Podium power: How good nutrition is making a difference
- angela5707
- Jul 7
- 5 min read
Updated: 7 days ago
Whatever the sport, there’s more to being a professional athlete than meets the eye. Sports nutrition plays an unseen but significant role in athletic performance.
As Molly’s training and ski racing schedule intensifies, she’s learning how vital nutrition, hydration, and recovery are to her success.
“Recently, I’ve been lucky to receive expert guidance from performance nutritionist Sarah Lawson-Tilley,” says Molly.
“Her support is making a huge difference. I am learning how to fuel up to achieve peak fitness, what to eat and when, and how to stay hydrated through intense training periods. I can feel how this is impacting my strength, stamina, energy levels, and recovery time.”
Sarah is a former alpine ski racer and understands the physical, psychological, and logistical demands placed on athletes competing at the highest level. She is working with Molly to provide practical nutrition routines.
For elite alpine skiers, core nutrition is a key part of the daily routine. As athletes reach the top levels of the sport, this becomes more detailed.
Nutrition is the foundation of physical performance, dictating your body's energy availability, recovery speed, and injury resilience. Proper food choices provide the essential fuel needed to train harder, adapt to stress, and reach your maximum potential. British Dietetic Association
Focusing on training, travel, and race days
Long distance travel is an integral part of ski racing, often involving gruelling 12-hour van journeys across Europe, or extended waits in airports. When petrol station cafes are the only option, it’s easy to lose track of time and stop eating well or regularly.
Sarah has worked with Molly to plan and prepare an effective travel routine. She explains: 'We first focus on hygiene to prevent sickness, hydration to support her body’s function, and, very importantly, an eating routine to ensure refuelling with carbs and protein for muscle repair, along with other key nutrients."
“Airports, trains, and buses are hubs of bacteria, so pocket hand sanitiser is a must to prevent illness – among many other strategies. On flights, we have a quick nutrition pack: gum to produce saliva to create a barrier, water bottles for hydration, zinc lozenges again for a barrier against bacteria, cereal bars for extra carbs, and protein snacks like yoghurts and biltong.
“Just because Molly isn’t racing or training when travelling, her body still needs the same high-calorie intake to recover and maintain energy.
"Put simply, the nutrition foundation when travelling is three meals, three snacks and two to three litres of water or juice, made up of carbs, protein, fats and essential nutrients for health and performance, with added extras to specifically support Female Athlete Health.
“We plan, pack snacks, and focus on real food. And, yes, this may include pizzas or muffins – carbs for the win! But not loads of sweets; we save these for training.
“We use a Food First approach and only use supplements that are batch tested by Informed Sport when necessary. This means when Molly gets to her destination, she is hydrated, fuelled and repaired to hit the slopes strong."
Fuelling up for training blocks and race days
When Molly is fully focused on training and racing, and especially at altitude, it’s easy to forget about core nutrition. These are the times when Molly is constantly on the go, or on consecutive race days.
She says, “In the last couple of years, I’ve realised the physical effects nutrition has on my energy levels, recovery time, focus, and consistency on the hill." Understanding how to fuel properly and stay hydrated is now a key factor in Molly's day-to-day recovery.
As a younger athlete, she admits she used to underestimate how much energy was needed during intense training periods. It’s roughly 3,500 to 4,000 calories per day!
Sarah summarises, “Molly has worked hard on the fundamentals of nutrition over the past few years, from understanding macro and micronutrients and Female Athlete Health to now periodising macronutrients to maximise performance and recovery,"
For upcoming ski training and racing, Sarah explains the focus is on three key areas:
1 Fuel for training on the hill
"One of the biggest priorities is carbohydrate intake during training for energy, which will impact performance come competition. Just as we train for ski racing, we can train the gut to tolerate more fuel.
"We are aiming for 60g+ of carbohydrates per hour, which means over 240g during a four-hour training session. This is more than 12 bananas! We are using a mix of dried mango, sweets, homemade carbohydrate drinks and SiS (Science in Sport) gels, alongside three meals and two snacks each day.
“Carbohydrates are the body's main source of energy and, without enough, we risk being under-fuelled, leading to fatigue, poor recovery and an increased risk of injury. The goal is to make sure Molly is fully fuelled and ready to perform when it matters most."
2 Protein for recovery and muscle adaptation
“Molly is aiming for around 2g of protein per kg of body weight each day to support muscle growth and repair. We take a food-first approach, using foods such as chicken, lean beef, eggs, milk and pulses. We also focus on timing, making sure protein is spread throughout the day and prioritised after training.
"For Molly to build strength and power, we must ensure the body has the right balance of carbs (for energy) and protein building blocks."
3 Female Athlete Health and bone health
“We are paying close attention to iron, calcium, vitamin D and creatine monohydrate. These nutrients play important roles in energy levels, bone health, recovery and overall health and performance.
“Vitamin D and calcium are crucial for bone health. Iron supports oxygen delivery and is particularly important for female athlete health, while creatine can support muscle strength, brain and bone health. Together, they support Molly to stay strong both physically and mentally.
“These focus areas and amounts are specific to Molly and her health and performance goals. As this is our third season working together, there is a lot more behind the scenes that has helped build the foundations we are now working from, and it’s always important to speak with a qualified and registered performance nutritionist or dietitian.”
Now training and racing at the Europa Cup level, Molly’s core nutrition programme will play an integral part in her growth as an elite alpine athlete. She says, “Success isn’t just about training harder; it’s about understanding how to perform at my best throughout a demanding season.”
Sarah is all about helping elite athletes fuel intelligently, recover effectively, and perform consistently, which couldn’t be a more perfect fit for Molly on her ski racing journey.
Sarah Lawson-Tilley is a performance nutritionist working within elite sport. Discover more on her website, email sarah@lawsontilley.com, or catch up on Instagram.
Thank you for supporting me
As always, a big thank you goes to my equipment sponsors and all the amazing people who make it possible for me to continue my incredible journey as a self-funded athlete.
I can’t put into words how grateful I am to my supporters for the opportunity to train and compete. Thank you.
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