Sport and exercise nutrition consultations
The Centre for Integrative Sports Nutrition (CISN) provides sport and exercise nutrition consultations for individuals who are engaged in regular physical activity. Our clients vary from recreational participants through age group competitors to highly elite athletes. Based on the experience and scope of practice of our practitioners, we’ve got all sports and exercise types covered!
The core essence of our clinical services revolve around the CISN belief that if a sportsperson is to achieve their performance goals, they firstly need to aspire towards optimal health. Because:
“health feeds performance”
Our sport and exercise nutrition consultations have been developed by CISN founder Ian Craig as a result of 30 years of clinical practice, with a central exercise and nutrition focus. During this time, he has closely observed, and put into practice, the most effective strategies in order to reach lasting improvements in health and physical performance.
Team approach
At CISN we recognise that if you have a team of support around you, your chances of moving towards your goals are greatly improved. As such, we’ve set up a talented network of practitioners for the sport and exercise nutrition consultations: the core team collectively practice nutrition, exercise and psychology coaching, natural cookery and integrative medicine – a powerful combination when it comes to health, fitness and performance. You may choose to work with just one practitioner, or it may be that collaborative support will meet your needs best. Additionally, on a case-by-case basis, we inter-refer with other talented practitioners, as required.
How you'll benefit?
Working with us, you are committing to immersing yourself within the lifestyle, behavioural and belief changes that are required to improve your health and physical performance. In our sport and exercise nutrition consultations, we will coach you towards self-empowerment in a very personalised way so that when you leave us, you’ll be able to continue growing your own health practices.
We offer core support to sports people, from recreational to elite. Additionally, we’re seeing an increasing number of individuals with health imbalances, such as; low energy, weight management, hormonal imbalances, gastrointestinal issues, musculoskeletal problems, immune dysfunction (including autoimmunity), fibromyalgia, and adrenal fatigue, all of which may be related to the lives we live today; even in the context of sport and exercise.
Booking in
Below is a list of our practitioners, each with a description of their qualifications, experiences, and the services offered. Simply book in with the practitioner who’s profile best fits your nutrition and exercise needs. The first session is 85 minutes in duration, which gives enough time for the practitioner to take a thorough case history, discuss your goals with you, and agree on a strategy of support, which (as needed) may include another member of our team.
Ian Craig
MSc DipCNE INLPTA FBANT
Nutritional Therapist and Exercise Physiologist
Ian is both a nutrition and an exercise professional. He has always worked with recreationally active clients through to elite athletes, focussing on nourishing their health, which underpins physical performance. Ian initially worked in a 1-on-1 setting with personal training and coaching clients, and since retraining in nutritional therapy in the early 2000s, his main focus has been on the nutritional and lifestyle support of active individuals.
Having been a middle-distance runner, and competing in cycling and triathlon events, Ian works more with endurance athletes, recreational through to elite, although he has supported most sports groups over time. He also has extensive experience with chronic health cases, including gut dysfunction, autoimmunity and chronic fatigue, often within a sport and exercise context.
Types of client cases commonly worked with:
- Recreationally active individuals, often participating in endurance events
- Gastrointestinal health
- Adrenal and chronic fatigue
- Musculoskeletal and injury support
- Energy and mitochondrial health
- Elite athletes with high performance goals
- Autoimmune challenges
- Overtraining syndrome
- Hormone and nervous system balancing
- Exercise recovery and anti-inflammation
Simone do Carmo
MSci SENr CISNCert ISAK-1
Sport & Exercise Nutritionist and Exercise Physiologist
Since completing a five-year MSci degree, where she studied the complexities of human physiology and nutrition, Simone has developed a true passion for her work as a registered sport and exercise nutritionist and personal trainer. She works with a range of athletes, from recreational to competitive, focusing on improving health-based performance through a food-first, personalised and evidence-based approach.
With a background as both a sprinter and powerlifter, Simone specialises in strength- and power-based athletes, as well as individuals across the lifespan who aim to maintain or gain skeletal muscle. She has a special interest in supporting plant-based athletes, those exhibiting signs and symptoms of Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs), and athletes experiencing debilitating menstrual cycle symptoms that impact their nutrition and training adherence.
Types of client cases commonly worked with:
- Recreational athletes (e.g. gym-goers)
- Strength- and power-based athletes (e.g. powerlifters, Olympic weightlifters, resistance-trained individuals, sprinters, jumpers, gymnasts, etc.)
- Nutrition for skeletal muscle hypertrophy
- Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs)
- Competitive athletes (e.g. club-based or national-level athletes)
- Team sport athletes (rugby, football, netball, hockey, basketball, etc.)
- Plant-based nutrition (vegan, vegetarian, or minimal meat-based diets)
- Menstrual tracking
Rachel Jesson
B.Phys.Ed M.Phil - Health Coach and Certified Natural Food Chef
Rachel is a certified health coach, supporting active individuals with a transformational journey to unlock their potential and creating positive behaviour changes. Additionally, as a natural chef with a contagious and passionate enthusiasm for nourishing foods and optimal health, she consults with her clients on nutrient density and natural sports cookery.
Rachel originally trained in physical education and sports science and psychology, which she applied into her personal training work and to her own athletic career as a national South African triathlete. Her practical, food-focussed approaches, has supported many athletes. She has a remarkable way of helping individuals to improve their relationship with food plus associated mindfulness around food and their whole body.
Types of client cases commonly worked with:
- Recreational and elite endurance athletes
- Relationship with food, mindfulness and self-compassion
- Preparation of more plant-based meals
- Hormonal health and menopausal stages
- Gym, Crossfit, and Hyrox athletes
- Body composition improvements via nutrition and lifestyle changes
- Supportive sleep strategies
- Nurturing positive behaviour changes for mental and physical health
Dr Ruth Wilde
MB BCh MRCEM (AFMCP 2017) - Medical Doctor and IFM Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner
Ruth is an IFM certified functional medicine doctor who specialises in health optimisation and longevity medicine, working largely with the athlete community. Her clinical training is broad and extensive, including emergency medicine, general practice, rehabilitation medicine and hormone optimisation therapies.
Ruth is a committed weight lifter and runner, who walks her talk when it comes to the lifestyle foundations of health. She is passionate about helping others to achieve their health and training goals and has a special interest in supporting athletes during their recovery from injury.
Dr Wilde works on a consultancy basis in collaboration with your CISN practitioner. Please book first with your main practitioner and ask to also receive consultation support from her.
Types of client cases commonly worked with:
- Recreational athletes recovering from musculoskeletal injuries
- Peri-menopausal athletes
- Individuals from all walks of life looking for health optimisation
- Male and female athletes recovering from REDs
- Patients with adrenal, thyroid and sex hormone imbalances
- Individuals requiring laboratory test interpretation and appropriate interventions
Paul Carlos
Yoga Practitioner (Y.A.I. 500hour) and Mind-Body Coach
Paul Carlos is the founder of Sacred Spiral Yoga School, accredited by Yoga Alliance International, and has over 30 years of teaching experience. He works with individuals, private groups and public classes, leads regular retreats from his base at the Emoyeni Retreat Centre in South Africa (https://emoyeni.org.za/ ), and teaches on the popular meditation app Insight Timer.
As a one-on-one mind-body coach, Paul draws knowledge and experience from yoga and other wisdom disciplines, including Tai Chi, Chi Gong and meditation, to facilitate a transformational journey with his clients. Additionally, as a professional musician, Paul creates and performs sound journeys for his local and international audience.
Types of client cases commonly worked with:
- Active individuals wishing to actualise positive change mentally, emotionally and physically
- People interested in exploring breath dynamics, to improve capacity and energy levels
- Individuals seeking improved energy and vitality via yoga, Tai Chi and Chi Gong training
- People looking to explore consciousness via meditation and mindfulness practice
- Athletes wanting to include active flexibility and mobility training into their repertoire
- People keen to explore a deeper place of spiritual awareness
Mark
MB BCh MRCEM (AFMCP 2017)
Ruth is an integrative medicine doctor with a broad generalist background, who specialises in the sports and rehabilitation field, as well as in health optimisation
Types of client cases commonly worked with:
- Clients who want to leverage digital platforms for their business
- Entrepeneurs and SME's who need to navigate the digital highway
- Interpreting Analytics and Growth Paths
- Digital Strategy (Implementation & Deployment)
- UX Upgrades for customer journey
- Lead Generation by PPC
- Organic Traffic Generation - SEO
Booking in
1-on-1 sessions with your practitioner cost £125 per hour, payable by bank transfer or Stripe.
Mentoring testimonials
A good sports nutrition practitioner
A good sports nutrition practitioner meets their client in the space where they are and embraces the opportunity to go on a transformational journey with them. A good sports nutrition consultant does not generate diets for athletes based merely on a few variables such as age, weight, activity levels and type of sport. Every single person who comes into the care of a practitioner deserves the undivided attention of that professional and to be dealt with as the unique individual that they are.
Personalised care is a core ethos of CISN practitioners. What this means is that we take the time and attention to build an awareness of your ecosystem – everything in your life which affects your health, eating patterns, psychology, energy levels, sleep patterns, and ultimately your physical endeavours. On top of this, we consider your genetic uniqueness – there is, and never will be, no meal plan or dietary pattern that will suit everyone. As Lucretius famously said,
“One man’s food is another man’s poison”
meaning that we consider what has worked for you in the past, combined with what we think will be the best nutrition for a sports person like you, and adjust our strategy as we see how you’re progressing.
On top of this, we are integrative practitioners, which means two key things:
- Firstly we consider the health of your body systems, especially your gut health which impacts every part of your body. Weakness or imbalance of a body system, such as recurrent infections (immune system) or regular injuries (musculoskeletal system) gives us vital clues about how to nourish your body with wholesome food to provide a base layer of health, which in turns allows performance strategies to be layered on top.
- Secondly, we work as a team, which brings an integrative view to our way of working with sports nutrition. Each nutrition consultant has their unique strengths, so we all recognise our scope of practice and understand when to involve another member of the team in your case, and in some cases to refer on to other practitioners who support our work.
A good sports nutrition consultant, or practitioner, is a scientist and an artist. They work from a base of ‘evidence based practice’ (what has been shown by science) and combine that with extensive practitioner experience, plus the story of the athlete: a triangulation of knowledge and awareness that is more powerful and insightful than any one on their own.
FAQ
Yes we do, but not only the sports person; active individuals too. In the famous words of Bill Bowerman, co-founder of Nike, “if you have a body, you are an athlete.” We tend to say that anybody who ‘moves with purpose’ is an athlete, so we cater for recreational athletes all the way up to elite athletes. The reason we have such a broad scope is that every single individual, no matter their athletic prowess, requires a strong base of integrative health (see description above) before considering specific sports nutrition strategies. The harder a person trains and the more pressure they have in their life (life load), the more important it is to deeply nourish their body with good food and supplements – and not to simply cover the macronutrient (carbs, fats, protein) needs of their sport.
Nutritional therapy is a functional or integrative mode of practice that considers the health of an individual’s physiological body systems in relation to many factors in their life, including nutrition patterns, lifestyle, environment, psychology, sociocultural considerations and genetic individuality. A nutritional therapist centres his/her practices around personalised nutrition and lifestyle recommendations that are pertinent to the individual person and their health goals.
Read more from the British Association for Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine (BANT)
A sport and exercise nutritionist is a nutrition consultant that helps optimise the health and performance of sports people (recreational to elite athletes) through dietary strategies and sports nutrition education. This includes how to fuel and hydrate for training and competition and nourish the body for recovery from exercise and injury, while also providing guidance around sports nutrition supplements. Sport and exercise nutritionists may provide recipes or develop meal plans for athletes to help support the implementation of dietary strategies and to meet their nutritional requirements.
Read more from the British Dietetic Association (BDA) Sport and Exercise Nutrition Register (SENR)
Health coaching is similar to life coaching, but with their main focus on their clients’ health, nutrition and wellness. They not only consider the nutrition behaviours of their clients, but any aspects of their lifestyle that may be impacting on their overall health and wellness. A health coach supports their clients to overcome barriers and limiting beliefs and to create a personalised health strategy that improves overall health, wellness and happiness of every client we work with.
A natural chef creates meals with the whole person in mind. The nutritional content of each ingredient being used, and how that will impact the person after they have eaten the meal, is front of mind. A natural chef prioritises highly nutritious and nutrient-dense foods – fresh, seasonal, whole and organic – prepared in ways that make each ingredient digestible and highly assimilable by the body. Good food correctly prepared according to the constitution of the person is culinary medicine – food that can heal.
A functional medicine practitioner uses a patient-centred approach that seeks to identify and work on the foundational causes of health imbalances in order to restore healthy function in an individual. In particular, functional medicine clinicians identify lifestyle, environmental, nutritional and genetic contributors to health imbalance, and create personalised strategies to restore health and wellbeing in their patients.
Currently we don’t have a sports dietitian in our core team, but we have a sports dietitian in our referral network, who has completed her integrative sports nutrition training with us. Our core team consists of a nutritional therapist, sport and exercise nutritionist (registered with the British Dietetic Association SENR), health coach and natural chef, functional medicine doctor, strength and conditioning specialist, and a mind-body coach.
Yes, CISN practitioners work with supplements, but not just sports nutrition supplements. As denoted by our health feeds performance philosophy, even (or ‘especially’) athletes need to consider their health before adding in sports nutrition supplements. In particular, the needs of essential nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, fatty acids (including omega 3 and 6 oils) and amino acids, are considered based on dietary, lifestyle, exercise training, and genetic needs. Additionally, body system specific supplements may be recommended; for example, supplements to support gastrointestinal, immune, endocrine and musculoskeletal health. Once these are in place, classic sports nutrition supplements, including sports drinks, protein powders, creatine and caffeine formulations, and many others may be suggested.
Notably, if there is a possibility that an athlete may be drug tested as part of their sports competitions, Informed Sport supplements will be recommended.
CISN practitioners do not create meal plans in the sense that you are given a structured eating regime, never to detour from! What we do create is an number of dietary principles based on your health needs and performance desires, examples of main meals, snacks, drinks, and sports-specific drinks and snacks, plus sometimes even some recipes! Prior to each consultation, you’ll be asked to write a food diary which details what you’ve been eating and drinking for a few days, which will then be discussed and further shaped until we have settled on a personalised way of eating that works well for you. This will have in-built flexibility based on mindful eating practices and day-to-day changes in requirements.
