Going Fast? Not Likely!

Vida Bennett
Mar 7, 2023
3 min read

It seems that most of my clients have had decades of diet culture telling them they eat too much. Remember the Special K ad that told us if we can pinch more than an inch, we could be overweight? That was in the 80’s. And before that, in the 70’s we had Nimble bread flying us in the sky like a bird, and Ryvita helping us win the inch war. We’ve been brought up to believe that less food and more exercise is the magic bullet. In fact, we’re STILL being told this.

And if that were really true, we’d all be Twiggy, right?

It’s really important to eat enough food just to sustain cellular body function and breathing. On top of that, we also need enough to fuel our movement, training and daily activity. Even hoovering takes energy (unless you have someone else to do that for you!).

I mean, I do get it. There’s STILL a little voice at the back of my head that worries that anything over 1000 calories will have me sharing a wardrobe with Hattie Jacques (who?? 😊 ). But most of my clients, when we start together are barely eating even enough to get out of bed. Then they’re exercising like a hooley on top of that, and they wonder why they’re feeling drained and tired, and collecting injury after illness after injury.

There are studies that show that long distance or endurance activities can dampen down our immune system, especially if we haven’t fuelled well. And this leaves us open to infection from all sorts of passing bugs.

If your intake of good food is too low to sustain your lifestyle, including your work, play and training, not only does it affect your immune system, musculoskeletal system and digestive system, but you could be putting the health of your bones at risk too. The risk of osteopenia and its big sister osteoporosis are both increased when oestrogen starts to drop, so it’s important to support your body with good food and weight based sessions. Running isn’t really enough for the health of your bones (but it’s not bad).

When it feels like nothing is working, people often turn to fasting – it’s on the telly, it must be good, right? Well no, actually. Fasting has been shown to be detrimental to the health of most menopausal endurance athletes (yes, that’s you!).

Stress from exercising, especially endurance training, and especially without fuelling properly, increases cortisol, our stress hormone. This rise can have disastrous effects on our hormonal system, even affecting thyroid function, which in turn, affects our metabolic efficiency, and increases the potential for injury. Cortisol also promotes fat storage.

It’s a good idea to have a little something before you train – perhaps a banana, a protein/cereal bar or a little eggy muffin, and to have a protein rich breakfast after. A word of warning about those cereal bars though – apart from watch out for added sugar syrups – sometimes, little bits of nuts, oats or cereal get stuck in your teeth, and when you inhale suddenly, you can choke yourself on loose bits!!! Banana is definitely safer!

Instead of fasting, a better approach to overall fuelling might be to eat a little more on the days you train hard or long, and a little less on light workout days, but never less than your base metabolic rate. Definitely don’t ditch the carbs though, your body needs them – but choose carbs that have more to give than just sugar – fruit, veggies, starchy veg are all going to promote better health while you’re training than a chocolate croissant or a slice of coffee and walnut cake! Protein is your friend, and especially within 30 minutes or so of finishing your session – you could choose a protein shake, or a couple of boiled eggs, but whatever it is, you’re looking at about 20g of protein post workout.

Oh, and do remember to set aside time to relax – rest and digest, as the saying goes. This also helps clear cortisol from your system, and is one of THE hardest things to ask people to do.

If you want to schedule a discovery call to find out how I can help you fuel your endurance training better, click here.