I’m on my way to the opening cocktail evening for the Food Writers Conference in Napier. The hotel lift opens at my floor and I stop, speechless, as Richie McCaw [current All Black captain] and a couple of his Canterbury Crusaders teammates smile nonchalantly out. No room for me – these boys are big! What am I doing wobbling off to eat and drink tonight? I should be in the gym chiselling my body like these amazing specimens. The momentary motivation passes as we enter the whitewashed historic Hawkes Bay Club, just a stone’s throw from our hotel.

“I’ve just walked into Brad Thorn’s stomach!” my friend Jenny from Beef and Lamb New Zealand says as we munch on large green Orcona jalapenos stuffed with cream cheese and sprinkled with smoked paprika. “Those boys are big!”

OK, I know eggs are a great food but I cannot believe that anyone would recommend eating 15 a day! That’s exactly what’s been recommended for the Indian rugby team to do in order to bulk up for next year’s Commonwealth Games Rugby 7’s. That’s a load of cholesterol and most nutritionists would have a heart attack just thinking about 15 eggs a day, not to mention the blokes who are actually eating them! I’m all for eggs but not that many (more about this later in the week).

More protein does not equal bigger muscles. If you want to bulk up and build bigger muscles you do need a bit more protein but not that much. An 80kg person needs around 100-160 grams of protein a day. 15 eggs provides 105 grams of protein but for all round good health and optimum energy for training this combination of foods suggested by the Australian Institute of Sport would be much better:  2 cups breakfast cereal with milk, 2 slices toast and a glass of juice; 2 chicken and salad rolls, a fruit bun, carton of flavoured milk and a banana; 2 cups of pasta with 100g lean meat and vegetables, a cup of low fat custard or creamed rice plus some extra fruit and a couple of cereal bars as snacks.

These foods provide carbohydrate as well as protein. It’s the carbs that give you the energy to train and it’s the training, not the protein, that builds more muscle. If you eat more protein than you need it doesn’t turn into muscle, it’s stored as fat!

I think a sports dietitian needs to offer his or her services to the Indian rugby team – soon!

Go to my other article on health benefits of eggs

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P.S. I’m not sure who needs to offer their services to our All Black rugby team after their two losses in South Africa against the Springboks. Maybe they feel OK, but I’m sure a few of their supporters could do with some grief counselling now that we have lost our number one world ranking!

Last night’s first of four transtasman rugby battles between the All Blacks and Wallabies for the Bledisloe Cup was a great game – that is if you support the All Blacks! After a shaky start, they beat Australia 22-16. Before you assume I’m a rugby fanatic, I have to admit loving rugby does not come naturally. I am training myself to enjoy watching rugby with my husband because, apparently, ‘recreational companionship’ is one of a husband’s top 5 needs from his wife. I’m sure you can guess what number one is!

Talking about training, I promised yesterday that I would give you some food ideas for the recovery meal which you should eat within an hour of finishing training. This meal is really important for athletes who are in serious training each day to reduce the risk of burning out and getting run down. You need 1-1.2 grams per kilo carbohydrate and about 10g (grams) of protein, as well as rehydrating about 1.5 times the amount of fluid you lose. If that all sounds a bit technical, just try one or two of these food combos plus some sports drink and water. Each one has about 50g carbohydrate and 10g protein…

• Large bowl fruit salad and 200g yoghurt
• Meat, chicken, tuna or cheese filled roll and a banana
• 600ml low fat flavoured milk
• Glass (300ml) fruit smoothie or milkshake
• 2 cups breakfast cereal with milk
• Large baked potato with cheese or cottage cheese and a glass of low fat milk or 200g carton yoghurt
• 300g creamed rice

For more details, check out the Australian Institute of Sport’s website. The dietitians who work there are at the cutting edge of sports nutrition.