4 Hard Truths for Athletes

Do you consider yourself an endurance athlete? If you are about to shrug this off and think that you’re NOT an endurance athlete, please know that you don’t have to race competitively or run ultra marathons to qualify for this.

Being an endurance athlete simply means running, biking, climbing, wake boarding, (insert your sport here), etc. for around 30 mins or more a day. Generally, I consider anyone who’s engaging in endurance activities multiple days per week to be an endurance athlete.

If you move your body on a regular basis, you’re an athlete and sports nutrition recommendations apply to you.

Whether you’re a competing athlete, a weekend warrior, or just someone who moves their body for the fun of it, there are some hard truths that will help you block out all the noise when it comes to nutrition so you can determine what’s best for you as an endurance athlete.

Hard Truth #1: Sugar in sports drinks isn’t something to be afraid of.

Have you seen all of the professional athletes out there talking about drinking high sugar sports products and either judged them silently or thought that you don’t work out enough to deserve drinking one of those while you do your sport?

There’s a lot to unpack there if you answered yes to either of those questions.

Simply speaking, our bodies absolutely need carbs for endurance events. Don’t think that eating a glob of brown rice is “holier” than downing some gummies. The complex carbs in brown rice take longer for our bodies to digest, which is usually a good thing. But if you’re out for the long haul and you need energy now, your body will be singing praises for the quick energy they can digest from the gummies or sports drinks. Gummies and other high sugar sports products are also easier to eat (and usually taste better), so it’s a win all around!

If you're scared of the sugar in sports nutrition products, you need to stop doing crazy long efforts and use that time to work with a therapist and a registered dietitian to unpack those fears. 

Hard Truth #2: Aiming for minimal calories can lead to Low Energy Availability

What is Low Energy Availability (LEA)?

Low Energy Availability occurs when your overall intake of food does not match the energy your body is expending through exercise and essential bodily functions. Prolonged LEA can lead to a syndrome you absolutely need to be aware of known as Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs).

Last time you saw a post about how many calories and grams of carbs you should be eating every day, if you saw it and thought “Alright, I’ll aim for the least amount of calories possible” - this is an opportunity to dive deeper into why you believe you should be eating as little as possible as an active individual.

You don’t usually only charge your phone just long enough to last a couple of hours before it dies. Ideally, you want to charge it all the way so that you have the energy needed for it to be used all day and it’s always a win when you have extra battery life.

The same thing applies to fueling your body.

Plus — it’s way more fun to just eat and enjoy food and feel amazing during your workouts instead of bonking halfway through.

Bottom line here is if you're triggered by discussions of calories and grams of carbs when a sports dietitian provides evidence-based recommendations for performance, you need to stop doing crazy long endurance efforts and use that time to work with a therapist and a registered dietitian to unpack those fears. 

Hard Truth #3: Not fueling during your workouts is putting you further away from your goals

I don’t mean only eating a meal after, but I’m talking about before and during too, especially for long endurance efforts (2.5+ hours).

What do you have to lose from drinking a quick glass of fruit juice before that long bike ride or run? You might actually have energy to perform better. Who wouldn’t want more energy?

If you're avoiding fueling your body before, during, and after your endurance efforts because you're afraid of gaining weight, you need to stop doing crazy long endurance efforts and use that time to work with a therapist and a registered dietitian to unpack what you've defined weight gain to mean. 

Hard Truth #4: An irregular or missing period doesn’t mean you’re fit.

Initially you might be thinking, “Yay! No annoying cramps, no mood swings, and I don’t have to worry about altering my training!” But stop and think about what that actually means, what’s actually happening in the body when a certain system shuts down or doesn’t function optimally…

What is your body trying to tell you if your menstrual cycle is irregular or completely missing?

It’s saying “I’m not getting what I need so I guess I’ll stop giving energy to things that aren’t absolutely essential to survival.” In other words, your period goes missing, your hair starts falling out, your nails don’t grow as fast, your skin is dry, you get cold more easily, you’re tired all the time. These are all potential warning signs for LEA and REDs.

If you have any (and especially if you have all) of these symptoms, you absolutely need to stop doing crazy high intensity workouts all the time, allow your body to rest, and use your downtime to work with a therapist and a registered dietitian.

Did you see a trend with all of these hard truths?

The best thing you can do for your body isn’t working it into the ground by overtraining and under-fueling.

Stop. Rest. Seek professional guidance from licensed and qualified healthcare providers.

Take the time to evaluate how you really feel and listen to what your body is trying to tell you.

Then seek the help that you need, whether that’s a registered dietitian, a sports psychologist, a therapist, or even a trusted sports medicine doctor.

Finally, please remember: It’s never too late to start fueling your body. It’s never too late to heal your relationship with food and your body.