Editor’s Note: This is Part 2 of Erin’s article on Restrictive Diets & Athletes. Here’s the link to read Part 1.
“Last week I outlined the pitfalls of food restriction in athletes. Underfueling, whether intentional or unintentional, can lead to a host of short & long-term detriments to your training & health. So how can we avoid this underfueling mess & live in harmony with food? How can we stay well-fueled for training & life?
Three Tried & True Strategies
In the spirit of keeping things simple, here are 3 tried & true strategies that work for just about every athlete:
1. Know basic nutrition numbers. I have yet to meet an endurance athlete who doesn’t love numbers & data. Here are some basic figures to get you started.
- Macronutrient breakdown should generally fall in line with the Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Ranges (AMDR) as established by the Institute of Medicine. As a percentage of calories, they are: Carbohydrate 45%-65%, Fat 20%-35% and Protein 10%-35%.
- Most endurance athletes can meet protein needs with an intake between 1.2-1.6 g/kg/d. (To find your weight in kg simply divide weight in pounds by 2.2.)
- Carbohydrate intake adjusts upward on heavier training days. For most endurance athletes this ranges from 5-7 g/kg/d on moderate training days to 8-12g/kg/d for those long ride or brick days.
2. Get in touch with your body cues. Keep a journal of observations throughout the day of what sensations are happening in your body. What does hunger & fullness feel like to you? What about the spaces between those two? Body observations can not only help with nutrition, but also the need for mobility, rest, work breaks & stress reduction.
3. Show yourself grace. There is no perfect eating pattern. Read that again. Food serves many purposes in our lives & eating cannot always be (nor should it be) predictable & rigid. Live your life & appreciate all the ways food fuels your body & connects you to people.
Reducing Stress Surrounding Nutrition
Nutrition does not have to be complicated & joyless. Avoiding foods you love doesn’t make you a ‘better athlete’ or a ‘healthier human’ — it really just causes angst & frustration around eating. The stress you place on yourself to get it exactly right is far worse for your health & performance than just eating the donut! I encourage you to find your own balance of food freedom & fuel for training in order to be a happy, successful athlete!”
If you’d like to chat with Erin about all things food & eating, feel free to email or connect with her through the Let’s Chat button on her website.
Here is a list of past articles written by Erin Green: