We’ve all likely heard the saying "you can’t outrun a bad diet". Now, as many people lace up their trainers for the first time or up the duration, frequency or intensity of their daily exercise routine, it’s a good reminder that a combination of frequent movement and a healthy balanced diet, is the best combination for long-term health and sustainable weight loss (if that is your goal).

Registered nutritional therapist, Sarah Ormerod of Thryve Nutrition provides us with a few tips on how to maintain a healthy diet, which also fuels the body sufficiently for exercise and aids recovery.

Build a strong foundation for optimum health

Forget energy gels, carb loading or fasted training. At a basic level, you need to ensure you eat three balanced meals per day to ensure a solid foundation to start from. At each meal fill half of your plate with colourful fruit and vegetables. Pair this with a palm sized portion of lean protein such as chicken, turkey, fish, tofu, beans or pulses, a portion of low GI carbohydrates like brown rice, sweet potato, oats, wholegrain pasta, root vegetables and some healthy fats. These may come from oily fish, avocado, nuts and seeds.

Read more: Coronavirus in Scotland: Nutrition tips and what to eat and drink during lockdown

Don’t skimp on carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are broken down into glycogen, your muscles’ primary source of fuel. There may be a tendency to eliminate these to lose weight quickly. However, doing this limits adaptation (gains) from training and suppresses the immune system. Eating carbs doesn’t mean eating huge portions of pasta, but just ensuring complex carbohydrates make up a third of your plate at each meal.

Hydrate. Water regulates your body temperature, lubricates your joints, helps convert food into energy and transport nutrients around your body, including to your muscles when you exercise. Water loss during exercise is inevitable so, if you're not well hydrated before you start, your body can't perform at its highest level. You may feel tired, have muscle cramps or dizziness. Drink little and often throughout the day to keep your stores topped up and remember if you sweat a lot to take on some electrolytes afterwards (sodium and potassium). You can make your own electrolyte drink with some fresh lemon juice, a pinch of sea salt and a drizzle of honey in water.

Sarah specialises in functional sports nutrition and is available for Zoom consultations during lockdown. For more nutrition information and advice on how to improve your nutrition visit thryvenutrition.co.uk