SPS Nutrition

We Specialise in Sport,Exercise & Performance Nutrition,for recreational & elite athletes.

We specialise in Weight Loss, Lean muscle and Performance Nutrition Plans. Some of my Clients have young families and most have busy lifestyles and jobs so our training focuses on improving their over all shape. Smaller Waists, Wide shoulders, bigger arms type of stuff so they look great in a T-shirt or that dress! Because of time issues and sometimes lack of money, we train online so it’s cost effective and can work out anytime, anywhere. Despite what I specialise in, I can help you too whatever your Fitness goals.

09/11/2025

INTRA-FUELLING MADE SIMPLE ⚡️

Two sugar doors, two transporters.

SGLT1 handles glucose, GLUT5 handles fructose.
Glucose-only usually tops out around ~60 g/h.
Mix in fructose to open the second door and you can push 90–120 g/h with the right ratio, sensible drink strength and gut training.
Too strong or too much of one sugar makes the drink hypertonic, drags water into the gut and sends you to the loo.

Keep 6–8% for safety, 8–12% for bigger fuel if practised, and add 300–500 mg sodium per 500 ml.
Practise your plan before race day.

Train hard 💥 Fuel smart 🧪 Perform better 🚀
| spsnutrition.co.uk

Refs: Jeukendrup (2010, 2017); Jentjens & Jeukendrup (2005); Currell & Jeukendrup (2008); Rowlands (2015); Thomas, Erdman & Burke (2016); Costa et al. (2017); Podlogar (2022); Viribay (2020).

02/11/2025

MICRONUTRIENTS MADE SIMPLE 🧠🥦

Micronutrients are small ➡️ but they change everything.
They power your energy, recovery, mood, and performance.

💥 B-Vitamins convert carbs to energy
🌞 Vitamin D and Calcium strengthen bones and muscle
🩸 Iron delivers oxygen to working muscles
🧠 Iodine keeps your thyroid and brain sharp
⚡️ Magnesium and Potassium keep your nerves firing

Pairing matters:

🍊 Vitamin C helps absorb iron
🐟 Vitamin D boosts calcium uptake
🥜 Magnesium works with B6 to support recovery

But watch what competes:

☕ Caffeine and calcium can block iron
🥛 Dairy limits absorption if taken with red meat
🌾 High-fibre cereals can reduce zinc and iron uptake

Micronutrients work as a team ➡️ and your performance depends on that balance.

At SPS Nutrition, we assess your nutrient status, food intake and performance goals to fine-tune your fuelling plan for energy, focus and resilience.

Train hard ⚡️
Fuel smart 🥗
Perform better 💪

📍 DM to book in your free 15 minute consultation ✅

26/10/2025

UNDER-EATING & INSULIN SENSITIVITY 🔬 MADE SIMPLE

We’ve all heard “eat less, move more”… but for athletes, tactical professions, high performers, and anyone who chronically under eats, that advice can work against you.

When you under-eat for too long, your body feels under threat ⚠️

To protect the brain, it increases cortisol (your stress hormone).
Cortisol raises blood sugar to keep you alert and alive 🧠
This makes insulin work overtime to control blood sugar.

Over time, your body becomes less responsive to insulin, meaning:
💤 Energy drops
🥴 Fatigue and brain fog increase
🍽 Fat loss slows down
💪 Muscle recovery and performance decline

Add poor sleep and daily stress into the mix and you’re teaching your body to store energy instead of use it 😬

Good insulin sensitivity means your body can use carbs efficiently for energy, maintain lean muscle, stabilise mood, and perform better both physically and mentally ⚡️

Fuel balance, sleep quality and recovery all matter as much as calorie targets. The goal isn’t to eat less ➡️ it’s to fuel smarter 🔁

At SPS Nutrition, we analyse your nutrition, body composition, lifestyle, training, and energy balance to build a tailored plan that improves health, recovery, and long-term performance 💡

Train hard 💥
Fuel smart 🍳
Perform better 🧠💪

📍 DM to book your consultation

16/10/2025

Smoothie Builder 🥤➡️ Your goals made simple

A smoothie can be one of the easiest and most versatile snacks to support any goal ➡️ from muscle gain 💪 to fat loss ⚖️, or fuelling and recovery 🚴‍♂️🏋️‍♀️.

By adjusting what you add, you can change its purpose:

✅ Add carbs (banana, oats, juice, honey) for training fuel or recovery.

✅ Add fats (avocado, chia, nuts) for low-carb or rest-day meals.

✅ Add protein (whey, yoghurt, cottage cheese) for repair and satiety.

✅ Add micronutrients (berries, spinach, kale) for health and antioxidants.

It’s a 2-minute, no-excuse way to hit your targets and stay consistent.

🎯 Blend smart. Match your mix to your goal.

12/10/2025

🧠 Fuel Your Brain Like a Muscle ➡️ Made Simple

Your brain drives performance just as much as your body.
It burns around 20% of your daily energy, relies on constant fuel, and fatigues when energy, hydration, or key nutrients run low (Meeusen et al., 2006).

Here’s what supports cognitive performance and decision-making in athletes 👇

✅ Carbohydrates: maintain blood glucose to preserve focus, coordination, and reaction time (Bridge et al., 2019).

💧 Hydration: even 1–2% dehydration reduces concentration and decision accuracy (Maughan & Shirreffs, 2019).

🐟 Omega-3 (EPA+DHA): supports brain membrane structure, neurotransmission, and resilience under stress (McNamara & Carlson, 2006; Yurko-Mauro et al., 2015).

💊 Creatine: boosts brain phosphocreatine stores to regenerate ATP, improving working memory, reaction speed, and focus ➡️ especially under fatigue, sleep loss, or heavy training (Rae et al., 2003; Rawson et al., 2023).

☕ Caffeine: reduces perceived effort and maintains alertness when used strategically, not excessively (Goldstein et al., 2010).

A well-fuelled brain = sharper decisions, better pacing, and faster reactions ➡️ the small margins that win races.

📈 Summary:
Feed your brain like you fuel your training.
Consistency drives peak performance.

11/10/2025

⚡ Priorities in Performance Nutrition ➡️ Made Simple

Supplements can fine tune performance ➡️
But the foundations that actually drive performance are built from the bottom up.

Here’s the hierarchy 👇

1️⃣ Energy Needs

You cannot recover, adapt, or perform without enough total energy.
Low energy availability reduces hormones, immunity, bone density, and performance (Loucks and Thuma, 2003; Mountjoy et al., 2018).

2️⃣ Macros (Protein, Carbs, Fat)

Macronutrients determine body composition, fuel availability, and recovery rate.
Protein ~1.6–2.2 g/kg/day, carbs adjusted to training load, fats >20% of energy intake (Burke et al., 2011; Thomas et al., 2016).

3️⃣ Micros (Food Quality)

Micronutrients, antioxidants, and polyphenols support metabolism, immunity, and oxidative balance.
A diverse, plant-rich diet improves recovery and inflammation control (Calder, 2017; Walsh, 2019).

4️⃣ Timing

Fuel around training matters once the first three levels are met.
Pre-, intra-, and post-training nutrition enhance adaptation and glycogen recovery
(Areta et al., 2013; Burke et al., 2017).

5️⃣ Supplements

Only effective after the basics are nailed.
Creatine, caffeine, beta-alanine, omega-3, and vitamin D have the strongest support.
(Kerksick et al., 2018; Maughan et al., 2018).

🔑 The key:
Get the foundations right first.
Supplements refine performance ➡️ but energy, macros, and consistency build it.

07/10/2025

🏃‍♀️ The Female Athlete Triad – Explained for Performance Athletes

The Female Athlete Triad is not just a “female issue” ➡️ it’s a performance issue.
It develops when energy intake fails to meet energy output, triggering a cascade that affects hormones, bone health, and long-term athletic potential.

1️⃣ Low Energy Availability (LEA)

When calorie intake is too low to cover both training and basic physiological needs, the body enters an energy-conservation state.
👉 Resting metabolic rate drops
👉 Reproductive hormones (oestrogen, LH, FSH) decrease
👉 Thyroid and immune function decline
📚 (Loucks and Thuma, 2003; Mountjoy et al., 2018)

2️⃣ Menstrual Dysfunction

Reduced oestrogen disrupts the menstrual cycle.
Missing 3 or more consecutive periods (amenorrhoea) is a warning sign that the body is under-fuelled.
Low oestrogen also means reduced bone formation and poor recovery capacity.
📚 (De Souza et al., 2014; Elliott-Sale et al., 2018)

3️⃣ Low Bone Mineral Density

Chronic LEA and low oestrogen reduce bone remodelling, leading to osteopenia or osteoporosis.
Athletes may experience stress fractures, joint pain, and delayed healing even with moderate training loads.
📚 (Tenforde et al., 2017)

🚨 Why It Matters for Performance

💥 Increased injury risk
💤 Reduced recovery capacity
📉 Decline in strength and power output
🧠 Cognitive fatigue and poor concentration
🩸 Hormonal disruption affecting mood and focus
📚 (Mountjoy et al., 2018; Papageorgiou et al., 2018)

💡 The Fix: Fuel For Function

✅ Eat enough to support both training and health
✅ Prioritise recovery meals and consistent carbohydrate availability
✅ Include calcium, vitamin D, and omega-3s for bone support
✅ Seek guidance from a sports nutritionist or medical professional early

Optimal performance requires energy availability, not restriction.
The Triad is preventable, but only if recognised early.

📚 (Loucks, 2004; De Souza et al., 2014; Mountjoy et al., 2018)

23/09/2025

🌾🐟 Fibre + Omega-3 Made Simple

Cholesterol is not the enemy. Your body needs it for hormones, cell membranes, vitamin D, and digestion.

The problem is when LDL levels are too high, particles become small and oxidised, and inflammation damages vessel walls. That is when plaque builds up and cardiovascular risk rises (Ference et al., 2017; Libby, 2021).

Here is how fibre and omega-3 work together:

🚪 Fibre reduces LDL before absorption by binding cholesterol in the gut and carrying it out (Brown et al., 1999; EFSA, 2010).

🩸 Omega-3 improves the blood lipid profile after absorption, lowering triglycerides, improving LDL particle quality, and supporting HDL clearance (Calder, 2017; Minihane et al., 2016).

💡 Aim for:
🌾 30 g fibre daily, with a focus on soluble fibre (oats, legumes, chia, psyllium).
🐟 1000–3000 mg/day of EPA + DHA, from oily fish or supplements.

Omega-3 also reduces inflammation, which means less vessel stiffening and less plaque formation (Innes and Calder, 2020).

Together, fibre and omega-3 keep cholesterol in balance so it can do its jobs without excess risk.

21/09/2025

🥣 Breakfast Made Simple

The truth about breakfast comes down to context.

🚴‍♀️For performance, breakfast is a key fuelling and recovery meal.

⚖️ For fat loss, it may not be necessary.

🧬 For strategic adaptation, it might be worth skipping occasionally.

📈 A recent BMJ review showed breakfast eaters consumed more calories per day on average ➡️ but the evidence is short-term and mixed (BMJ, 2019).

Smart nutrition is about matching the strategy to the goal.

17/09/2025

🍗 Why regular protein matters

Muscle is constantly being broken down and rebuilt.
To grow or maintain it, your rate of muscle protein synthesis (MPS) must stay higher than muscle protein breakdown (MPB).

Each protein meal stimulates MPS for only a few hours.
After that, the effect drops off and your body shifts back toward breakdown.

✅ Eating 20–40 grams of quality protein every 3 to 5 hours
✅ Helps maximise MPS throughout the day
✅ Supports muscle growth, recovery, and lean mass = Performance.

Research shows that evenly spaced protein meals are more effective for maintaining a positive protein balance than skewed or infrequent feeding (Oikawa et al., 2010; Areta et al., 2013; Schoenfeld and Aragon, 2018).

Feed your muscles consistently. The timing matters as much as the total.

15/09/2025

💪 Create the right internal environment.

Training is only the trigger.
Muscle grows when your body is consistently in an anabolic state, supported by the right fuel, signals, and recovery.

Here’s what some research shows:

✅ Sleep supports growth hormone release, testosterone regulation, and recovery from training (Dattilo et al., 2011)

✅ An energy surplus provides the resources needed for muscle repair and growth (Murphy and Koehler, 2022)

✅ Progressive resistance training is the key signal for increasing muscle protein synthesis (Schoenfeld et al., 2016)

✅ You need around 1.6–2.2 g/kg protein per day, spread across 3–5 meals (Morton et al., 2018)

✅ A recovery-focused routine helps reduce inflammation and supports nervous system adaptation (Kellmann et al., 2018)

Cover the basics.

Focus on the fundamentals that actually support and drive muscle growth.

14/09/2025

🏁 Race Week Nutrition ➡️ Made Simple

Five days of precision = one clean, confident race.

Avoid Carb loading too late, go too hard, or make last-minute mistakes.

This week is about topping up, not overdoing.

✔️ Start with balanced, familiar meals
✔️ Reduce fibre from Thursday

✔️ Add carbs gradually across the day

✔️ Prioritise hydration and electrolytes where needed.

✔️ Stick with fuel and routines you’ve already practised

Keep it simple. Big difference on race day.

👊 Good luck to all racing Ironman Wales this week 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 trust your prep, control the controllables, and finish strong.

Address

Cross Hands

Telephone

+447811150271

Website

https://www.trainerize.me/profile/webfitwales/Rhys.Lewis/, http://www.SPSnutrition.co.uk/

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