Months out
Structured Weight Loss for Female Combat Athletes
The biggest opportunity to make weight well happens weeks and months before the scales, improving body composition while protecting training, recovery and health.
Read the full guideNutrition built for female athletes
Female physiology isn't a footnote. It's the starting point. Your menstrual cycle, iron status, bone health, energy availability and life stage all shape how your body responds to training, recovery and weight-making, and your nutrition strategy should account for every one of them.
Whether you're chasing a podium, a title, or simply training to feel strong, STRIVE has the edge.
The athletes we work with
From first fights to world titles, some of the female athletes STRIVE is proud to support.
Making weight, built for female fighters
For combat and weight-category athletes, making weight isn't one decision. It's three phases. Most weight-cutting advice was built around male physiology. STRIVE's approach is built for yours.
Fight week
Acute Weight Cutting: The Hidden Risks for Female Combat Athletes
Female athletes respond differently to rapid weight loss. Total body water, sweat rates and cycle-driven fluid shifts all matter. Screened, planned, supervised.
Read the full guide
After weigh-in
Refuelling After Weigh-In: A Female Combat Athlete's Guide to Recovery
What happens between weigh-in and competition decides whether you step in flat or ready to perform. Recovery, individualised to your cut and schedule.
Read the full guideMeet your dietitians
Hannah Crinnion
Accredited Practising Dietitian
A Sports Dietitian with experience across a wide range of sports, Hannah combines evidence-based nutrition with a practical, down-to-earth approach, preaching balance that fits into real life and training demands.
Growing up in athletics and dancing, she understands first-hand the physical and mental demands of high-performance sport. She works closely with athletes to translate nutrition science into simple, effective strategies that optimise energy, strength and body composition, unique to each athlete.
Laekin Rose
Accredited Practising Dietitian
Laekin is an Accredited Sports Dietitian specialising in youth sports nutrition, helping young athletes optimise their nutrition to support growth, development, health, and performance. She also works with recreational and elite adult athletes to enhance performance, recovery, and long-term health through evidence-based nutrition.
Laekin also has particular expertise in women's health and nutrition, supporting female athletes with practical, sustainable strategies that improve health, performance and wellbeing across all life stages.
How STRIVE can help
Personalised Nutrition Consultation
A comprehensive 1:1 assessment with an Accredited Sports Dietitian, built around you as an individual.
Training & Competition Fuelling
Practical strategies to fuel sessions, race days and competition, matched to your schedule and sport.
Recovery Nutrition
Nutrition to support muscle repair, adaptation and backing up day after day.
Iron & Nutrient Support
Evidence-based guidance on iron and key nutrients, in collaboration with your GP where testing is needed.
RED-S & Low Energy Availability
Support to restore energy availability and protect performance, bone health and long-term wellbeing.
Body-Composition Guidance
A measured, health-first approach to body composition, built on data, not guesswork.
DEXA & Bone-Density Scanning
Gold-standard body-composition and bone-density measurement at our Alexandria clinic.
RMR Metabolic Testing
Measure, rather than estimate, your resting metabolic rate to inform your fuelling strategy.
Safe Weight-Making Strategies
For weight-category athletes: structured, supervised approaches to making weight built for female physiology.
Initial nutrition consultation
A comprehensive, 1:1 assessment with an Accredited Sports Dietitian, designed to understand you as an individual. We assess:
- Training demands, goals and competition schedule
- Menstrual health, medical history and life stage
- Current intake, digestion and previous approaches
- DEXA and RMR data, where relevant, for added precision
You leave with a personalised, evidence-based nutrition strategy aligned with your performance and health goals.
DEXA & metabolic testing
Objective data can take the guesswork out of key decisions. DEXA provides gold-standard measurement of body composition and bone density, while RMR testing measures, rather than estimates, the energy your body uses at rest.
For female athletes, this is particularly useful for tracking bone health, informing fuelling targets, and monitoring body composition in a measured, health-first way. Not every athlete needs testing. Your dietitian will discuss whether it adds value for you.
Frequently asked questions
I've lost my period. Can a dietitian help?
A missing or irregular period can have many causes, so the first step is seeing your GP to rule out medical reasons. Where low energy availability is a contributing factor, an Accredited Sports Dietitian can help you restore your fuelling to match your training demands, and we regularly work alongside GPs and other health professionals to support this.
What is RED-S?
Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) occurs when the body doesn't have enough energy available to support both training and normal body functions. It can affect recovery, bone health, menstrual function, immunity, mood and performance. Support typically involves restoring energy availability through nutrition, alongside your broader healthcare team.
Should I be taking iron supplements?
Not without testing. Iron needs vary widely between athletes, and supplementing without knowing your levels can be unhelpful or even harmful. We recommend blood testing through your GP first, then your dietitian can help you address intake through food and, where appropriate, discuss supplementation as part of the bigger picture.
What does a DEXA scan show, and do I need one?
DEXA provides gold-standard measurement of body fat, lean mass and bone density. It's a useful tool for tracking changes objectively and informing decisions, but not every athlete needs one. Your dietitian will discuss whether it adds value for your situation.
I want to lose weight or change my body composition. Is that something you support?
Yes, with a measured, health-first approach. We focus on body-composition goals that support your performance and long-term health, built on data rather than guesswork, at a pace that protects your training, recovery and wellbeing.
Do you offer online appointments?
Yes. Consultations are available online Australia-wide, so you can access support wherever you train. DEXA and RMR testing are conducted in person at our Alexandria clinic in Sydney.
Do I need to be an elite athlete to book?
Not at all. We work with women at every level, from those just starting to train seriously through to developing and elite athletes. If you're active and want your nutrition to support your training and health, you're exactly who this is for.