urdampilleta, A. (2020). Effects of 120 g/h of carbohydrates intake during a mountain marathon on exercise-induced muscle damage in elite runners. Nutrients, 12(5), 1367. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12051367 | PubMed
- Urdampilleta, A., Arribalzaga, S., Viribay, A., Castañeda-Babarro, A., Seco-Calvo, J., & Mielgo-Ayuso, J. (2020). Effects of 120 vs. 60 and 90 g/h carbohydrate intake during a trail marathon on neuromuscular function and high intensity run capacity recovery. Nutrients, 12(7), 2094. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12072094 | PubMed
- Hearris, M. A., Pugh, J. N., Langan-Evans, C., Mann, S. J., Burke, L., Stellingwerff, T., Gonzalez, J. T., & Morton, J. P. (2022). 13C-glucose-fructose labeling reveals comparable exogenous CHO oxidation during exercise when consuming 120 g/h in fluid, gel, jelly chew, or coingestion. Journal of Applied Physiology, 132(6), 1394–1406. https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.00091.2022 | Free full text
- Wilson, P. B. (2026). A narrative review of the high-carbohydrate fueling revolution (≥100 g/h) in the professional peloton. Sports Medicine, 56(2), 295-313. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-025-02372-6
Our final cohort of the Triathlon Nutrition Academy for the year is opening again soon. If dialling in your race fuelling and training your gut to handle it is something you need to work on, register your interest now.
Download the FREE audio series The 5 Biggest Nutrition Mistakes Costing You Time on Race Day
Recovery Accelerator Program
SUPPORT THE PODCAST HERE
CONNECT WITH TARYN
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The Triathlon Nutrition Academy® is a podcast by Dietitian Approved®. All rights reserved.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Swimming more laps won't make you a faster triathlete. A three-time Olympian who used to swim 80 kilometres a week is here to tell you why.
Brian Johns is a three-time Olympian, former short-course 400-metre individual medley world record holder and now Head of Coaching Science at FORM. He's spent the back half of his career figuring out why some swimmers keep improving and others stay stuck in the same lane (sometimes literally), and in this episode he brings that to the time-poor triathlete who swims two or three times a week.
In this episode you'll learn:
Why more kilometres in the pool almost never equals a faster triathlon swim
The exact plan for getting faster off just three sessions a week, no coach required
How to tell the difference between working hard and actually improving
The recovery trick Brian used between a late session and an early morning swim
Why open water fear is really about exposure rather than fitness, and the simple fix that builds confidence fast
How to practise sighting in the pool long before race day
A one-word cue to keep you calm and swimming smooth when the start line gets choppy

TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Welcome to Brian Johns, Olympian, coach and FORM scientist
01:13 From 80km swim weeks to his best ever Olympic final
05:08 The injury that taught him to read his body's red flags
08:37 Why more metres doesn't mean a faster swim
13:03 The fuel check before you add more volume
15:21 How to teach technique without overloading a tired swimmer
19:30 What FORM Score reveals about real swimming efficiency
22:37 The one habit that separates improving swimmers from plateaued ones
27:10 Why open water rattles even confident swimmers
31:47 Learning to sight, the skill most triathletes skip
36:52 Surviving a rough, choppy race day swim
42:00 The three-sessions-a-week plan for the unsupported triathlete
48:18 Brian's go-to drill for every triathlete
50:43 Where to find Brian and FORM Goggles

ABOUT BRIAN JOHNS
Brian Johns is a Canadian three-time Olympian and former short-course 400-metre individual medley world record holder. He's the most decorated swimmer in Canadian university history, winning 33 of 34 races at the University of British Columbia and earning Canadian Interuniversity Sport Male Swimmer of the Year three times. After retiring from competition, Brian moved into coaching and now works as Head of Coaching Science at FORM, the smart swim goggles company, helping swimmers and triathletes train and race smarter with real-time data.
https://au.formswim.com/
You can train smarter in the pool, but if your fuelling isn't dialled in, you're leaving performance on the table too. That's exactly what we work through inside the Triathlon Nutrition Academy.
If you're ticking off the macro boxes every day without ever really being taught how to eat, the Triathlon Nutrition Kickstart course is built for exactly that. Learn how to fuel your training and recovery properly so you're never stuck when the plan changes. Head to dietitianapproved.com/kickstart
Download the FREE audio series The 5 Biggest Nutrition Mistakes Costing You Time on Race Day
Recovery Accelerator Program
SUPPORT THE PODCAST HERE
CONNECT WITH TARYN
Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
The Triathlon Nutrition Academy® is a podcast by Dietitian Approved®. All rights reserved.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is your calorie tracking app actually working against you?
You're logging everything, hitting your macros and training hard but your long sessions are falling apart, the scale won't budge and you're exhausted in a way that sleep just isn't fixing. The app says you're on track. So what's going wrong?
In this episode, Advanced Sports Dietitian Taryn Richardson breaks down why calorie and macro tracking apps - even the good ones built for active people - were never designed to teach a triathlete how to eat. The maths is educated guesswork, the protein targets are built backwards, and the app has no idea how to help you when your kid gets sick and your afternoon session gets cancelled.

In this episode you'll learn:
Why calorie apps were built for the sedentary population and why that model falls over for a triathlete training 10 to 20 hours a week
How inaccurate your wearable device actually is at measuring calorie burn (spoiler: up to 93% off)
Why the standard percentage-based protein model cuts your protein at the exact moment you need it most
The difference between hitting your macro numbers and actually knowing how to eat
Why underfuelling sneaks in even when you're tracking perfectly - and how quickly it affects your training
Two real athlete examples: one who was significantly underfueled despite doing everything the app said, and a vegan athlete whose app couldn't come close to meeting her needs
What it actually looks like to fuel for the work required, adjust on the fly and never need the app to make a decision for you

TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Introduction: the athlete who's doing everything right and still going backwards
02:42 Why calorie apps were built for weight loss, not endurance athletes
05:29 The fundamental problem: apps treat food as a budget, your body treats it as fuel
06:59 How inaccurate is your wearable at measuring calorie burn? Stanford research
09:01 The problem with estimating calories in — why we're all bad at it
11:22 Why percentage-based protein targets are built wrong for athletes
14:16 Hitting your macros is not the same as eating well
16:59 The knowledge gap: how to eat for a light day versus a heavy training day
18:28 When life throws a curveball - why the app can't help you adapt
20:18 How underfueling sneaks in (2023 REDS consensus statement)
21:39 What fueling for the work required actually means
22:39 Athlete example 1: training tanked despite doing exactly what the app said
24:44 Athlete example 2: vegan athlete whose app could never meet her needs
27:04 TLDR summary: macros versus nourishment, the knowledge gap, and what to do next

STUDIES MENTIONED
- Shcherbina A, et al. (2017). Accuracy in Wrist-Worn, Sensor-Based Measurements of Heart Rate and Energy Expenditure in a Diverse Cohort. *Journal of Personalized Medicine, 7*(2), 3. https://doi.org/10.3390/jpm7020003
- Mountjoy M, et al. (2023). 2023 International Olympic Committee's (IOC) consensus statement on Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs). *British Journal of Sports Medicine, 57*(17), 1073-1097. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2023-106994

If you're ticking off the macro boxes every day without ever really being taught how to eat, the Triathlon Nutrition Kickstart course is built for exactly that. Learn how to fuel your training and recovery properly so you're never stuck when the plan changes. Head to dietitianapproved.com/kickstart
Download the FREE audio series The 5 Biggest Nutrition Mistakes Costing You Time on Race Day
Recovery Accelerator Program
SUPPORT THE PODCAST HERE
CONNECT WITH TARYN
Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
The Triathlon Nutrition Academy® is a podcast by Dietitian Approved®. All rights reserved.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What does it actually take to finish your first Ironman at 22 years old - and cross that finish line with a smile?
Lily Godding is a TNA athlete, a rugby rep player and a chef who had never raced a triathlon three years ago. On the weekend, she crossed the finish line of Ironman Cairns 140.6 in 13 hours, 21 minutes and 54 seconds. In this episode, Taryn sits down with Lily just days after the race to talk about what it took to get there — the brutal washing-machine swim, the six-and-a-half-hour bike leg, and the moment on the run where Lily quietly reminded herself: I can do hard things.
What you'll hear in this episode:
What Lily's nutrition looked like before TNA - and how far off the mark it was
How her race nutrition plan held up across 140.6km (spoiler: to a T)
The biggest mistakes younger triathletes make with nutrition and training
Why she almost didn't join TNA because of the price — and what changed her mind
How good recovery nutrition had her collecting her own bike the morning after the race
What Lily wishes she'd known sooner, and her advice for anyone tackling their first Ironman

TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Lily opens: race nutrition to a T — gut trained, fuelled, mapped out
00:26 Welcome — Taryn introduces Lily, Ironman Cairns finisher
00:56 From rugby to triathlon: how Lily balances two completely different sports
02:11 What made her fall in love with triathlon and sign up for a full Ironman?
03:02 Is Ultraman next? Lily's answer: a faster Ironman and maybe Kona
03:14 Come-down after Cairns — take me back to the finish line
03:54 The finish line moment: electric, community, absolutely amped
05:00 Taryn preps the toughest moment question
05:20 The toughest moment on course: the brutal washing-machine swim
06:38 70 people pulled from the water — absolute carnage
07:22 What a 13:21:54 finish at 22 years old actually meant to Lily
08:34 What young triathletes get wrong: nutrition and overtraining
09:49 Lily admits to being the over-trainer (just ask coach Pablo)
10:06 Advice for younger athletes who think nutrition can wait
10:24 TNA's first module: recovery nutrition changed everything
11:39 What Lily's nutrition actually looked like before TNA
13:05 Would she have finished Cairns without TNA?
13:20 "100% no. It was when I joined TNA I thought — yeah, I can do this"
14:00 How she tried to figure out nutrition on her own
14:27 Social media, the algorithm and the weight-loss noise aimed at female athletes
16:07 How TNA tuned out the noise — worksheets, carb loading, race plan
16:36 What TNA taught her about everyday eating
17:12 The forgotten stuff: colourful plate, healthy fats, nuts, seeds, beans
18:28 The protein myth - more protein isn't always the answer
19:03 Why nobody teaches us how to eat — health as a lifelong foundation
19:34 How did race nutrition hold up on race day?
20:01 Lily: to a T - gut trained, fuelled, everything consumed at the right time
20:55 The run: Coke, gels, chews and carrying her own water bottle
21:51 The one adaptation she'd make: take Panadol for tight calves and hamstrings
22:24 What would she do differently? Not play a rugby game the week before
22:59 First Ironman goal: just finish — next one is for performance
23:37 Recovery: went and got her own bike the morning after the race
24:31 The toilet test - she's perfected the technique
24:51 Balking at the price - what made Lily commit anyway
25:16 Joined in October after Port Macquarie with zero race nutrition plan
26:28 Is TNA worth the investment?
26:36 Lily: "113,472%. I would not be an Ironman finisher without TNA"
27:23 Youth alone isn't enough - nutrition is what gets you across
27:42 Advice for someone about to do their first Ironman
28:30 The finish line photo tip: arms up, smile, don't touch the Garmin
29:05 Has finishing an Ironman changed how Lily sees herself?
29:13 "I can do hard things" - the mantra that got her through lap three
29:49 The moment Taryn ran alongside Lily on the third lap
30:18 What's next: Kona, performance focus, so many years of triathlon ahead
30:57 The privilege of being able to race - and being an Ironman
31:14 Iron Woman? (Lily's aunt is campaigning for it)
31:26 Taryn's closing reflection on Lily's story — and the TNA CTA
33:54 Sign off

ABOUT THE GUEST
Lily Godding is a 22-year-old age-group triathlete, rugby rep player and TNA athlete from the Snowy Mountains, Australia. She completed her first sprint triathlon in November 2024 and progressed to Ironman 140.6 Cairns in June 2026, finishing in 13:21:54. A chef by trade, Lily balances high-level representative rugby with full Ironman training and gives a first-hand account of what evidence-based triathlon nutrition actually does for a young athlete.
Connect with Lily on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lily.godding

If the Cairns Ironman story has you thinking about your own race day nutrition, come and join us in the Triathlon Nutrition Academy. Head to dietitianapproved.com/academy and register your interest in our upcoming cohort.
Download the FREE audio series The 5 Biggest Nutrition Mistakes Costing You Time on Race Day
Recovery Accelerator Program
SUPPORT THE PODCAST HERE
CONNECT WITH TARYN
Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
The Triathlon Nutrition Academy® is a podcast by Dietitian Approved®. All rights reserved.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are you actually going to hit the start line ready - or are you going to arrive having done all the training but undone the work in race week?
Taryn is recording this one live from Cairns, where the TNA crew has flown in from all over the world to race the 70.3 and Ironman. Every single one of these athletes had their race nutrition dialled in months ago. Not this week. Not over last night's bowl of pasta. Months ago.
In this episode, Taryn shares the five habits that separate triathletes who arrive on race morning topped up, adapted and confident from those who roll up to the start line under-fuelled before the gun has even gone off.

What you'll learn:
Why race week is not the time to train harder or eat less - and what the taper trap actually does to your fuelling
How recovery nutrition session by session is what makes the hard work stick
Why rehearsing your race fuelling on long sessions is non-negotiable (and what happens when you wing it on race day)
The one habit that quietly takes more athletes out of their A-race than any fuelling mistake out on course
How to carb load properly - because no, it is not a giant bowl of pasta the night before

TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Introduction — Live from Cairns
06:37 Habit 1 — Bank the adaptations and protect the taper
09:11 Habit 2 — Recover from every session
12:38 Habit 3 — Rehearse race fuelling on long sessions
15:02 Habit 4 — Protect your immune system
17:48 Habit 5 — Plan and practise your carb load
20:14 Race Day Pack List
21:40 Summary and close

RESOURCES MENTIONED
Recovery Accelerator - the exact framework Taryn teaches TNA athletes for what to eat after every training session and every race (the four R's, when to eat, what to eat and when to prioritise it). You can get through it all in one trainer session or one long run
Free Race Day Pack List - everything you need for swim, bike and run, plus before and after your race, ready to print and reuse for every race

STUDIES MENTIONED
Gunzer, W., Konrad, M., & Pail, E. (2012). Exercise-induced immunodepression in endurance athletes and nutritional intervention with carbohydrate, protein and fat: What is possible, what is not? Nutrients, 4(9), 1187-1212. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu4091187
Knowledge of carbohydrate requirements does not predict carbohydrate intake around competition in endurance athletes. PMC11451575
(2025). A review of carbohydrate supplementation approaches and strategies for optimising performance in elite long-distance endurance. Nutrients, 17(5), 918. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17050918
Gatorade Sports Science Institute. Dietary carbohydrate and the endurance athlete: contemporary perspectives.

If you want to toe a start line with the TNA crew somewhere in the world, get your name on the Triathlon Nutrition Academy waitlist at dietitianapproved.com/academy. You'll be first to know when the next cohort starts.
Download the FREE audio series The 5 Biggest Nutrition Mistakes Costing You Time on Race Day
Recovery Accelerator Program
SUPPORT THE PODCAST HERE
CONNECT WITH TARYN
Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
The Triathlon Nutrition Academy® is a podcast by Dietitian Approved®. All rights reserved.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.