Hi Reader

This is fairly common scenario that I come across in practice. I see it more often in vegan and vegetarian athletes.

The scenario:

This athlete's objectives: To maintain weight but reduce the number of sick days they've had in recent months, reduce feelings of tiredness and get back to fuelling training optimally. They haven't had a period in 4 months (this is out of the ordinary).

Blood tests for Follicular-stimulating hormone, 17- Beta Oestradiol, Luteinizing hormone and Triiodothyronine (free T3) were all below reference ranges (these hormones relate to menstrual cycle status).

From a 4-day weighed food diary, the average energy intake was 1848 kcals, 250g carb (4.4g/kg bw 4- day average), 53g fibre, 62.5g protein (1.1 g/kg bw 4 -day av) and 76.5 g fat (1.3g/kg bw 4 – day average).

Vitamin B12, iron and calcium were all below recommended dietary intake ranges.

This athlete was classified as 'clinical' for low energy availability (EA). For your reference classifications are high EA, optimal EA, sub-clinical and clinical EA. Energy availability is the amount of dietary energy remaining for the body to function properly after accounting for exercise expenditure (this a very simplified explanation).

This athlete doesn't have a history disordered eating or eating disorders.

Dietary intake - a summary

• Has a preference for vegan diet.
• Three out of four training sessions completed fasted.
• No structure to pre - during - post training intake.
• High fibre (double the recommended intake for women) - lots of beans, muesli, fruits (pears), wholegrains. All healthy foods but can be detrimental to an athletes health and performance when training is not fueled adequately.
• Low protein intake- sporadic intake through the day.
• On the lower side of carbohydrate - the amount wouldn't be disastrous if all carb sources consumed weren't high fibre.
• Fat intake is mainly from unsaturated sources (walnuts, chia seeds, olive oil, avocado) and at 1.3 g/kg bw is ok if it is not displacing the intake of other macronutrients (carbs or protein).

Take away points:

• Under fueling may not be always intentional or related to disordered eating.
• Vegetarian and vegan athletes are at a higher risk of vitamin B12, iron and calcium deficiencies and should be monitored regularly. These vitamins and minerals play a vital role is energy muscle and bone metabolism. This is due to the nature of foods that are included and excluded. It is not good or bad, just something to be aware of.
• Healthy eating or what society calls 'clean eating' will jeopardise your sporting performance. Your muscles, immune system and central nervous system require carbohydrates for energy. Fibre doesn't provide your muscles with energy. It is vital for digestive health but this is where planning your intake around your training is important. Not all carbs are created equal.
• Focusing on regular intakes of protein to help with recovery and adaptations to training and immune function.
• To get this athlete back in the green (optimal EA), they need to consume on average 2787 kcals per day (some days lower and some days higher) for their training load and intensity. That is approximately 900 kcals more than what they are doing (this would not and should not be increased in one go).
• Men are also impacted by under fuelling in the same way.
• This highlights how unintentional under fuelling can impact your health and performance.

I hope this helps to highlight the importance of fueling for health and performance. This is especially important if you use the holiday season to ramp up your training. Make sure your nutrition matches.

Incoming changes:

I will have new coaching options starting January 6th. Something I have not offered before. I will have more information on the changes in the next newsletter.

Until next time,

Karen Hill Performance Nutritionist, PhD ​​

​