Eat like an athlete - Izzy Thorpe's diet
Artistic swimmer Izzy Thorpe, who will be representing Team GB in the Paris 2024 Olympics, shares her diet while training, plus her top Good Food recipes
Izzy Thorpe is a Team GB artistic swimmer. She represented Team GB at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and has been selected to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympics. She started artistic swimming at the age of seven.
Next, read what to eat and drink when training for a marathon and what to eat before a run. We also have information on what to eat on heavy training days and rest and easy training days.
Izzy Thorpe's diet
What are your go-to energy boosting snacks?
During training I usually go for a banana, a small malt bread or an energy gel.
How does your diet vary when you have to follow the strict training measurement?
My diet isn’t very restricted when training, I’m encouraged to have a large amount of carbohydrates and protein to keep my energy up all day and recover well. It’s also really important I consume a diverse range of plant-based foods to keep my immunity up.
What do you eat on your days off?
My diet generally stays the same on my days off as it is during training days. I only get one day off so it’s crucial to keep fuelling myself properly so I’m ready for the week ahead.
What would your top diet and exercise advice for an amateur athlete be?
Make sure to keep yourself fuelled properly before, during and after training so you can get the maximum benefit from your training. It is also very important to consume protein straight after your training sessions to help with recovery, so you can train just as well the next day!
Do you have any advice for getting more protein into your diet?
I try to consume protein in every meal, using food-based protein where I can. However I also use protein shakes or protein bars to help get extra protein in after training. These are really easy ways to get an extra protein hit during the day.
Apart from your speciality, what's your favourite sport or exercise?
I don’t get lots of time to participate in other sports or exercise now, however when I was growing up and at school I always loved team sports, for example, hockey, netball, football and rounders. I also competed in gymnastics when I was younger and this will always be another passion of mine!
What's your favourite recipe on goodfood.com?
The chicken gyros is my current favourite recipe on goodfood.com - it's one of my favourite meals and it’s very easy to make for lunch or dinner. The best ever chocolate brownies is my all-time favourite recipe for when I want to bake something sweet. It’s very easy and always tastes delicious!
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