What is LEA? Low Energy Availability.
A concern for the female athlete who is striving to improve fat loss and performance gains… sometimes too much!
What is Energy Availability? Energy availability is the amount of dietary energy remaining after exercise, available for other physiological functions such as growth, muscle recovery and homeostasis. Low energy availability (LEA) occurs when the calorie intake of an athlete is insufficient to meet the energy required for daily living plus the demands of training. Energy intake should never drop below resting metabolic rate.
If we have insufficient energy on board to meet demands of daily living (BMR, TEF and Exercise)… we are left without enough energy reserves to our essential metabolic functions.
Read Debbie’s blog post here on LEA