I spend a lot of time encouraging women to eat more. Many of us grew up with the idea that restricting calories was the path to looking and feeling good. Then we beat ourselves up for feeling tired, irritable, AND hungry without noticing any performance or body changes.
First, and most importantly – weight is not a reflection of your health. The changes or recommendations I suggest are focused on lower inflammation, building resiliency in the body, and optimizing one’s health.
Secondly, diets don’t work. Anything you do as an extreme or radical short-term change that isn’t sustainable won’t last. It creates stress and when women are stressed – we gain fat.
I want everyone to feel AMAZING in their body. It has nothing to do with size. It does have to do with inflammation, glucose/insulin regulation, hormones, gut health and how emotionally comfortable each woman is in her own skin. This latter part is another discussion and truly one of the most important to have.
When you restrict your food intake your body SLOWS down its metabolism. This whole notion of “kick starting your metabolism” by not eating is false for women. Women go into conservation mode – thyroid function slows down, metabolism slows down, and the body stores more fat in preparation for long term famine.
The scary part – if you keep yourself in a calorie deficient state for too long, the changes listed above may become irreversible! It can also set you up for osteoporosis and compromise your immune system.
The secret to changing your body composition and gaining more energy is to EAT MORE. More than you might think. Eating adequate protein is also key. What you eat does matters, starting with eating enough is essential. You don’t expect your vehicle to run on empty, why ask that of your body.
So how much is enough? It depends. There’s not one general answer and I do not support the ‘one size fits all’ approach when it comes to health and wellness. Understanding what “metabolism” is can be helpful in figuring out how to best nourish yourself.
Metabolism, or your basic metabolic rate (BMR) is the energy used to keep your body alive and functioning. Every cell in your body needs energy to operate; building or maintaining muscle, retaining bone, making hormones, digestion, brain function and immune activity all require energy. Active metabolism is the energy your body uses to move, the basic activities of daily living AND exercise. The more you train, the more your body needs to fuel those activities.
When your energy demands are not met with sufficient fuel or energy intake, your body starts to slow your BMR as it’s trying to keep some energy in reserve for survival. This creates stress in the body, triggering the sympathetic or “flight or fight” response causing more cortisol to be released.
Remember that elevated cortisol in women typically leads to more fat deposition.
Your basal metabolic rate is influenced by genetics, how genes function is very much influenced by stress, nutrition, sleep, and activity. Meaning, even if you genetically have a slower BMR, you could potentially slow it down further by not eating enough and inadequately managing your stress.
Not everyone intentionally undereats. It’s very easy to unknowingly undereat when you change your activity level. You might be increasing your miles or lifting heavier or going to the gym more often than before. If you don’t adjust your fueling for those changes, it’s easy to slip into this underfed state – better known as a Low Energy Availability (LEA) state.
In short, LEA is when your energy intake does not match your energy demand.
Symptoms of LEA are not always obvious. If your periods stop, that’s a big warning sign that you’re in a low energy state and things need to change quick to prevent irreversible detrimental changes.
If you’re not having periods due to contraception or menopause or have irregular periods due to PCOS or peri menopause for example, using your period as an indicator may not be reliable. Other symptoms of undereating can include:
· Fatigue
· Irritability
· Poor performance or recovery
· Hormonal disruptions: irregular periods, worsening menopausal symptoms
· Stress fractures (these have many causes; LEA is just one possibility)
· Weakened immune system
· Digestive upset, nausea
If you feel like you’re training more, eating the right foods and yet your body is not responding, there’s a high probability you’re not eating enough.
Notice how I haven’t given any numbers as to how much you should eat? There’s a reason for that. It’s individual and varies with hormonal status, training load and the type of training. Research has suggested that 1500 calories per day is the minimum needed to just exist. That’s not working, training, or checking off your to-do list. That’s breathing, digesting, sleeping and occasionally thinking.
Add in exercise and your energy demand goes up. Give your body quality fuel to support cellular function and everything in life you’re trying to achieve and it will perform at a high level and you’ll feel more energized in the process.
Putting your focus on macros and WHEN you eat can be a more effective strategy and help avoid the whole calorie counting confusion, overwhelm and everything emotionally sabotaging that goes along with that.
Get good protein in the mornings, maybe some carbs if you’re on your way to workout. Don’t skip meals and prioritize fueling before workouts and immediately after to enhance recovery. Timing your nutrition around your workouts is a great step towards supporting your body adequately. If you can eat real food, even better.
Not sure where to go from here? Reach out with questions and don’t be afraid to listen to your intuition about fueling yourself.