Low energy and training

You’re training hard you’re watching your nutrition but not meeting your goals …. what’s up??? Are you consuming enough?? When you are in too restricted of a caloric deficit you may be making more difficult to achieve your goals of leaning out. When you don’t consume enough calories to meet the high energy (calorie) demands of training (called low energy availability) your testosterone will likely drop. There are 3 main reasons for this:

- Trying to make weight being too focused on the SCALE

- There is an unintentional mismatch between calories consumed and calories burned yep it takes work to consume enough total calories you need to plan prep and find time to eat it all!!!

- Disordered eating / eating disorders Most commonly seen in women but yes in men as well the binge purge (with exercise) cycle

Cyclists, rowers, distance runners are at higher risk of low energy availability (not consuming enough calories to cover the cost of training).

Typically low energy availability is defined as < 30 calories per kilogram of lean body mass.

Chronic (over time) low energy availability (not eating enough to cover the calories you need each day stresses the body can lead to low testosterone, excessive fatigue, muscle loss, frequent illness or injury, stress fractures, menstrual dysfunction, inability to recover, and decrease in performance.

You gotta eat. Work to figure out what to eat and when and also how to alleviate stomach distress so you can get the calories you need.

Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab 2018;28: 364-374.

J Sports Sci 2004;22(1): 1-14.

Br J Sports Med 2014; 48(7): 491-497.

Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab 2018;28(4): 335-349.

Sports Med 2016;46(2): 171-182.

J Biochem Physiol. 2018; 1(1): 103.