Unlock Your Performance: Nutrition

Hey Just Tri babes!

Welcome to part 3 of "The Controllables" mini series! If you haven't read about the importance of sleep and hydration, I highly recommend you follow this blog with those posts next. If you are new here, this mini blog series covers the nine (9) fundamental pillars of recovery and female athlete performance.

This week's blog post focuses on nutrition, specifically energy availability around training, competition and recovery, and adopting optimal food choices during each phase of the menstrual cycle.

All athletes recognize the value of training for their sport but some fail to realize how influential their nutrition is on their physical training and recovery. Food is the ultimate fuel and medicine for body, brain, and hormone function. If your body isn't properly nourished you'll notice sports performance decrements, reduced training gains, and longer recovery periods.

You've probably heard it before, "food is fuel". What you eat provides a foundation for your body to operate optimally or sub optimally. Understanding your body's needs around working out and within each phase of your menstrual cycle is going to set you up for the most success.

The first step is to build a positive relationship with food and why you consume it.

Did you know that your daily basal metabolic rate (i.e. brain function, rest, digestion, etc.) burns almost four (4) times as many calories than your average workout's expenditure? That's why eating throughout the day and around your training bouts are crucial for sustaining basic energy levels.

Also, did you know that as your body's physiology changes in each menstrual cycle's phase so should the foods you eat? Exploring the power of food and it's profound impact on your hormonal health, cognitive function, and overall wellness might be very eye opening. I'll scratch the surface a little later in the blog... stay tuned.

What does fueling a female athlete properly look like?

Despite what you may read or what you've heard, there’s no one magic food or supplement that will help you overcome a poor diet. Consuming the right combination of macronutrients (macro for short) is the best way to fuel performance. The tiny building blocks within foods are called macros and they support processes within every system of the body and provide calories (i.e. energy) for your daily life and activities.

The three (3) types of macros and their primary functions are:

• Carbohydrates: provide the body with energy, stored as muscle glycogen
• Proteins: build and repair muscle
• Fats: help the body make hormones and provide energy

As a rule of thumb, your daily nutrition should consist of:

~ 40% carbohydrates

~ 30% protein

~ 30% fat

Carbohydrate intake for female athletes:

- For high intensity training (60-120min), you need 1.6 to 1.8 grams of carbs/lb/day.

- For endurance training (2-5 hours), you need 2 to 2.7 grams of carbs/lb/day.

- For extreme training (5+ hours), you need 2.7 to 3.1 grams of carbs/lb/day.

Protein intake for female athletes:

- For endurance training, you need 0.8 to 1.0 gram of protein/lb/day.

- For strength training, you need 1.0 to 1.5 grams of protein/lb/day.

- For optimal recovery, you need 25 to 30 grams of protein within the first 30 minutes post-training/event.

Use this simple equation to help you know your daily needs:

(weight in pounds) x (grams of macro for activity level) = total grams of macro needed 

Snack Examples that will support a GREAT performance:

Pre-Workout/Competition

Consume 1-3 hours pre-exercise:

• Greek Yogurt and fruit
• Whole wheat toast or bagel with a scoop of peanut butter and a banana
• Oatmeal with fruit, nuts and honey
• Almond butter on an apple
• Grapes, berries, and oranges

During

Properly hydrating is the most important thing to do during exercise (reference the "Unlock Your Recovery: Hydration" for more details). If you work out for more than 45-minutes to an hour, you'll need 40-50 grams of carbohydrates to sustain your energy. Eat fruit or a granola bar, every 30 minutes to keep your energy elevated.

Post-Workout

The body needs carbohydrates to replenish the energy stores, and protein to repair muscles. Try one of these combinations within 30-minutes post-workout:

• A fruit smoothie with Greek yogurt or a scoop of protein powder
• Chocolate milk
• Peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole wheat bread
• Salmon, sweet potato, and green beans
• A whole grain muffin or bagel with peanut butter and a protein bar
• A rice bowl with chicken, black beans, and sautéed vegetables

 Let's Cycle Sync your Nutrition

Adopting a cyclical way to eating is contrary to what we've been taught but it's the best way to partner with your body and get in tune with your biology. This method stems from the fact that your body isn't the same every day across your cycle, so your diet shouldn't be either. Eating the right foods within each phase will provide amazing benefits and optimize your life and sports performance.

Follicular Phase

Eat fresh, vibrant, light foods to sustain your higher energy levels during this phase. Consume more phytoestrogens - plant-based compounds that mimic the body's natural hormone (i.e. estrogen) - while estrogen levels are lower and beginning to rise. Eat foods like string beans, zucchini, carrots, kimchi, sauerkraut, oats, and lean proteins (like chicken or trout).

Ovulatory Phase

Eat mostly raw foods to balance the core body temperature elevation from ovulation and increase estrogen metabolism in order to reduce acne breakouts and bloating. Eat foods like red peppers, spinach, tomato, leafy greens, raspberries, strawberries, quinoa, and corn.

Luteal Phase

Your metabolic rate is lower during the follicular and ovulatory phases so eating lighter during those phases will support those caloric needs. But during the luteal phase, your body needs more calories and if you're not properly supporting the body's needs it can lead to carb cravings. Eat foods like sweet potatoes, brown rice, collards, mustard greens, watercress, chickpeas, pears, apples, walnuts, roasted root vegetables, and millet.

Menstrual Phase

Your hormones are at the lowest levels during this phase so you should compensate by increasing your protein intake, healthy fats, and foods with iron and zinc. Eat foods like red meat, kidney beans, buckwheat, blueberries, blackberries, watermelon, seafood, kelp, nori, and mushrooms.

Making behavior changes to optimize your life and performance can be overwhelming, at first. Start by learning more about your body and listening to it (i.e. cravings, mood swings, etc.). Tracking your cycle and knowing your unique patterns will help you manage menstrual cycle symptoms and performance efforts. It's important to work with your hormones, not against them!

Thank you for reading my blog this week! I hope you find it beneficial to your sports performance and cycle syncing journey.

Have a great week! And as always, Just Tri!!

Yours in Sport,

Lindsay

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