Triathlon Nutrition Coach - Jamie Leighton

The racing season is over, or nearly over, and your training volume has dropped. BUT for most triathletes the way they eat hasn’t changed, and that’s where the next few months go wrong. In this episode I talk through how I approach eating when training drops off, including why the shift is towards more nutrient density and away from calorie density, and why, if you’re not tracking, you’re just gue...

In this episode, I'm joined by Jack Batten, who recently completed his first full-distance Ironman in an incredible 8 hours and 48 minutes, securing qualification for the Ironman World Championship in Kona. When Jack and I started working together in October 2025, his goal was to improve his body composition without compromising his performance. Over the following months, he went from 81kg to...

Can you improve your body composition and triathlon performance at the same time? Yes - but that doesn’t mean trying to maximise both all year round. In this episode, I break down how I’m structuring my own training and nutrition from the end of this season through to my next 70.3. I cover: Why body composition becomes a bigger priority in the off-season How my strength and endurance training will...

Cutting calories around training feels like progress. BUT if you're starving by 9pm and undoing it all on the sofa, it isn't. In this episode I break down the mistake I see over and over with triathletes trying to get leaner - under-eating around the work that matters, then paying for it later in the day. Essentially, you don't have to choose between fuelling your training and improvin...

Everyone crosses the finish line of their big race feeling unstoppable in the moment. BUT not many people talk about what happens next. In this episode I dig into the "no man's land" that hits after months of structure and a date circled in red suddenly disappear. Why most people let their training fall apart here, and why the real skill isn't finishing the race, it's having...

I went into Vichy 70.3 targeting 5:35 to 5:45. I finished in 6:13. This episode is the version I didn't put on Instagram. The swim, the bike, the crash in T2, and the decision I made on the run that I still don't love admitting to. Most of the value's in the honest version, so that's what you're getting. In this episode: Why a wetsuit swim I wasn't expecting cost me more ti...

I've avoided racing big events for years. Not because I couldn't. Because life got in the way - kids, two house renovations, a house move, and a business that's taken most of my attention. I've trained consistently through all of it. But this is the first proper A-race I've done in a while, and one week out, my head's doing exactly what yours probably does before something...

Why So Many Triathletes Think They've Got a Sweet Tooth Do you really have a sweet tooth, or are you simply under-fuelling your training? In this episode, I explain one of the most common patterns I see in triathletes trying to lose body fat: eating too little earlier in the day, then craving chocolate, biscuits and sugary foods in the evening. We cover: Why evening cravings often start at bre...

She Started Triathlon To Lose Weight. The Opposite Happened. In this episode, I share the story of a client who started triathlon hoping to get fitter, healthier and leaner. Instead, she gained body fat. Like many endurance athletes, she found herself constantly hungry, struggling with overeating episodes and wondering why all the training wasn't producing the results she expected. In this epi...

Most triathletes assume that if they're training more, losing body fat should get easier. The reality is often the opposite. In this episode, I discuss why endurance training can sometimes increase hunger, lead to overeating, and even make body composition harder to manage. You'll learn: • Why training more doesn't automatically mean you'll lose weight • The common mistakes that le...

A lot of ambitious people are exhausted. Not because they're lazy. And not because they aren't trying hard enough. In fact, the opposite is usually true. In this episode, I explore why so many driven people end up trapped in a cycle of constantly pushing for more. More training. Better nutrition. Better performance. Better body composition. At some point, trying to optimise everything simu...

How much is age and how much lifestyle? At 48, I know I’m not the same athlete I was at 28. But it’s made me increasingly curious: How much of slowing down is actually ageing and how much is lifestyle? In this episode, I explore the difference between natural physical decline and the unnecessary loss of athleticism that often comes from stress, poor habits, loss of muscle, weight gain, lower expec...

Most triathletes don’t get carb loading wrong because they don’t eat enough. They get it wrong because they don’t really know what “enough” looks like. In this episode, I break down the biggest carb loading mistakes endurance athletes make - from oversized pasta meals and processed carb overload, to guessing intake without ever practicing it properly in training. We cover: Why carb loading is more...

Most triathletes think race day nutrition is the key to performance. It’s not. Race day nutrition doesn’t save your race - it exposes how well you’ve actually prepared. In this episode, I break down why focusing on gels, carb loading, and race morning tactics often misses the bigger picture - and what actually determines whether your fuelling holds up when it matters. We cover: Why daily fuelling...

Does fat loss really get harder as you get older? In this episode, I break down why body composition can feel more challenging as you age - especially for triathletes balancing training, work, family life, and recovery. We cover what actually changes with age, why many athletes get stuck using outdated strategies, and how to improve body composition in a way that supports performance rather than d...

£50 on gels. A cupboard full of bars. Electrolytes in every bottle. It looks like commitment - but it’s often not the thing improving your performance. This episode challenges the habits triathletes believe are “good nutrition” and explains why real progress comes from your day-to-day eating, not what you stock up on.

“Alcohol is poison” is a popular message right now - but it’s not the full picture. In this episode, I explain why most triathletes aren’t being held back by alcohol itself, but by patterns of excess and poor decision-making around it. If you’re trying to improve body composition and performance without becoming overly restrictive, this will help you think about alcohol more clearly.

You’re training 10+ hours a week. So why are you not getting leaner? Because more training isn’t the solution - and in a lot of cases, it’s part of the problem. In this episode, I break down why triathletes often gain body fat or stall their body composition during high training loads. We look at the patterns that get overlooked: Overfueling low-intensity sessions. Treating fueling during training...

Many triathletes are afraid of bonking - running out of energy during training. But that fear can sometimes push athletes in the opposite direction:  over-fuelling sessions that don’t actually require it , which can gradually affect body composition and performance. In this episode, I explain why this happens, how excessive fuelling habits develop in endurance sport, and how to think more clearly...

Most triathletes can lose weight. Very few can do it without losing power. In this episode, I explain how I’d lose 10kg while keeping training quality high, protecting lean mass, and improving performance. We cover fuelling, strength training, sleep, daily movement, and why aggressive dieting is the fastest way to stall progress.

Most triathletes don’t struggle because they snack too much. They struggle because their meals aren’t doing enough. In this episode, I break down a pattern I see every week: underpowered meals, accumulating hunger, and reactive snacking - especially around training. This is a structure issue. We talk about: Why eating “often” isn’t the same as eating enough How bigger, more purposeful meals improv...

Ironman training is demanding. More volume, more sessions, more fatigue. So when athletes gain weight during prep, it’s confusing - and often frustrating. In this episode, I explain why weight gain during Ironman training is so common, and why it’s rarely a sign of poor discipline or overeating. We cover: Why endurance volume without strength can work against body composition How midweek underfuel...

Zone 2 training is often described as “easy,” which leads many endurance athletes to assume it requires little thought when it comes to fuelling. In reality, Zone 2 fueling is far more context-dependent than most people realise. In this episode, I talk through why session length is the biggest driver of fuelling decisions, why fuelling often starts before the session rather than during it, and how...

How I needed up putting on some weight and why. This episode documents how I intend to improve my own performance and body composition over the next year - culminating in a 70.3 in 2026. I discuss what is a realistic amount of weight to drop and the training I will do to help optimise this along with developing performance,

When most Triathletes think of Race Day nutrition they don't consider in enough detail the days leading up to race day. This episode covers HOW to prepare for the day.