Cycle Challenge and Weight Loss
It’s quite common for clients to come to me wanting to lose weight and cycle 160km around Lake Taupō. I find this personally challenging as a weight-neutral practitioner, but also because the restrictive mindset and eating patterns so often seen with weight loss, negatively impacts training quality and adaptation.
Positive habits such as fuelling exercise, providing a nutrient-rich recovery period, and eating enough calories to adapt to all the hard work done in training require a nourishing frame of mind. Unfortunately, society seems intent on driving a restrictive food mindset through fat shaming and celebrating thin ideals, and individuals cannot help but get caught up in this.
Let’s look at how restricted eating is in direct contrast to your goals as someone training for an endurance event.
A calorie deficit compromises your immune system and therefore increases your likelihood of missing training sessions.
Low carbohydrate intake in the lead-up to exercise can result in low glycogen stores which can compromise training quality.
Low carbohydrate intake after exercise means you miss out on the opportunity to increase your ability to store glycogen (fuel). Bigger fuel stores = better endurance performance.
Low protein intake compromises muscular adaptation
Low fat intake compromises hormonal production which has negative affects across the entire body.
Risk of Low Energy Availability and its associated issues increases.
Restricted micronutrient intake can impact performance e.g. fibre intake can compromise gut health, low iron intake and your ability to transport oxygen.
Honestly, the list goes on.
If you would like help cycling around Taupō whilst nourishing your body, then please get in touch, it would be an honour to work with you.
Tom
Tom Shand Dietitian