You know the session. Same route. Same pace target. Same shoes. Same breakfast. Last week it felt controlled, sharp, almost easy. This week your legs feel heavy by the second kilometre, your heart rate sits higher than it should, and your breathing feels out of proportion to the work. It is tempting to assume your fitness has dropped. Most of the time, it has not. For many female athletes, that shift is the menstrual cycle showing up in training. Not as an excuse. Not as a we

My first half marathon was 1:50 at university, and I made almost every fuelling mistake possible. I did not carb load. I did not take gels. I did not drink water. I walked the last 3 miles wondering why my legs had completely disappeared. At the time, I thought I had just “hit the wall” because I was not fit enough. Looking back, that race was the start of everything. It pushed me towards an MSc in sports nutrition, because I wanted to understand why effort and outcome can fe

“Why does eating more allow the body to get leaner and build muscle at the same time?” This question often puzzles many women trying to improve their body composition. It seems to contradict the simple calories in versus calories out rule. Yet, the truth is more complex. The body’s response to food depends on whether it feels it has enough fuel or is in a state of scarcity. Understanding this paradox is the key to unlocking sustainable fat loss and muscle gain. In this post,