“Most athletes I’ve encountered tend toward a ‘more is better’ approach in their training.  In the case of nutrition, however, this usually manifests in ‘less is better’, as in: restriction & weight loss is the path to better performance.  I’ve seen athletes cut out entire food groups (like fruits & starches) or dramatically shift their eating through methods such as intermittent fasting or going vegan without proper foresight.  Unfortunately, there is a downside of restrictive diets for athletes.

Since discipline is a badge of honor for athletes this behavior is met with praise:  ‘Wow, you’re so GOOD for skipping dessert!’ or ‘You’re looking so fit!  How are you doing it?’

In the short term, it can feel to the athlete like these restrictive practices actually improve performance.  In fact, there can be a momentary bump due to acute water weight loss, dopamine release in response to the ‘newness’ of a diet, & psychological reinforcement from coaches, friends & training buddies.  But I promise you:  If an eating pattern does not supply the necessary nutrients for proper body function, the honeymoon period is transient & a grim reality will set in.

Diet vs Eating Pattern

Let’s first address key differences between a ‘diet’ & an ‘eating pattern’.  Diets, especially of the faddish quick-fix variety, tend to come with rules, restrictions, lack of scientific evidence & perhaps even supplements or meal replacement items.  In contrast, eating patterns remain flexible, can be applied to literally any food situation & don’t require you to buy anything you can’t find in your local grocery store.  An eating pattern is sustainable & can be enjoyed for a lifetime whereas a diet tends to leave one counting down the days to when it will finally be over.

How about some word association to really paint a picture?  Individuals I’ve worked with who have established healthful, sustainable eating patterns tend to use words like:

• empowered
• confident
• relaxed
• enjoyable
• easy

Those who come to me on strict diets use words like:

• frustration
• confusion
• anxiety
• like being in a prison
• tiring

Restrictive Eating & Underfueling

Pretty vivid contrast, right?  Besides feeling tenuous, restrictive eating sets the athlete up for being underfueled.  Food restriction is largely based on external information for what/when/how to eat.  The app or the book or the friend tells you what to do, so you disregard your own body cues & wisdom.  Furthermore, restrictive eating is rooted in diet culture & weight loss — NOT performance enhancement.  The main goal of all restrictive diets is to make your body smaller while completely disregarding your relationship to food & your wellbeing (much less getting you to the start line of an endurance race with a healthy body!).

At the very least, acute underfueling can lead to crummy training sessions, fatigue & grumpiness.  Worst case scenario is that underfueling becomes chronic & manifests itself in pathological behaviors such as disordered eating.  Given the right conditions (or perhaps, the wrong conditions) that super-disciplined eating approach can morph into an all-consuming eating disorder that threatens far more than your next race.

Signs of Underfueling

Here are some signs of underfueling that, if not caught early, can negatively progress:

• Chronic fatigue that can’t be explained by training load
• Loss of interest in training & other activities
• Bonking during workouts, even if you think you’ve fueled well going in
• Frequent illness—catching everything that’s going around or taking longer to recover from illness than others
• Frequent injuries—either recurring or inability to fully heal & get back to training
• Sleep disturbances (dreaming about food!)
• Preoccupation with food—spending extended amounts of time planning food, scouring menus before eating out, making large amounts of restricted foods to give away to others, thinking about food much of the day
• Excessive hunger that is not fully satisfied by meals
• Hormonal disruptions—menstrual dysfunction for women; lack of libido, mood swings, emotional outbursts for all genders
• Hematological dysfunction—low iron or other blood values that reflect poor nutrition

It is important to note that underfueling can be intentional (through dietary restriction) or unintentional (due to scheduling conflicts, ignoring hunger cues or interrupted access to food).  Some of the above signs of underfueling can also be signs of overtraining—where no amount of nutrition can make up for the excessive stress load on the body.  To solve this training must be downregulated or halted altogether.

Now that you can differentiate between diets & healthful eating patterns, stay tuned for next week’s tips on how to stay well-fueled for training & life!”

If you’d like to chat with Erin, feel free to email or connect with her through the Let’s Chat button on her website.