Energy Requires Energy: How to Know if You’re Eating Enough
When we consider nutrition in the context of sports, many questions arise: “Am I eating enough protein to build and maintain muscle?”, “Should I focus on eating carbohydrates before a big game?”, or “How should I replenish my electrolytes afterward?” Yet, we often overlook whether we’re eating enough to fuel performance and essential body function. It is crucial that athletes not only eat the right foods, but the right amount of food to facilitate optimal performance (1).
Athletes, like everyone else, have varying energy requirements based on things like age, sex, weight, height, and activity level. Sport-specific variables such as body composition, distinct positions on teams, and the level of endurance required will also influence the amount of food you need to eat (1). “The nutritional needs of athletes are primarily dictated by the demands of their activities and the goals they set to attain peak sports performance and overall health” (1). Therefore, taking a very individual approach is crucial when considering your energy needs. What works for one of your teammates, or someone on the internet likely won’t align with your needs completely.
Although you can use an online calculator to give you a rough idea of the energy you will need, these often do not take into account sport-specific variables that largely determine requirements. Energy availability is an important concept to understand, as it describes the amount of energy you actually have left to use from food after subtracting the energy you’ve burned during exercise/training (1). An imbalance can occur relatively easily and only takes a few days to start interfering with your mood, performance, immunity, and sleep (1). When an imbalance persists for long periods of time, this can result in a syndrome called, Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs), which ultimately has much more severe and longstanding health implications (2). Although more common in endurance-based sports like distance running, swimming, and rowing, an imbalance can occur in any type of athlete for a multitude of reasons. To avoid any degree of low energy availability, it is important that athletes understand what their sport demands, what their body needs, and how to recognize common signs that point to underfueling. We all have days where we can’t push as hard during practice, or can’t lift as much at the gym, but when these feelings of decreased strength and energy persist it is important we pay attention to them.
Signs that may indicate you are not eating enough include (1):
Feeling abnormally tired or low mood
Unable to recover from training or injuries
Inability to focus or loss of interest in activities
Underperformance in competition
Recurring illness
Changes in period regularity
Feeling as if you’re losing your breath easier than normal
Inability to sleep
Determining why we aren’t feeling our best can be difficult, but looking at our diet can be a good place to start. As stated previously, everyone's needs vary significantly, so if you're looking to determine your specific personal needs, it's best to speak with a registered dietician. However, if you want to learn about and prioritize energy availability within sports, there are many habits you can implement that can prevent imbalances.
Tips to maintain energy availability as an athlete (4):
Prioritize energy-dense (high-calorie) whole foods like eggs, potatoes, avocado, or salmon.
Eat frequently (include snacks between bigger meals). Such as a banana and peanut butter/soy butter between breakfast and lunch, and two hard-boiled eggs between lunch and dinner.
Establish a meal plan according to your training schedule, ensuring that you’re properly fueled prior to practice or competition.
When deciding on pre-training meals/snacks focus on carbohydrates (whole grain bread, fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, potatoes) as these provide the most usable form of energy for exercise (however, don’t skip out on protein or fat).
Establish an open dialogue about nutrition with your coaches and teammates.
It is important to recognize that juggling nutrition and athletics can be incredibly challenging. However, if athletes are aware of the negative impacts not eating enough can have on their performance, they can make a concentrated effort to avoid underfueling. Speaking about nutrition and its role within sports is extremely important; if we give nutrition a seat at the table during discussions of performance and accomplishing goals, athletes will be able to see its profound effect on their everyday lives and athletic outcomes.
References
Amawi A, AlKasasbeh W, Jaradat M, Almasri A, Alobaidi S, Hammad AA, et al. Athletes’ nutritional demands: A narrative review of Nutritional Requirements. Frontiers in Nutrition. 2024 Jan 18;10. doi:10.3389/fnut.2023.1331854
Cabre H, Moore S, Smith-Ryan A, Hackney A. Relative energy deficiency in sport (red-S): Scientific, clinical, and practical implications for the female athlete. Deutsche Zeitschrift für Sportmedizin/German Journal of Sports Medicine. 2022 Jul 1;73(7):225–34. doi:10.5960/dzsm.2022.546
Melin AK, Heikura IA, Tenforde A, Mountjoy M. Energy availability in athletics: Health, performance, and Physique. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism. 2019 Mar 1;29(2):152–64. doi:10.1123/ijsnem.2018-0201
Shriver LH, Betts NM, Wollenberg G. Dietary intakes and eating habits of college athletes: Are female college athletes following the current sports nutrition standards? Journal of American College Health. 2013 Jan;61(1):10–6. doi:10.1080/07448481.2012.747526
Post Written by: Grace Blewett