Nutri-Grain ironman: Newport surf gun Issac Smith’s new diet working wonders

He’s the ironman who attributes his recent success in surf life saving to a new diet and plenty of in-house competition at his Sydney club.

Ironman Issac Smith in action. Pic: Supplied.

Isaac Smith admits his diet might not be what most people believe fuels an ironman.

In fact, when he first looked into becoming vegan he thought the only thing he could eat was a lot of lettuce.

“Nothing could be further from the truth,’’ he said.

Smith said his protein levels are higher than they were before he started on the diet he has adopted to help with sinus issues which in the past required to surgeries and also problems with chronic fatigue and glandular fever.

Ironman Issac Smith is one of numerous NSW athletes in the series this year. Pic: Supplied.

“I changed my diet a year ago and that’s been a game changer,” Smith said.

“I cut out dairy and then red meat.

“I had no idea how I would train at all. I thought I’d only be eating lettuce but I get protein through chickpeas and tofu, red kidney beans, so my protein levels are actually up.”

The 22-year-old primary school teacher from Curl Curl is now competing out of Newport, a club boasting some of the biggest names in NSW surf lifesaving.

The club has three men and for women in the series in Smith, Jackson Borg and Zach Morris and Lizzie Welborn, Jemma Smith, Emily Doyle and Madison Spencer.

Jackson Borg in action at the Nutri-Grain ironman trials last year. Pic: Harvpix

“I moved to Newport to be with a bigger squad,’’ he said.

“It’s a pretty amazing environment to train in. There’s a lot of chasing and catching going on.

Lucky we have three guys in the series so every session is intense.

“I’m really passionate about NSW athletes staying here. Really grateful James Brook has created the environment where we can stay, where you can get the results and still be her at home.’’

Lizzie Welborn on her way to a podium finish an ironwoman race last year.

The first two rounds of the iron series have been posponed due to the coronavirus outbreak in NSW with officials are hoping to kickstart the series in February.

The inaugural Nutri-Grain Next-Gen Series, for athletes aged under 17 and under 19 will run as a curtain raiser event.

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