It sounds so easy but how do we do it as we age and enter our transitional years??
We tend think weight loss = exercise MORE and eat LESS (especially us females).
First of all, what is LEA?
LEA stands for Low Energy Availability, which is a condition that occurs when the energy intake of an individual is insufficient to meet the energy expenditure of their body.
Low Energy Availability can have a significant impact on metabolism and body composition in menopausal women, as well as in individuals of all age groups.
Here’s how LEA can affect menopausal women:
Metabolism:
Low Energy Availability can lead to a decrease in basal metabolic rate (BMR), which is the amount of energy your body needs at rest.
This is your body’s way of conserving energy when it senses a shortage.
A decreased BMR can make it harder for menopausal women to maintain a healthy body weight, as their bodies become more efficient at storing energy as fat.
Hormonal Changes:
LEA can disrupt the normal functioning of hormones, such as the menstrual cycle and sex hormones like estrogen and progesterone. In menopausal women, these hormones are already undergoing significant changes, and LEA can exacerbate the hormonal imbalances.
Irregular menstrual cycles and changes in estrogen levels can further affect bone health and increase the risk of osteoporosis.
Muscle Mass:
Inadequate energy availability can lead to a decrease in muscle mass.
This can impact overall strength and metabolism because muscle tissue burns more calories at rest than fat tissue.
Loss of muscle mass can also lead to decreased physical function and increased risk of injury.
Body Composition:
Low Energy Availability can lead to an increase in body fat percentage, especially in the abdominal area.
This can have negative health implications, such as an increased risk of metabolic disorders, like insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.
Changes in body composition can also affect self-esteem and body image, which can be a concern for menopausal women.
It’s important for menopausal women, and individuals in general, to ensure they have an adequate energy intake to meet their energy needs. Nutrient-dense, balanced diets are crucial for maintaining health during menopause. Weight-bearing exercises and resistance training can help preserve muscle mass and support healthy metabolism.
We need to Change how you FUEL & TRAIN for Aging Female Athletes:
Low energy availability is extremely common in women athletes. A 2019 survey of 1,000 female athletes across more than 40 sports published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine estimated the risk of low energy availability in women athletes at more than 47 percent.
That means nearly half of active, performance-minded women may not be eating enough for their body to perform basic functions like making muscle, regulating metabolism, and maintaining homeostasis after accounting for the energy they use for training.
That’s bad for your health and performance.
Exercise doesn’t work without the nutrition to support it.
Fueling directly around your training can help you avoid going into low energy availability.
While I’ve seen women become more in tune to their pre and during exercise fueling needs, one area that still falls short is recovery. I see too many women who admit to skipping their post-workout snack because they’re trying to lose weight.
This is the wrong way to go about it—especially as a woman.
I know the logic seems sound on the surface. It’s easy to think if you delay food post workout, you will prolong your fat burning (since the body has nothing else left to burn) and thereby you will lose weight more effectively.
In fact, the opposite happens. You may end up gaining weight.
By withholding recovery fuel, you put your body in a catabolic state that stalls your recovery, dims your metabolism, and increases your fat storage because the body is afraid it is in a state of famine.
Also, kiss lean mass gains goodbye; without adequate energy intake, you might get stronger, but you cannot build muscle.
The better strategy is taking advantage of your recovery window—the time right after exercise when your insulin levels peak, opening multiple metabolic pathways to expedite your glycogen storage and muscle repair process.
During this “golden window” you’re not only primed to transport the carbs you eat straight into your muscle stores, but also to shuttle amino acids into your muscles, where they can repair the damage and build you back stronger.
It’s important to note that as a woman, your recovery window to take advantage of all these benefits is short—about 30 to 45 minutes (whereas men may have up to 3 hours).
After that point, your insulin sensitivity declines, so it takes your muscles longer to absorb the glucose from your bloodstream, and as a result, your overall glycogen storage is lower.
In fact, just 2 to 2 1/2 hours later, your glycogen storage rate drops by 50 percent.
Eating immediately after hard exercise delays this decline in insulin sensitivity.
That’s especially important for women in the menopausal transition, who may already be more insulin resistant because of the hormonal changes.
Life is not a race… it is a journey book cover
Be sure to prioritize protein in that recovery snack.
Women even more so than men need protein post workout, and we need it fast.
On days when maybe you’re running around and not meeting your total energy needs, properly fueling before and after working out can help you prevent going into a state of low energy availability.
IF you are planning to make diet adjustments, especially if you’re doing any sort of calorie reduction, consider implementing them outside of your workout fueling – your body will thank you!
How should the aging female ENDURANCE athlete fuel and train?
Nutrient Timing – strategic carb timing pre hard workouts and post workout protein/carbs (as article above)
Adding in more total calories in and around training to improve performance and not impact body composition
Consume more protein and healthy fat throughout the day – carb timing around workouts
Thinks as FOOD as FUEL and not be scared to experiment with nutrient timing to improve performance and body composition
Prioritize protein post workout (as Whey protein shake + frozen berries/avocado + ice/water) 30 minute “Golden Window”
Avoid ultra processed foods and refined oils as well as sugars and flours…swap for nutrient dense foods and meal prep
Protein amino acid profile to make sure leucine 2.5-3g in protein source 30-50g as plant based is harder to get the right dose so you may need to add Essential Amino Acid product to boost EAA profile.
Fueling for each specific workout session to improve performance which will help with body composition
Avoid fasted exercise – even in the morning, instead 100-150 calories even in coffee or easy to digest fuel
SWAP Zone Two workouts for HIIT or SIT workout as 45 minutes max with 20 minutes of HIIT/SIT
Avoid excessive group workouts that are not specific to you training needs, energy, mood and periodization blocks
Start with 3 week build of strength training foundation then work towards adding load for heavy strength training specific to your sport
Swim with masters for hard workout session but easy swim solo or back of pack
Endurance day
Allow recovery days when body needs it as well as schedule a play day and active recovery once a week but still work on mobility as walking and yin yoga at bedtime.
General Training: Two week blocks
Two week blocks then one week de-load which would include…
Functional Training
Mobility
Technique work (swim drills, cycling or run)
Easy workout/Effort 50% technique/drills
Long endurance work Zone 1/2
Recover fully from previous two weeks to absorb stress, improve HRV and sleep quality
Easy low heart rate, functional training and mobility (as Wednesday)
Easy sessions afternoon or evening (as Friday)
OFF play day (as Sunday) with family, friends or nature
HIIT two days (as Tuesday and Saturday)
One High Intensity Interval Training (as Tuesday)
One Sprint Interval Training – could be after lifting heavy weights (as Monday)
Two hards days in a row
Two lifting heavy sessions minimum (2-4x week):
3-5 sets, 3-5 exercises with 3-5 minutes recovery between sets
Neuromuscular stimulus, strength aspect with increased myosin activity and satellite cell signal for lean mass development
Why do we need to change out training and fueling to keep getting stronger, faster, more powerful and leaner as we age!??
WARNING TO ENDURANCE ATHLETES:
Drop volume and add in quality
Add in high intensity work + heavy lifting 4x week (swap for LSD or Zone 3 workouts)
Typical workouts are “too hard to be easy, too easy to be hard” = increasing cortisol -> sympathetic drive – harder to recover and “tired but wired”
If stay in SNS- we don’t have the ability to do the needed external stressors that we need to improve strength, aerobic, anaerobic and body composition
Ideally lift 2-3 times per week
Dr. Stacy Sims “IF WE KEEP DOING LONG SLOW WORK, WE ARE GOING TO GET SLOWER AND FATTER”!
Add in HIIT and HEAVY LIFTING to improving performance in endurance sports, health and body composition
SUPERSET for Endurance Athletes to Complement Training
Heavy Squats + alternating leg step ups then do 10 minute run (increasing % each minute) = fatigue from lifting into running helps improve form and strength for end of race
Heavy deadlifts + heavy leg press then finish with 10-15 minutes on bike working on “hills” for strength
Heavy bench press + Weighted hip thrusters then burpee box jumps (plyometrics)
Easy run 30 minutes + Plyometric finishers = squat jumps, V-sits, plyo push-ups, jumping lunges and plank set “around the world” (great at a track!)
Heavy lifting with heavy squats + weighted hip thrusts + single leg squats (posterior chain work)
Heavy dead lifts + Box Jumps or single leg step ups
Functional strength warm ups in the gym = Single leg hip raises + Med Ball Cleans
Heavy lifting is to tax the neuromuscular system
High intensity interval work with weights, plyometrics and heavy weights
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