Fast Fuel – eating for success… and a giveaway

Even if you’ve not been following my blog for long, you’ll know that nutrition is important to me. I’ve successfully managed to lose weight by eating a healthy balanced diet. I have only put on 7-8lbs by Week 39 of pregnancy by eating well, so I’m always interested in learning more about nutrition.

Who is Renee McGregor

As we saw in Rio, the world’s greatest athletes have an entourage of professionals behind them to ensure they’re properly prepared for the games. Elite sports nutritionist and author of Amazon’s #1 best-selling book in the fitness training section, Training Food, Renee McGregor is one of the people who works with Olympic and Paralympic athletes to get them fully fuelled for the big games.

Renee is a hugely respected registered dietician and sports nutritionist. She works with both amateur athletes and those at the very elite levels of competition. She is a performance and clinical Dietician/Nutritionist, accredited by the Health Professions Council, and The Sports, Exercise and Nutrition Register. Renee is also a member of The British Dietetic Association, and The Sports Nutrition Group. Renee works with individual athletes and runs workshops for coaches and squads. She also guest lectures on sports performance at The University of Bath and appears at sports conferences.

New books by Renee McGregor

This month Nourish Books is publishing two new books by Renee McGregor to help everyone, from amateur athletes to those standing on the Olympic podium, to properly fuel their fitness:

• Fast Fuel: Food for Running Success
• Food for Triathlon Success

I’m really excited to have been sent an advance copy of each of the books for review. As you may be aware, I adhere to a vegetarian diet, but I appreciate that this isn’t for everyone. (I think my own life might be easier if I could bring myself to eat meat/fish!)

Fast Fuel: Food for Running Success

The first half of this book focuses on giving the reader information about how to fuel properly with chapters on the basics, training and fine-tuning; the second half of the book features recipes that are divided into five sections:

• breakfasts
• light meals
• main meals
• snacks and portables
• desserts

There is a single recipe on each page and each recipe includes nutrition information per portion as well as information about the number of servings, preparation time and cooking time. This information is essential for any time-pressed athlete. I think my only criticism would be that there are no photos of the food, which is what I like to see in a recipe book!

In the first section of the book, there are sample menus made out of the recipes that have been included. It is easy for a runner to put together a nutrition plan using the information. The advice that is given is clear and practical, but I was reassured that it was backed up by science. Some of the recipes have clearly been developed by someone with similar tastes to mine, such as the Black Forest Porridge. I also particularly liked the rosemary and paprika vegetable and bean hot pot… so much so that I ate it before thinking about taking a photo. Oops!

Fast Fuel: Food for Triathlon Success

This book follows a similar structure to Food for Running Success, so I won’t explain it here. Also, many of the recipes are the same, so it’s probably best to decide whether you are predominantly a runner or a triathlete, rather than investing in both editions. My favourite recipe so far in this book is the Tofu Pad Thai. I have to admit that I modified it slightly (coriander is the food of the devil), but I’m sure most people would love the recipe exactly as it is.

Both books include a detailed bibliography, so if you want to read more about the research behind the recipes, it’s easy to follow it up.

Overall, I’ve really enjoyed reading these books and intend to try out many of the recipes over the next few months. There are sound scientific principles behind all of the recipes, which are explained in an accessible way. Also, although the benefits of specific foods are explained, Renee does not advise faddy eating or cutting out entire food groups.

Giveaway

I have one copy of each of Renee’s new books to giveaway to UK residents.

Fast Fuel giveaway Terms and Conditions

These books are for anyone and everyone with an interest in fitness and in keeping their bodies properly going. If that sounds like you, why not enter?

Update:

The books were won by Michelle Dorrington and Norbert-Daniel Acatrinei. I hope they enjoy them 🙂

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