You’re not supposed to become faster by restricting calories, but by learning how to use those calories to your advantage.
Everyday I have women ask me whether losing weight is the key to helping them get faster. After all, the elite runners we all adore and respect are lean, mean, running machines. Isn’t the best route to achieving their physique by counting calories, skipping meals, intermittent fasting and foregoing carbs?
Nah, honey. Elite athletes are not restricting to achieve their physique - they fuel correctly & exercise consistently. And in order to fuel correctly, you have to stop stressing over calories and diets and just learn how to trust the process, trust your body around food and learn how to fuel.
But learning how to fuel requires a lot of courage. At least in this modern world. It’s 2020 and we are all terrified of carbs, terrified of eating past 7pm, terrified of “getting fat.” As an athletic woman, its likely you’re so consumed with controlling your weight and your diet that you have not realized how much more there is to nutrition science than just creating a calorie deficit.
Nutrition science can help you fuel better by stoking metabolism, giving your body the fuel it needs to run stronger and recover faster, help you build new muscle to achieve new PRs, help you stop that constant “hanger” that you have wrongly come to accept as a normal part of being a runner.
By timing carbs, protein and fats correctly, your body starts to thrive. A thriving body feels totally different than a restricted body. I can tell you from experience, and I can tell you because everyday I help women feel the difference.
When I lived in a restricted body, my brain was totally obsessed with macro counting, calorie counting, when I could eat my next snack and how to manage my “hanger.” Some nights during marathon training I had trouble sleeping or staying asleep because I would wake up SO hungry, even though I had eaten a large dinner (hint - I was not eating enough of the right things at dinner). Some nights I would binge uncontrollably and I’d hate myself for lacking willpower.
My life in my restricted body was small. My brain was obsessed with food and becoming smaller. Every social event stressed me out. Restriction restricted not only my food choices but my social life and my quality of life.
But now I live in a thriving body. I understand how to listen to my hunger, honor my fullness and fuel my sport. I see food as an opportunity to become a better athlete and/or enjoy my life and/or make a memory. I gained weight. But because I’m not constantly hungry, I don’t care so much about my weight, because I have other (more important) stuff on my mind like how to teach YOU how to listen to YOUR body.
If you’re interested in transforming your relationship with food and learning how to fuel your body as an athlete, then I’d love for you to consider joining my small group coaching program - FOOD FREEDOM for Female Athletes. The group is SMALL so I can shower you with the attention you need to break free from diet rules. Click here to apply and let’s jump on a free call to see if you’d be a good fit. We start October 5th.