Answering Your Fuelling Questions — With RED-Scue’s Founder
I’ve been talking to our community and athletes about fuelling, and I keep hearing the same questions.
Not just “How many grams of carbohydrate should I eat?”
But:
How do I actually eat when life is busy, stressful and already full?
Because sometimes the problem isn't knowing what to eat.
It’s making the act of eating practical.
So here are some of the questions I hear most often.
“Is RED-Scue just for before training?”
It can be.
But it doesn't have to be.
RED-Scue is a carbohydrate-focused food, so it can be used wherever it fits into your day — before training, during longer sessions, afterwards, or simply as something to eat when you realise you haven't eaten.
It isn't a “before training only” product.
“Am I meant to train fasted?”
No. You don't need to train fasted.
There are different reasons someone might choose to train without eating beforehand, and some people may occasionally do so depending on the session and circumstances.
If you're already struggling to eat enough, constantly busy, or regularly missing meals, adding “I should train fasted” to the list of things you're supposed to be doing isn't helpful.
Your training needs fuel.
And so does the rest of your day.
“Is RED-Scue just for after training?”
No.
And this is something I really want people to understand about carbohydrate.
It's not just a recovery nutrient.
Carbohydrate can be useful before, during and after exercise, depending on the session and your individual needs.
But RED-Scue isn't only about exercise.
Sometimes you just need something to eat.
“What about protein?”
Protein matters.
But I don't think every single thing you eat needs to be a perfectly balanced mini-meal.
Carbohydrate and protein have different roles.
RED-Scue is designed primarily as a carbohydrate food.
You can get your protein from your meals and other foods throughout the day.
Think about your overall diet rather than asking whether every individual snack does everything.
“What if I'm not training?”
You still need to eat.
This sounds obvious, but it's something athletes can forget.
You don't stop needing energy because you've taken a rest day.
You don't stop needing food because you're working from home.
And you don't need to earn food through exercise.
Your training load will affect how much you need, but food is not only fuel for exercise.
It's fuel for your whole day.
“I work from home and completely forget to eat.”
This comes up again and again.
You sit down at your laptop.
You get hyperfocused.
One email becomes five.
A task becomes a project.
You tell yourself you'll eat after you've finished.
Then another thing comes up.
And suddenly it's 3pm.
“Oh. I haven't eaten.”
The food might literally be in the kitchen.
But you don't want to stop.
And this is where I think we need to talk about decision fatigue.
“I'm so stressed and hyperfocused. Food is the last thing on my mind.”
When you're already overwhelmed, food can feel like another thing you have to organise.
What am I going to eat?
Do I need to cook?
Is this healthy enough?
Do I need protein?
Do I need carbs?
Should I eat now or later?
Do I have time?
It becomes another decision.
And sometimes you simply can't be bothered to make another decision.
So you don't eat.
“Sometimes there's food there. I just don't want it.”
This is another one I've heard.
You open the fridge.
There's food.
But nothing looks appealing.
So you close it again.
You think:
I'll eat later.
Then later comes.
And you're even more tired.
Then lunch has passed.
And suddenly you're trying to power through until dinner.
Having food available isn't always enough.
It needs to be food you can actually imagine yourself eating.
“I miss lunch because I'm training.”
This one is particularly relevant for busy athletes.
You have an hour.
You use it to train.
Then you shower.
Get back to your desk.
And realise:
You never ate lunch.
Training shouldn't automatically mean sacrificing a meal.
If you know you're training at lunchtime, think about what you'll eat around it.
It doesn't have to be complicated.
It could be a proper meal before or after.
It could be something simple immediately after and a meal later.
The point is:
Don't let training make eating impossible.
“I don't want to make a massive meal.”
I get it.
Sometimes you don't need a massive meal.
You just need something.
Something you can actually face eating.
Something that doesn't require:
cooking,
preparation,
washing up,
a recipe,
or sitting down for an hour.
This is one of the reasons I created RED-Scue.
“I just want something I can grab.”
Exactly.
Something you can keep in your bag.
At your desk.
In your gym kit.
With you when you're travelling between things.
Something you can reach for when you've suddenly realised:
“I've barely eaten today.”
RED-Scue bars contain around 38g of carbohydrate per bar and are made with ingredients including cassava, plantain and dates.
They're designed to be food-first, natural and practical.
Not another complicated nutrition rule.
“I want something I can keep in the car.”
This is real life.
Sometimes you're eating between places.
Driving to training.
Driving home.
Going from work to the kids.
Going from university to the gym.
You don't necessarily want something that explodes into crumbs all over your car.
You want something you can grab, eat and carry on.
That's the kind of convenience I wanted RED-Scue to provide.
“I get to 3pm and haven't eaten. Then it feels too late.”
It isn't too late.
You don't have to wait until dinner because you've missed lunch.
Eat something now.
It doesn't need to be a massive meal.
It doesn't need to be perfect.
It doesn't need to “make up” for everything you've missed.
Just start eating again.
Because the longer you keep putting it off, the harder it can feel.
“Sometimes when I finally eat, I feel awful afterwards.”
If you've gone for hours without eating, a large meal can feel difficult for some people.
And if you've got to get straight back to work, you might feel like you've completely lost your afternoon.
This is another reason I like having smaller, practical options available.
It doesn't mean replacing meals.
It means not having every bit of food you consume depend on one big meal.
And if eating regularly is difficult because of persistent gut symptoms or pain, that's something worth discussing with a qualified healthcare professional rather than simply pushing through it.
“I get decision fatigue around food.”
This might be the biggest one.
When you've got:
work + training + kids + uni + life
you've already made hundreds of decisions.
Food becomes another.
And eventually you're thinking:
“I genuinely cannot think about what to eat.”
So make fewer decisions.
Have reliable foods.
Repeat meals you like.
Keep easy options available.
Put food where you'll actually see it.
And have something ready for the days when everything goes wrong.
“So what is RED-Scue actually for?”
For me, it's the practical bit.
It's the bar you keep in your bag.
The one on your desk.
The one you take to training.
The one you have available when lunch didn't happen.
The one you can reach for when you're busy, overwhelmed or simply don't have the capacity to make something.
It's not your whole nutrition plan.
It's not a replacement for proper meals.
And it's not telling you that you need to eat a bar every time you train.
It's simply an option.
A food-first carbohydrate option.
A convenient option.
And sometimes, a reminder.
Eat something.
Because that first step can help you move away from:
forget → don't eat → get more stressed → don't want food → keep going → realise it's 3pm.
And towards:
eat something → keep fuelling → eat again → carry on.
That's what I wanted RED-Scue to do.
Not make nutrition more complicated.
Make the act of eating more practical when life gets busy.
RED-Scue — food-first carbohydrate fuel for real life and training.
