What are your thoughts on optimal meal times? Do you think you should only eat at certain times of the day? Do you think snacks are 'bad' or get frustrated at yourself for eating between meals? When you fuel your training more optimally, it has the added benefit to leave you with a more normalised appetite the rest of the day and greater energy levels.

That's a lot of spinach Popeye was eating to get his iron! A standard palm sized piece of steak (110g raw) has approximately 1.8mg of iron. To get the same amount from spinach, its a whole dinner plate worth at 170g!

Tofu is a great source of plant based protein - but are you adding enough to your meals?

Ideally you want your main meals to contain around 20-30g protein each to help you feel fuller longer, maintain a lean physique and support muscle recovery.

Do you think gluten doesn't agree with you? If so, you may be 1 in 70 Australians who have Coeliac Disease. Bloating, tummy troubles, constant tiredness, headaches, nutritional deficiencies and infertility can be symptoms that indicate a number of conditions. However before self-diagnosing yourself with a gluten intolerance, cutting it out of your life and going gluten free, make sure you get tested for coeliac disease first.

Welcome to the sugar free deception where supposed “sugar free” recipes use maple syrup, agave, coconut blossom syrup, coconut sugar, dried fruit or other alternatives and claim to be a healthier alternative to old fashioned table sugar

Beans are a pretty common plant based protein food choice. They are very nutritious BUT when it comes to protein they actually contain almost three times as much carbohydrate as they do protein.

As long as your plant based or vegan diet is high in protein, it can be just as effective for muscle gain and recovery as a mixed diet. The key factor is that you need to eat enough plant protein overall spread out regularly throughout each meal to achieve at least 1.6g.kg.

Want to improve your health and boost your gut microbiome? Eat more plants! People who eat over 30 plants a week have greater gut microbiome diversity than those who only eat 10 a week. Stuck for ideas on what plants to eat? Here’s over 30 fruits, vegetables, grains, beans, nuts and seeds to get you started!

Whether the nutrition label happens to be something you regularly look at (or generally ignore) there’s bound to be at least one time when you look at all those numbers or nutrition claims and think what the heck does that mean? This list is to help you through that moment and understand those food nutrition labels.

Are you underestimating your portion sizes? Most people do. In my experience as an advanced sports dietitian, the average person underestimates what they eat each day by 500-1000kcal! Take the piece of bread I ate for breakfast yesterday...

With little individually wrapped chocolates it's easy to eat them mindlessly not paying attention to how quickly they add up over time. It’s far better to incorporate a piece or two or one individual chocolate on daily basis as part of your every day nutrition plan, rather than to eat the whole block in one day on top of your normal food intake.

What does a mars bar and protein bar have in common? Both are small volume weighing around 50g a serve and on average provide 200-250kcal.

How hungry and full are you before, during and after meals? Often I see peoples delaying eating to the point that their hunger levels drop to a ZERO. Leaving them so hungry they'll eat anything and everything and end up at a TEN where they are painfully full and feeling sick.

Low carb it may be, but every gram of alcohol in your wine provides 7 calories. Meaning if you drink a bottle of wine on the regular you’re adding an extra 500kcal to your energy intake. Thats the same as 100g or chocolate or 2kg broccoli.

Do you use cheese as a source of protein? While a standard serve of cheese is approximately 30g, to get at least 20g of protein you need to eat over 80g providing more than 300kcal in energy.

Day one or one day? There's no perfect time to start. You don't have to be 'doing it perfectly' right from the get go. You just have to start.

Spot the portion difference between the halloumi salad on the left (1/2 a pack) and the right (full pack). It may not look it, but there’s almost a 350kcal difference between the two!

One of the first steps I have all clients do before we start working together is to complete a thorough food, mood and training diary of their current nutritional intake to establish a baseline.

Peanut butter is NOT an effective source of protein. Peanut butter is delicious, but it is not smart to use it as your main source of plant protein unless your goal is to gain weight.