My Marathon Diet. Hi I am Neil Shah, Director of The Stress Management Society, and this is my story on how my marathon training diet helped me to improve my fitness and running time for the London marathon.

"Having run two previous marathons and neither of them quite the experience I had hoped for, I was determined this year to be healthier and stronger than ever before and to ensure that not only did I train appropriately but to also fuel myself effectively.

I came across an innovative training strategy that involved massively reducing carbohydrate intake, so as to reduce my body’s reliance on sugar as a fuel source.

The problem was that I was overwhelmed with work, had a hectic training routine and had to travel extensively due to my job, so finding time to not only to eat but also to prepare food, was becoming exceedingly difficult.

Then I was introduced to a Bodychef home delivery diet. After discussing my specific requirements they created a bespoke diet plan to fuel me appropriately during my training programme.

I then gladly took up the challenge set by the Bodychef team to utilise their diet plan in my preparation for the 2009 Flora London Marathon, and I was truly astounded at the results.

I lost nearly 12 kilos during my training through a combination of regular exercise and a healthy balanced diet! I felt more energised and stronger than ever before, and I had far less stress and more time as I didn’t have to worry about shopping or meal preparation.

As I am not an elite athlete, I didn’t have access to the kind of nutritional support a professional would, however, with the knowledge and advice of the Bodychef team I felt I had a winning nutritional combination that was a major factor in the success of my latest marathon experience – in which I managed to take over half an hour off my previous personal best time!

I would highly recommend the Bodychef’s fresh food services – not only to people that are very active or athletic – but to anyone that wants to fuel a happier and healthier lifestyle."

Neil Shah, Director of The Stress Management Society