# useful. — full article content

> Process-based contextual behavioural nutrition and mindset coaching for climbers, athletes, artists, and dancers. Performance and body composition support. Nutrition strategy, supplements, diet guidance, injury recovery for athletes worldwide.

This file contains the complete text of all open articles from https://useful.coach. For services, pricing, coach details, and AI agent instructions see https://useful.coach/llms.txt. For licensing, permissions, and citation requirements see https://useful.coach/ai.txt.


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# What is fat gain?

- URL: https://useful.coach/open/fat-gain/
- Author: Tom Herbert
- Published: 2026-06-06T00:00:00.000+00:00
- Updated: 2026-06-26T00:00:00.000+00:00
- Summary: Where does fat go when you lose it? Why is dietary fat stored more efficiently than carbohydrate? A physics and chemistry explanation of mass, energy, and fat gain.


Most people think about weight gain and fat loss in terms of calories, but calories are a unit, not a substance. You don't eat calories, you eat molecules. This short article explains the physics and chemistry of weight, mass, and energy, why dietary fat is stored more efficiently than carbohydrate, and why a low-carbohydrate diet is not necessarily more effective for fat loss.{.text-lead}

*This article is actually a section from {% link 'framework' %}{% endlink %}, available to members.*

## What is weight, and weight gain?

If you weigh 70kg, the scale is experiencing 687N. Gravity pulls you down with a force equal to your mass × 9.81 m/s^2^ (your weight in newtons). Mass is the amount of "stuff" you are made from, but less substance and more property. It is a number that tells you how an object will behave when forces, gravity, or energy are involved. Curiously, if you take a proton apart, the three quarks inside have almost no mass, only about 1% of the proton's total mass[^proton_mass]. The other 99% comes from the energy of the strong force, the gluon fields and the motion of the quarks, via E = mc^2^.

So most of your mass is really trapped energy; however, that's nuclear physics, not chemistry. Fat loss is a chemical process: atoms are rearranged into more stable molecules---carbon dioxide (CO~2~) and water (H~2~O), and the mass leaves your body through your breath, sweat, and urine. Fat leaves your body almost entirely as exhaled CO~2~ and water. And it's nitrogen from protein breakdown that leaves as urea in urine.

At the everyday scale, mass and energy behave like different things. Mass is atoms, physical matter you can weigh. Chemical energy is a property of how those atoms are arranged, and the mass changes that accompany it are far too small to register on a scale. At the nuclear scale, mass and energy are equivalent, but chemistry doesn't reach those energies.

When you gain fat mass, it is the carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms in the food consumed being digested, absorbed, and then rearranged and incorporated as fat (lipids) in fat cells (adipose tissue), and other cells like muscle and the liver. Those atoms can also be stored as glycogen---branched chains of glucose, in the liver and muscles. For protein, it is the amino acids carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen, being incorporated into muscle and other tissues.

A glucose molecule (C~6~H~12~O~6~) has more energy than the carbon dioxide (CO~2~) and water (H~2~O) it eventually becomes, not because it contains calories like a container, but because its atoms are held together in a higher-energy configuration. When glucose reacts with oxygen (O~2~), those atoms rearrange into more stable molecules: CO~2~ and H~2~O. The energy difference between the starting and ending arrangements is released, first captured in a usable chemical form (ATP), then ultimately given off as heat.

So calories don't accumulate as a substance in the body, atoms do, and they are in an arrangement that can release energy when reordered. When we say food has calories, we mean its atoms can rearrange into more stable molecules, releasing the difference. A kilocalorie (kcal) is a unit, not a thing. We don't eat calories, we eat molecules.

You might not know, but dietary fat and carbohydrate are not stored with the same efficiency. When consumed in excess, 90-95% of excess dietary fat energy is stored, compared to only 75-85% of excess carbohydrate energy[^horton1995]. Dietary fat requires little conversion to body fat, as we break them down during digestion, and rebuild them again for storage. The "re-esterification" of fatty acids into triglycerides has a thermic cost of only 2-3%[^jequier2002]. Whereas converting carbohydrate to body fat (de novo lipogenesis, DNL) costs ~20-25% of the energy, and requires sustained carbohydrate overfeeding at a rate faster than it can be oxidised or stored as glycogen. Much of this DNL happens in the liver, where it outpaces the liver's ability to export the fat it produces, and hepatic (liver) fat accumulates. Past a threshold, this is fatty liver disease: metabolic dysfunction--associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD).

So our body fat is primarily derived from the fat we eat, not from the carbohydrate or protein.

Carbohydrate consumption acts as a metabolic switch: the rise in blood glucose raises the hormone insulin which signals carbohydrate oxidation and storage (glycogen), and fat tissue (adipose) stops releasing fat and starts storing it. This continues until the dietary glucose in the blood is used and stored resulting in the return of blood glucose back to baseline. This metabolically switches back to fat release and use for energy. So when we consume carbohydrate, we increase carbohydrate use for energy over fat.

But no, a low carbohydrate diet is not more efficient for lowering body fat. This is because you still need to consume enough energy, which is going to be more dietary fat.

- Typical (2520kcal)
  - 150g protein (600kcal)
  - 300g carbohydrate (1200kcal)
  - 80g fat (720kcal)
- Low-carbohydrate (2520kcal)
  - 150g protein (600kcal)
  - 50g carbohydrate (200kcal)
  - 190g fat (1720kcal)

The reason people report more easily losing fat on a low-carbohydrate diet, is that trying to eat ~190g of fat per day is often missed. They unknowingly restrict energy. Though this can be effective, it's not a great dietary pattern for athletes. It also restricts food choice (carbohydrates).

Consume more of any food than you need in a window of time, and you will store the excess energy primarily as fat. However dietary fat is stored most readily and efficiently (90-95%), which is why, if you had to overeat, go for whole-food protein and carbohydrate, not fat.

Here is a hypothetical situation...

- If you consume 50g of glucose, you will immediately gain 50g of mass (you weigh 50g more)
- 50g of glucose is ~200 kcal of energy
- Walking briskly for an hour requires ~200 kcal
- In this very controlled scenario (all other things not changing) after walking an hour you would have lost 50g of mass (you weigh 50g less). The glucose atoms exit your body as exhaled CO~2~ and water. Metabolising the glucose doesn't destroy mass; it rearranges it. Whereas the 50g gain is instantaneous, the 50g loss is gradual, exhaled molecule by molecule over the hour of walking.
- If you did truly nothing (all other things not changing) both the glucose mass (~50g) and its energy (~200 kcal) would be stored as muscle or liver glycogen, very rarely body fat. You cannot extract the energy and keep the atoms---those are mutually exclusive fates.

### So when we lose fat, where does it go?

84% of it leaves your body as exhaled CO~2~, and 16% as H~2~O (urine, sweat, and breath)[^meerman2014]; the energy radiates off as heat.

But in a more pragmatic sense, the reason we gain body fat more easily than we lose it is one of energy density versus time (and effort). A few hundred kcal worth of food can be eaten in seconds, but using that energy takes far longer. Storing energy is rapid and relatively passive; expending it is slow and takes effort.

## Why does fat have more energy than carbohydrate?

Fat provides roughly 9kcal/g versus carbohydrate's 4kcal/g. This isn't because fat has more atoms per gram---it's because fat atoms are in a more reduced (unoxidised) state.

Carbohydrates are already partially oxidised. Glucose is C~6~H~12~O~6~, one oxygen for every carbon. The carbons are already half-way to becoming CO~2~. Fat is largely unoxidised: palmitic acid is C~16~H~32~O~2~, sixteen carbons but only two oxygens. Its carbons are bonded to other carbons and hydrogens, far from their stable endpoint.

When we metabolise (rearrange) both, their atoms end up in the same stable oxidised endpoints (CO~2~ and H~2~O). But fat atoms start further from that endpoint, so more energy is released during the rearrangement. Per gram, more of fat's mass is in energy-rich (reduced) bonds, and less is tied up in bonds that are already close to their final (oxidised) state.

Glucose is used before fat during exercise, not because it provides more energy per gram (it doesn't, fat has over twice the energy density), but because it is rapidly accessible. Hence higher intensity exercise (higher rate of energy transfer requirement) predominantly uses glucose. Glucose is closer to the oxidised endpoint, takes fewer metabolic steps to break down, and its first stage (glycolysis) can run without oxygen. The full oxidation to CO~2~ and H~2~O still requires oxygen, and per litre of oxygen consumed glucose actually yields slightly more energy than complete fat oxidation.

## Footnotes

[^meerman2014]: Meerman, R., & Brown, A. J. (2014). When somebody loses weight, where does the fat go? *BMJ, 349*, g7257. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.g7257

[^proton_mass]: Wilczek, F. (2012). Origins of mass. *Central European Journal of Physics, 10*(5), 1024-1032. https://doi.org/10.2478/s11534-012-0147-7

[^jequier2002]: Jéquier, E. (2002). Pathways to obesity. *International Journal of Obesity, 26*(Suppl 2), S12-S17. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0802123

[^horton1995]: Horton, T. J., Drougas, H., Brache, A., et al. (1995). Fat and carbohydrate overfeeding in humans: different effects on energy storage. *American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 62*(1), 19-29. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/62.1.19


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# Can coaching fat loss lead to disordered eating?

- URL: https://useful.coach/open/fat-loss-coaching-disordered-eating-climbers/
- Author: Tom Herbert
- Published: 2026-02-21T00:00:00.000+00:00
- Updated: 2026-03-21T00:00:00.000+00:00
- Summary: Fat loss coaching and disordered eating in climbers: understanding the difference between unordered eating, disordered eating, and an Eating Disorder.


If you are concerned that you may have an Eating Disorder, or are developing habits and thoughts that could lead to disordered behaviour, please do not hesitate to ask for help. ["Beat" is the UK's eating disorder charity](https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk), and ["NEDA" is the USA equivalent to "Beat"](https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/help-support/contact-helpline). The [Eating Recovery Center](https://www.eatingrecoverycenter.com) is an international center for eating disorders and mood, anxiety and trauma-related disorders recovery. They have collated these [eating disorder resources](https://www.eatingrecoverycenter.com/conditions/eating-disorders#resources).

Please note, I cannot work with anyone who has an existing Eating Disorder. Prospective clients are screened through the {% link 'profile' %}{% endlink %} form, and during the initial 90-minute video call, where I can understand if they are better served by clinical dietary and counselling support. This assessment continues throughout the coaching process, and I will always refer out if someone requires specialist support.

Any questions about any of this, <{{ meta.email }}>

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## Unordered, disordered, and a Disorder

I received an interesting question via email, and thought I would reply as an article.

> I saw on your website that you do make a point to highlight that you do not necessarily work with people who have been or currently have a diagnosed eating disorder[^1]. However, how does this translate within a discipline like bouldering or climbing, where people may not have a clinical diagnosis but the whole weight-strength argument gets thrown up, especially when people want to do body recomp in the form of fat loss? I imagine through the very nature of addressing their nutrition and focus on eating that they may either already come with some disordered tendencies or develop them during the process. How do you as a coach negotiate and intervene in a process that essentially enables a level of orthorexic or disordered behaviour?

For the purpose of answering the question, I will delineate between "unordered eating", "disordered eating", and an "Eating Disorder". Capitalisation is for emphasis.

**The majority of clients fall outside those definitions.** These are climbers who simply want to understand climbing nutrition---how much and what to eat to support their climbing sport. They are interested in understanding if and how they can optimize their body composition---improving their ratio of body fat to muscle mass, and how to diet (energy management) without hampering their performance and recovery. Some climbers are eating specific diets (e.g., vegan, vegetarian, low FODMAP, low histamine), and/or come to me with existing long-term health factors (e.g., IBS, PoTS, PCOS). They have already worked with a dietitian, and are now wanting to work with a sports nutritionist specifically experienced with climbers, and climbing sports.

**Some clients need help with "unordered eating".** These are climbers who may be avoiding eating carbohydrates or fat because they believe they are inherently fattening or unhealthy. They may also be restricting energy, using fasting, time restricted eating, and take numerous supplements without a clear understanding of their purpose and efficacy. They may have tried numerous diets such as low-carbohydrate, Paleo, or ketogenic diets. These are clients who are actively interested in nutrition, but need educational guidance to understand and apply what is useful in the best context.

**Someone with "disordered eating", may want to work with me as part of their wider support network.** These are clients who may have previously (but not always) been through the medical system and worked with a registered dietitian for an Eating Disorder. Years later they are now asking for help in supporting themselves physically and mentally for their climbing sport. This often includes helping them gain muscle mass more effectively. They may still have anxiety around certain foods, struggle with eating disciplines, and the view of their changing body composition. They are asking me for help knowing full well I am not a registered dietitian. Almost always they are still working with a psychologist or counsellor, and may be on medications (e.g., antianxiety, SSRIs, SNRIs).

> An eating disorder is a serious mental illness characterized by highly distressing attitudes, beliefs and behaviors related to one's food intake, body shape and weight. Eating disorders have one of the highest mortality rates of all mental illnesses.[^wu2024]

**I cannot, and do not work with someone who has an existing "Eating Disorder".** An Eating Disorder refers to a mental health condition characterized by abnormal eating habits and a preoccupation with food, weight, and body shape. It involves a range of behaviours and attitudes towards food, such as restrictive eating, binge-eating, purging, and excessive exercise, which can have severe physical and psychological consequences.

> Disordered eating refers to behaviors and beliefs surrounding food/exercise that can negatively impact an individual's health -- but are often less severe/frequent in nature, without completely impairing their daily functioning . Disordered eating behaviors are typically less rigid, less consuming, and often fluctuate in severity.[^wu2024]

In my opinion, using my definitions, "unordered eating" and "disordered eating" are education, understanding, and implementation issues, unlike an "Eating Disorder" which is a serious mental health condition.

There is a subtle overlap between what I call "disordered eating" and an "Eating Disorder", but I believe they can be identified through asking someone to change their typical pattern of eating, and noting their immediate reaction.

For example, if someone gains an understanding of the rationale for eating more dietary fat, and immediately explores eating more fatty foods with little to no hesitation, this is an indication that it is an education, understanding and implementation issue, not that they are struggling with an extensive negative mental and emotional developed framework.

**Importantly, since I hold hour video calls with clients every week, there is ample time for discussion, feedback, and identification of whether someone is at risk of an "Eating Disorder", and would be better served by a specialist.**

Though I am not currently a clinical psychologist, therapist, or counsellor, my coaching continues to be informed and influenced by therapeutic frameworks such as [Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)](https://contextualscience.org/act), and I have completed various continuing education courses through [NOCD](https://www.nocdacademy.com/), including: "Fundamentals of Exposure-Based Therapy for OCD and Anxiety Disorders", "Exposure Therapy for Eating Disorders", "Integrating Key Principles of Inhibitory Learning Theory Into Your Exposure Practice".

## Signs of disordered eating

These are behaviors that are signs of disordered eating that may lead to an eating disorder.[^wu2024]

- Skipping meals
- Avoiding certain food groups (e.g., carbohydrates, fats)
- Limiting eating to only certain times of day
- Using exercise as a means of "burning" or "earning" food
- Assigning moral value to food choices ("good" or "bad")
- Frequently dieting
- Imposing food rules
- Avoiding events involving food
- Feeling anxiety surrounding food choices
- Restricting certain food choices to specific days/times
- Eating large amounts of food at one time
- Being rigid about exercise routines
- Preferring to eat alone

### Could someone develop "disordered tendencies" during the coaching process?

> ... people may not have a clinical diagnosis but the whole weight-strength argument gets thrown up, especially when people want to do body recomp in the form of fat loss? I imagine through the very nature of addressing their nutrition and focus on eating that they may either already come with some disordered tendencies or develop them during the process. ...


The short answer is of course it is always possible, but I believe it is very unlikely for someone to develop "disordered tendencies" during the coaching process. They may already come with misaligned health behaviour and nutritional understanding, which I focus on identifying from the start, but they would not develop these during, as it is antithetical to the actual coaching process.


The question is a little ambiguous [further clarification from author will be posted once received], as I am not sure if the emailer is stating that someone's desire to change their body composition through fat loss, even for the purpose of lowering body weight, is inherently disordered?

It can of course be an indicator, but does not necessitate one.

And that any focus on nutrition and lifestyle practices for the purpose of fat loss (and lowering body weight) is, or may lead to orthorexic or disordered behaviour?

Again it could lead to disordered behaviour, but it is not disordered behaviour in of itself.

For clarity's sake, here is the definition of orthorexia...

> Orthorexia refers to an unhealthy obsession with eating "pure" food. Food considered "pure" or "impure" can vary from person to person. This doesn't mean that anyone who subscribes to a healthy eating plan or diet is suffering from orthorexia. As with other eating disorders, the eating behaviour involved – "healthy" or "clean" eating in this case – is used to cope with negative thoughts and feelings, or to feel in control. Someone using food in this way might feel extremely anxious or guilty if they eat food they feel is unhealthy. ([Beat: What is orthorexia?](https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/get-information-and-support/about-eating-disorders/types/other-eating-feeding-problems/orthorexia/))

It would be nearly impossible for someone to develop orthorexia as a consequence of my coaching, precisely because the coaching is so focused on removing negative emotions and misunderstandings around food choices. In fact, I actively encourage the consumption of foods that would be seen as "impure", or even "unhealthy" such as sugar. This is a matter of context education, understanding, and implementation.

## The purpose of "useful."

The primary goal of my {% link 'cnc' %}{% endlink %}, is facilitating freedom. To work together to identify limitations, educate for understanding, explore courses of action, and adjust based on feedback and discussion.
{.intro}

The act of paying closer attention to what you eat: source, quality, composition, macro- and micronutrient, and energy values, is not disordered behaviour, any more than paying closer attention to your training method, form, sets, repetitions, and intensity is disordered behaviour. Nor is energy management to lower body fat inherently disordered, any more than eating in excess to increase muscle mass is disordered.

Both can become disordered behaviour when used in a context that leads to poor physical, mental, and social health---our interaction and relationships with other people. This is prevented through education, instruction, and monitoring by a professional. In fact this is the key reason someone should {% link 'cnc' %}work with a nutrition coach{% endlink %}, strength coach, and sports coach. This is especially important in the context of fat loss.

The desire to change your body is not disordered behaviour. However, it has to be understood within the boundaries of physical, mental, and social health. What is actually appropriate, physically possible, and the means for change, all have to be rooted in those health contexts, which themselves are informed by the context specific scientific literature.

Climbing is a sport known to have a troubled relationship with body weight, body composition, and dietary practices. As a nutrition coach working with climbers, my first priority is to understand where someone is in their current health, training, and life.

This includes assessing the language they use to describe themselves, and reading between the lines. Gaining an estimation of their current body composition with more or less accuracy (e.g., estimated from circumference measurements, or DEXA assessment). And a number of days of food journaling to understand their current pattern of eating and food choices.

From these data, and continued conversations, I can establish what course of action would be most suitable for someone, and whether there is a disconnect between their desires (e.g., their want to get leaner), and athletic health. Quite often someone comes to me wanting to lose body fat, and through the coaching process, they understand this is not only counterproductive for their health, but actually the opposite means of improving their climbing performance.

For all of my clients, eating more and strategic dietary patterning (e.g., protein spread, carbohydrates and energy availability around training windows), results in an improvement in body composition and athletic health. For a small handful of specific clients, we specifically focus on gaining weight, which includes increasing both muscle and body fat.

But for many of my clients we look at what is both healthy and realistic in terms of lowering body fat, and increasing muscle mass. These two outcomes cannot typically be separated. However, it is quite possible and often necessary to focus on increasing someone's muscle mass without a concurrent lowering of body fat. They may already be in an optimal body fat range, and reducing it would not only provide little benefit, but be futile for performance development. They would be restricting energy and thus lowering available energy for athletic improvements.

> How do you as a coach negotiate and intervene in a process that essentially enables a level of orthorexic or disordered behaviour?

**The coaching process does not essentially enable a level of disordered behaviour.** In fact it does the opposite, it enables someone to be more relaxed around food, eating, and their body composition through education, understanding, and implementation.

If you would like to ask any further questions, or would like more clarification on the coaching process, and if coaching would be suitable for you, <{{ meta.email }}>

## Footnotes

[^1]: [Why work with Tom Herbert?](/coaching/climbing-nutrition/#why-work-with-tom-herbert%3F)

[^wu2024]: Wu, Zeina. (2024). Disordered Eating vs. Eating Disorders. https://www.eatingrecoverycenter.com/blog/disordered-eating-vs-eating-disorders


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# Eat Rice Train Repeat

- URL: https://useful.coach/open/rice/
- Author: Tom Herbert
- Published: 2026-01-24T00:00:00.000+00:00
- Updated: 2026-03-21T00:00:00.000+00:00
- Summary: How to use rice and protein around training sessions to lift intensity, speed up recovery, and lower injury risk. With rice cooker and onigiri methods.


<div class="text-lead">

Fundamentally strength and conditioning improvements are about creating the necessary training stimulus to your tissues and nervous system, and having the nutrition to support and augment those changes. Nutrition provides both the substrates, and signalling for progressive growth and adaptations.

</div>

*If you are in the club, do tag me [@useful.coach](https://www.instagram.com/useful.coach) in your trainingposts, and use hashtag [#riceclub](https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/riceclub/).*

## #riceclub

The central "applied nutrition" principle of **useful.** coaching is using nutrition as a lever to change the state of the body during the window of time when the "System" (physiological and psychological) is under the greatest demand.

It's viewing nutrition as not just providing energy "fuelling", but rather as the means to...

- **Increase intensity volume** -- how much work can be performed at the highest intensity
- **Decrease recovery time** -- how to ensure subsequent sessions maintain that intensity volume
- **Decrease risk of injury** -- how to lower risk of cumulative strain from under-recovery

Fundamentally strength and conditioning improvements are about creating the necessary training stimulus to your tissues and nervous system, and having the nutrition to support and augment those changes. Nutrition provides both the substrates, and signalling for progressive growth and adaptations.

{% fig '/assets/images/sas.svg','The SAS window','By focusing on protein (pink) and carbohydrates (yellow) before, during, and after your sessions, creates a sustained window of substrates and signals for growth and progressive adaptations. It\'s more than just providing "enough calories" at the end of the day.' %}

Having now coached well over {{ meta.stats.clients }} clients, the practice that I see producing real-world results, is consuming a significant amount of protein and carbohydrate before sessions, not just "having a snack".

- **PreSession:** ~25g protein, ≥1g/kg carbohydrate (65g at 65kg)
- **InSession:** ≥30g carbohydrate (repeat if multiple hours)
- **PostSession:** ~25g protein, optional but recommended ≥1g/kg carbohydrate (65g at 65kg)

Consuming ≥1g/kg of carbohydrate PreSession is where you will noticeably feel the difference. One client said his minimum threshold was 75g, and that since applying this strategy he has had some of the best board climbing sessions of his life.

Applying this strategy, feedback is...

- Sustained power and concentration during sessions without any drop-off
- Finishing sessions feeling like they could have done even more work
- No cravings for snacks post sessions, after dinner, and throughout the week
- Being able to diet without feeling like they have lowered their energy intake
- Feeling recovered, less sore, solid, robust, and resilient

### SAS application

The most versatile and gut friendly practice I have found is using cooked rice. Pair your rice with fruit, and something sugary like a granola bar. Then an easy digesting protein source such as a whey, or a plant-based protein shake providing ~25g protein per serving.

- Consume 1–1.5 cups (150–250g) of cooked salted rice ~40 minutes before your training or performance sessions. This provides ~40–60g of easily digestible carbohydrate. 
- Pair the rice ("carb stack") with other sources such as fruit or sugary snacks to achieve ≥1g/kg carbohydrate
- You may prefer to use a sweeter "rice pudding" strategy, such as mixing the rice together with honey, raisins, banana
- It's best not to consume fats or oils PreSession, as they can slow gut transit, and you could feel fuller
- Repeat this again immediately after your session, or at least just the protein

I personally eat 250g of cooked basmati rice, a banana, and caramel wafer. This provides ~100g of carbs, and "carb stacking" like this allows you to easily eat more. For my typical 2-2.5-hour mixed training and climbing sessions, I use this strategy before and immediately afterwards. So it is a cumulative ~200g carbohydrate, and ~60g protein across the training window.

{% fig '/assets/images/applied-strategy.svg','The useful. applied nutrition strategy','The useful. applied nutrition strategy. Surround your session with high glucose, amino acids, and energy availability.' %}

## How I cook rice

This recipe will produce ~3 cups of cooked rice. I personally use basmati ([Tilda](https://www.tilda.com)), but this should work for most rice varieties.

- Add 1 cup of uncooked rice to a pan with 2.5 cups of cold water, and salt
- Place lid on the pan, and bring to the boil
- As it hits boiling point, turn down to a simmer, stir, replace lid, and set your timer for 10 minutes
- Around 5 minutes, check and give the rice a stir, replace lid, and continue simmering
- As the timer finishes 10 minutes, turn off the heat, stir, replace lid, and allow rice to rest for 2–3 minutes
- You now have around 500g (18oz) of cooked rice, which can be split into your pre-/post-session strategy

### Jason's onigiri blocks

My coaching client {% ig 'Jason Leddington', 'the8aproject' %} used onigiri rice blocks.

> I often make several blocks at a time but try to use them within 24 hours, as they start to harden if they're refrigerated for too long. If I know that I'm going to train after work, I'll take a block with me and eat it while I'm walking to the car for the drive home, or even as I drive. --- Jason Leddington ({% ig '@the8aproject', 'the8aproject' %})

- [Onigiri Japanese rice balls](https://www.seriouseats.com/onigiri-japanese-rice-balls-7229388)
- Japanese short-grain rice ([Nishiki](https://amzn.to/3MFpYHi)) is sticky enough to form cohesive shapes
- ~240g rice blocks can be made using these [pink onigiri molds](https://amzn.to/3uj0A3A)
- Season with a layer of miso, furikake, or crunchy pickled umeboshi plums, and wrap in [nori sheets](https://amzn.to/3FUyXk4)

<br>
<div class="grid-3">

{% fig '/assets/images/onigiri-01.jpeg','Cooked rice in a rice cooker beside a pink onigiri mold, plate, and food scale','' %}
{% fig '/assets/images/onigiri-02.jpeg','Pressing cooked rice into the pink onigiri mold with its lid','' %}
{% fig '/assets/images/onigiri-05.jpeg','Two finished onigiri rice blocks wrapped in nori on a plate','' %}

</div>