The nutrition system that gets you back to sport after Achilles rupture — without losing muscle or watching it fall apart.
Three phase-specific 7-day meal plans built by a Sports & Performance Dietitian who ruptured her own Achilles playing footy. Practical food, real macros, no guesswork.
If you've ruptured your Achilles, you're probably quietly terrified of one of these.
Most athletes don't talk about it openly. But after working with dozens of people through Achilles recovery — and going through it myself — these are the three fears that come up every single time.
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Activity drops overnight, appetite doesn't. The "eat less" instinct kicks in — but slashing food now is the fastest way to lose muscle, slow tendon repair, and make recovery harder. There's a smarter way.
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Every week of inadequate nutrition is a week your body is rebuilding more slowly than it could be. You can't shortcut tendon healing, but you can make sure nutrition isn't the thing slowing it down.
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Tendon lengthens when it heals long and weak — and weak collagen formation is part of why. The collagen + vitamin C protocol exists for a reason. So does eating enough to give your body something to build with.
You can't rush tendon healing. But you can stop nutrition from being the thing holding you back.
My story:
I ruptured my Achilles playing footy. I'm a Sports Dietitian. & I still couldn't find good info.
In July 2025, mid-game, I felt that unmistakable "someone kicked me from behind" sensation. Achilles rupture. At first I was just grateful it wasn't my ACL — I had no idea I was at the start of a long, gruelling recovery.
Exercise rehab protocols are everywhere. Nutrition for tendon healing? Almost nothing — and most of what's out there is wrong.
So I did what I do for athletes every day: I pulled together the research, built the protocols, and tested everything on myself across all the phases. Then I put it into the resource I wish had existed the day I went down.
This is that resource. The 3-phase meal plans give you the exact foodyou need to pair with your rehab.
The 3-phase meal plan bundle:
Three phases. 21 days of meals. Built to match how your body actually heals.
Generic meal plans don't work after an Achilles rupture. Your needs change dramatically as you move from acute healing → early rehab → strength rebuilding. The bundle gives you a phase-specific 7-day plan for each stage — designed by a Sports Dietitian who lived it.
Phase 1 - Acute Healing (1–4 weeks post-rupture)
What it covers:
7-day meal plan, 3 meals + 1 snack
2.2–2.5g/kg protein focus
Collagen/vit C + creatine + omega-3 protocol
60/70/80kg athlete scaling
Full recipes + weekly shopping list
Goal: Protect muscle, control inflammation, lay foundations for tendon repair.
Phase 2 - Early Rehab (4-12 weeks post-rupture)
What it covers:
7-day meal plan, calories step up
Pre-rehab carb primer (5 options)
Carbs strategically reintroduced
60/70/80kg athlete scaling
4 batch-cook meals + shopping list
Goal: Match the increasing rehab load, fuel collagen formation, prevent body fat increases and muscle loss.
Phase 3 - Strengthening & Rebuilding (12-26 weeks post-rupture)
What it covers:
7-day plan, calories back to pre-injury
Carbs prioritised for strength work
Protein optimised at 1.8–2g/kg
60/70/80kg athlete scaling
4 batch-cook meals + shopping list
Goal: Rebuild calf muscle, support tendon remodelling, progressive training load.
The Full 3-Phase Bundle - $97 (save $43)
one-off payment · instant download
✓ 3 phase-specific PDFs
✓ 21 days of meals + recipes
✓ 60/70/80kg scaling
✓ Gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian and vegan options
What's inside:
Four things every guide gives you.
No fluff. No filler. Everything you need to fuel the phase you're in — and nothing you don't.
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Simple breakdown of why this phase matters, what your body is doing, and what nutrition needs to look like to support it.
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Day-by-day grid showing exactly what to eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack — with calories, protein, fat and carbs per meal.
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Ingredients, method, prep time, and macros for every meal — including 2–3 batch-cook heroes per phase to keep weeknights easy.
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Consolidated grocery list organised by aisle. Hand it to anyone — partner, parent, flatmate — and they can shop the whole week for you.
What athletes are saying:
“The guide and meals were so easy to follow while I was on crutches and had low energy after rehab. Having something to stick to made me feel like I was putting in all the effort I could!”
Not ready for the full bundle?
Start here for free.
The Nutrition for Achilles Rupture starter guide gives you the same science behind the meal plans, in a 25-page eBook you can download right now. No card, no commitment — just useful info from a Sports Dietitian who's been in your shoes!
Questions you might have.
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Yes. The plans are built around three reference body weights, but the principles scale — and the macro tables show you exactly how the daily targets shift. If you're 65kg, you sit between the 60kg base and 70kg add-on; at 75kg, between 70kg and 80kg. Most people work out their right serving size within a day. For fully personalised guidance, check out the Spice Performance Method 1:1 coaching at the end of each guide.
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No. The recipes are templates — once you understand the macro target of each meal, you can swap protein, carbs and veg of similar nutritional value. The recipes give you a proven starting point so you don't have to guess.
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Yes — the nutrition principles for tendon repair are essentially identical. The phase you're in is what matters most: are you immobilised? Doing controlled rehab? Strengthening? Pick the phase that matches your current rehab stage and follow that plan.
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The current plans are omnivore-based but have vegan and vegetarian as well as dairy free and gluten free alternatives. Most lunches and dinners have natural vegetarian swaps (legumes, tofu, tempeh) that hit the same protein target. If you need a fully customised plan around allergies or dietary preferences, the 1:1 Spice Performance Method is the right fit.
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Instantly. As soon as your payment goes through, you'll get download links for all 3 PDFs — readable on phone, tablet, laptop or printed.
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No. This is nutrition guidance designed to complement medical and physiotherapy advice — not replace it. Always follow your treating team's protocols. The phase timings are based on typical rehab milestones and may need adjusting to your specific surgical or non-surgical pathway.