Reaching for a can of diet Solo? What a dietitian makes of sugar-free drinks

Tina Rahimi is an Olympian. The 29-year-old shares her day on a plate.

5.30am A piece of multigrain toast with honey before strength training. I drink two litres of water throughout the day.

9am Breakfast is oats with almond milk, peanut butter and honey post-training.

1pm Chicken tenderloins in a wrap with lettuce, tomato, shredded carrot, onion and peri-peri sauce. I have a Solo No Sugar between lunch and dinner.

5.30pm Pan-seared steak with salt and pepper and a side of air-fried potatoes and homemade chimichurri sauce. I am a big foodie! Plus a Solo No Sugar.

7pm I usually have a sweet tooth at night, so I eat a milk chocolate bar.

Dr Joanna McMillan says

Top marks for… Your lunch and dinner are strong on quality protein from the chicken and the steak, supporting muscle repair after training. The steak is also one of the best sources of iron and other minerals. However, you don’t have much protein earlier in the day, making it harder for you to meet the high needs of a boxer.

If you keep eating like this you’ll… Fail to optimally support your elevated muscle metabolism and while your soft drinks are sugar-free, acidic, artificially sweetened drinks can erode dental enamel and nudge your gut microbiome in the wrong direction, with no hydration advantage over plain water.

Why don’t you try… Adding a protein source pre- and post-training in the form of a carton of yoghurt or boiled eggs. Swapping the almond milk for dairy or soy would also make a difference. Keep the no-sugar soft drinks to an occasional treat and lean more on water or electrolyte drinks.

Tina Rahimi represented Australia as a boxer at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

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