George Sports Dietitian

24/12/2025

13/11/2025

✨ Your body runs on rhythm — not routine.
Throughout your menstrual cycle, your hormones shift in ways that affect your energy, mood, cravings, and workout performance.

Instead of fighting it, you can fuel and adjust your training in sync with it!

06/11/2025

Find the free recipe in the comments!!!

Let me know what you think and share a photo of your version!

03/11/2025

💪 Why Creatine Can Be Added to Your Routine

Creatine isn’t just for gym gains — it’s one of the most effective, well-researched supplements for overall health and performance.

✅ Boosts muscle strength and endurance
✅ Improves recovery between workouts
✅ Enhances focus
✅ Helps maintain lean muscle as you age
✅ Supports faster sprint or interval performance
✅ Can aid energy levels during fatigue

A consistent 3–5 g daily dose fuels both body and mind — whether you’re training for a race, building strength, or just staying active.

31/10/2025

Feeling thirsty?

Feeling thirsty during a race usually signals an electrolyte or fluid absorption imbalance, not just lack of water.

💧 1. Check Electrolyte Balance
+Even if you drank enough water before the race, low sodium can make you feel constantly thirsty and fatigued.
+Fix: Use a sodium-containing electrolyte drink (not plain water) before and during the race.
+Look for ~ 400–700 mg sodium per litre in your drink.
+If you sweat heavily or see white salt marks on your clothes, you may need closer to 800–1000 mg/L.
+In very warm conditions, or if you’re a salty sweater, add a salt capsule or stronger electrolyte every 45–60 minutes.

⚖️ 2. Avoid Overhydration
+Drinking too much plain water can dilute sodium levels, causing more thirst and bloating.
+Alternate sips of water and electrolyte drink.
+Don’t “chase” thirst with large gulps; small, steady sips are better absorbed.

🧂 3. Pre-Race Strategy
+The days before:
+Don’t just drink water — include salt with meals or sip an electrolyte mix 1–2 times per day.
+About 2–3 hours before the race, drink ~500 ml electrolyte drink.
+Stop heavy fluid intake 60 minutes before the start; sip 100–200 ml just before warm-up.

🚰 4. During the Race
If thirst persists:
+Choose the sports drink option at water tables instead of plain water.
+Take small, frequent sips (100–150 ml every 15–20 minutes).
+Eat gels with a few sips of water only (not too much).
+If your mouth feels dry but your stomach sloshes, swish and spit water for a few stations or keep a sweet in the inside of your cheek — it can reduce thirst perception without overfilling the stomach.

🌡️ 5. Consider Conditions and Sweat Rate
+Heat, wind, or altitude can increase thirst.
+Practise your fluid strategy in training — weigh yourself before and after a long run to estimate sweat losses.
+For every 1 kg lost, you need roughly 1–1.2 L fluid replacement next time.

30/10/2025

🏃‍♀️ Race-Ready Boost: Why Beetroot Belongs on Your Plate! ❤️🥬

Looking for a natural edge before your next race? Beetroot is a runner’s secret weapon!

🌱 Here’s why:
💪 Improves endurance – The nitrates in beetroot help your muscles use oxygen more efficiently, letting you go farther with less effort.
🫀 Supports blood flow – Nitrates also relax blood vessels, improving circulation and reducing fatigue.
⚡ Boosts stamina – Studies show athletes run faster and longer after drinking beetroot juice 2–3 hours before training or racing.
💧 Rich in antioxidants – Helps fight inflammation and supports recovery post-race.

🥤 How to include it:

200–300 ml beetroot juice 2–3 hrs before your race
Or a small serving of roasted beetroot in your pre-race meal

Small root. Big performance gain.

19/09/2025

Wellness day at the Garden Route Municipality today. 🎉🌈

13/08/2025

🌟 CELEBRATING THE WOMEN OF GEORGE 🌟

This Women’s Month, we’re honouring the women who inspire, uplift, and lead with heart — right here in our own backyard.

👑 Meet Lize Esterhuyzen

She’s a mover, a maker, a visionary and a vital thread in the fabric of our George community.

💬 Here are some fun facts about her

When we celebrate one woman, we celebrate us all.

Stay tuned all month as we introduce more of the amazing women building, growing, and glowing in George!

29/07/2025

📢Did you know?🎯

You can get better results when you align your training and nutrition with your menstrual cycle.🙌💪♥️

Your hormones fluctuate each week, affecting your energy levels, recovery, strength, and even how your body uses fuel. By adjusting your workouts and what you eat to match these changes, you can optimise performance, reduce fatigue, support recovery, and feel more in tune with your body.

Train smarter, not harder — sync with your cycle. 💪🩸

How to book an appointment:
lizedietitian@gmail.com
082 578 5092

Lize Esterhuysen is a registered Dietitian with a special interest in sports nutrition. She completed a sports nutrition course through the Association for Dietetics in South Africa (ADSA) and a triathlon nutrition course from Jeffrey Rothschild.

05/06/2025

Calcium's role in sport:

✅ Electrolyte Role:
-Calcium carries an electrical charge (Ca²⁺) and helps conduct electrical signals, especially in muscle contraction and nerve transmission.
-It’s essential for triggering muscle contractions, including both skeletal and cardiac muscle.

⚠️ Not a Major Player in Hydration:
-Calcium is not significantly lost through sweat compared to sodium or chloride.
-Therefore, it's not a focus in electrolyte drinks or acute hydration strategies.

🦴 Long-Term Importance:
-Athletes, especially women, need adequate dietary calcium for bone health, particularly if energy intake is low or there’s menstrual dysfunction (like RED-S).
-Low calcium combined with high training load increases risk of stress fractures and osteopenia.

🥛 Sources:
Best absorbed from dairy (e.g., milk, yogurt, cheese), but also found in leafy greens, almonds, and fortified foods.

🔄 Interaction with Other Electrolytes:
Calcium metabolism is influenced by vitamin D, and it interacts with magnesium and phosphorus. An imbalance can affect absorption and muscle performance.

Summary:
Calcium is an electrolyte, but its main relevance in sports nutrition is long-term (bone health, muscle function), not immediate hydration or cramp prevention. It's important in the background physiology of performance, rather than acute endurance fuelling.

29/05/2025

Role of Magnesium in Sports Nutrition:

💪Muscle Function: Magnesium plays a crucial role in muscle contraction and relaxation. Deficiency can lead to cramps, spasms, or muscle fatigue.

💃Energy Production: It's involved in over 300 enzymatic reactions, many of which are required to convert food into energy (ATP synthesis).

⚖️Electrolyte Balance: Although not a primary regulator like sodium or potassium, magnesium plays a crucial role in maintaining cellular electrolyte balance and supporting nerve signal transmission.

👌Lactic Acid Buffering: May help reduce the buildup of lactic acid during intense activity, possibly improving endurance and reducing muscle soreness.

♥️Heart Rhythm: Magnesium supports cardiac rhythm, especially important for endurance athletes.

Magnesium Loss Through Exercise:

🌻Intense sweating leads to minor but cumulative magnesium loss.
🌻Athletes training in hot/humid conditions or for long durations are at greater risk.
🌻Deficiency symptoms include fatigue, irritability, poor recovery, and irregular heartbeat.

Sources and Supplementation:

🥦Dietary: Leafy greens, whole grains, nuts (almonds, cashews), dairy, and dark chocolate.

Supplements: Often included in electrolyte tablets or powders. Common forms include magnesium citrate, glycinate, or oxide (though oxide is less bioavailable).

Dosage: Typical recommended daily intake is ~300–400 mg/day for adults. Athletes may require slightly more, but excess can cause GI distress (especially magnesium oxide).

In Practice:
🎉For most recreational athletes, a well-rounded diet can cover magnesium needs.

🎉Endurance athletes or those with high sweat losses may benefit from magnesium-rich meals or targeted supplements, especially during long training blocks or in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle when requirements may rise

21/05/2025

📢Just completed another course in endurance sports nutrition, focusing on triathletes and considering the differences between male and female athletes.🎉

As a registered dietitian with a special interest in sports nutrition, it's essential to continually expand my knowledge and stay aligned with current, evidence-based research.🙌

Endurance athletes, especially triathletes, have unique and complex nutritional needs that evolve across training phases and race day. This course provided updated insights into fuelling strategies, hydration, recovery, and periodised nutrition, considering the menstrual cycle—all based on the latest science.

With so much conflicting information in the sports world, it's my priority to ensure that the guidance I provide is practical and also rooted in credible research. Supporting athletes with accurate, tailored nutrition is key to both performance and long-term health.