female endurance athletes & nutrition

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FEMALE ENDURANCE ATHLETES & NUTRITION Matt Gittermann Head Cross Country Coach Assistant Track & Field Coach University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)

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FEMALE ENDURANCE ATHLETES & NUTRITION

Matt GittermannHead Cross Country Coach

Assistant Track & Field CoachUniversity of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)

A LITTLE ABOUT ME: • Started running varsity high school track in 7th grade

• Ran D3 at Baldwin-Wallace College (OH)

• Disclaimer: Never had good coaches and never tried real hard so I became the coach I always needed

• Coached high school for five years; most of the time at Mount Hebron HS

• Coached the past nine years at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)

• I have coached women for 14 years• Believe in a science based, athlete-

centric coaching program• Believe that women’s endurance

runners as a whole are tougher than men’s endurance runners

FIVE MAIN COMPONENTS TO BEING A SUCCESSFUL ATHLETE

• Proper Training• Sleeping • Nutrition• Prehab/Rehab• Regimented Mental Training

OBJECTIVES:

• Begin the conversation of having a healthy perspective as an female endurance athlete• Open up the conversation of disordered eating

and eating disorders via their causes and effects• Introduce you to proper sports nutrition• Jump start the creation of a healthy environment

of support and education

DIALOGUE NORMS:

• Your coaches care about you enough to start this conversation so they care enough to listen to you

• Not being totally comfortable with some of these topics and terms is okay and its completely normal to feel awkward bringing them up

• While not everything may specifically apply to you, some things may at very least apply to people you care about in this room

• What people portray on the outside might not be accurate depictions of what they may internally hide

If you have a question today, just ask, there is nothing you can ask that I haven’t been asked or discussed before & its near impossible to offend me. (use words you are comfortable with; science terms, slang, euphemisms, etc.)

THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM . . . WHY IS AN OVERWEIGHT MAN TALKING TO

US ABOUT FEMALE STUFF?

MY EXPERIENCES:

THE ROLE OF NUTRITION

• Provides Energy to Complete Tasks• Allows for Proper Recovery & Regeneration• Allows for Super-Compensation (i.e. getting

faster & stronger)• Source of vital vitamins, minerals, etc.

• Low energy availability with or without disordered eating• Menstrual dysfunction• Low bone mineral density

COMPONENTS:

FEMALE TRIAD SPECTRA:

IF NUTRITION IS SO IMPORTANT WHY DO FEMALE ATHLETES STRUGGLE WITH IT?

• Societal pressures of body image• Unreasonable comparisons

• Doing anything to be faster/better• The strive for perfection

• Demands to meet required speed and agility• Looking good in racing attire

• Expectations of coaches, parents, peers, teammates

WHAT IS THE PREVALENCE OF EATING DISORDERS?

• 30 million people in the US have struggled with an eating disorder or disordered eating at some point (10% of total population)

• Currently, its estimated that 500,000 teens struggle with an eating disorder or disordered eating (15% of female teenagers)

• Reported to occur in 25% of collegiate female athletes (and 20% of male athletes)

*Numbers varied when researching so focus on the trend you are seeing as you shrink the subgroups, my guess is actual percentages are higher because of self-reporting and the belief that sub-clinical disordered eating is not an eating disorder

WHAT FORMS DOES IT TAKE?

• Eating Disorders:• Anorexia nervosa• Bulimia nervosa• Binge eating• Disordered Eating (Sub-Clinical Eating

Disorders):• Avoidant and restrictive eating

WHO ARE THE MOST AT RISK?

• Females• Teenagers to early 20’s• Those with a family history of eating disorders• Those battling depression and anxiety• Those that diet• Those under stress• Athletes

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE THOUGHT PROCESSES THAT LEAD TO DISORDERED EATING OR EATING

DISORDERS?

• “Look at (insert runner)’s body. I need to look like that.” • “If I just lose a few pounds I will be able to run

faster”• “My coach/parents said I need to lose weight”• “I look fat” or “I’m not skinny enough”• “This is the only thing I can control in my life”• “I’m not good enough”

THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM ON YOUR END:

• You live in an affluent area with very successful parents, siblings, families• You attend a highly competitive high school

that promotes success and rigor• You run on team that has a history of success

and a culture to perform on a high levelThere is an intense pressure to live up to

all the expectations that you or others place on yourself

WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS OF DISORDERED EATING AND EATING DISORDERS?

• Lack of energy to complete athletics tasks; decreases athletic performance

• Lack of energy to properly recovery and regenerate• Decreasing bone density• Decreasing fat stores (energy source and important

for the absorption of vitamin D)• Muscle degeneration• Menstrual disruptions• Hormone production disruption

A TALE OF ONE PERSON; TWO POINTS OF VIEWS – RACHEL

SCHULIST

2016

2014

HOW DOES ONE PREVENT MANAGE AND IMPROVE DISORDERED EATING OR EATING DISORDERS?

• I hesitate to use the term prevent as I think that downplays the significance of the pressures placed on teenage, female, endurance athletes• Individuals have various abilities to mitigate

and manage the pressures• The battle may go away but the pressures

don’t

HOW DOES ONE MANAGE AND IMPROVE DISORDERED EATING OR EATING DISORDERS?

• Take pride in your body• Be fair and good to yourself• Understand the need for proper

nutrition• Understand the effect of improper

nutrition• Understand it may be a lingering battle• Reach out for help when you need it

(friends, coaches, teachers, etc.)

• Do research on your own. Read testimonials. See others’ successes.

• Understand that athletics should be more fun than anything else

• Understand that competitions are an opportunity to celebrate your efforts not a performance assessment

• Watch out for and support your teammates

• Help build a healthy team culture

AT COLLEGE DECISION TIME:

• Make sure you do an official visit such that you can watch practice and eat with the team

• Watch for the prevalence of unhealthy body types• Watch them eat dinner after practice to get an idea of the

culture of nutrition• Ask them how the coach is about nutrition and listen closely

to the wording they use• Ask the coach what support they give in regards to nutrition

QUESTIONS SO FAR?

LET’S TALK ABOUT PROPER NUTRITION

How much energy do I need?What does that look like? What food should I eat?

What do macronutrients do? When and how often should I

eat? Should I take supplements?

FOCUS IS ON SHORT IMMEDIATELY APPLICABLE

NUTRITION TIPS!

Nutrition can be a rabbit hole of information:

HOW MUCH ENERGY DO I NEED?

1. Convert your weight (in pounds) to kilograms:

• Example: 110 pounds/2.2 lbs per kg = 50kgs

2. Determine Resting Energy Expenditure:• (Kg x 12.2) + 749 = REE• Example: (50 kg x 12.2) + 749 = 1,359 Calories• IF YOU LAID IN BED ALL DAY THIS IS ROUGH HOW

MANY CALORIES YOU WOULD BURN

3. Multiply REE by activity factor of 1.6 & 2.4:• REE x 1.6 = Calories on Rest/Rec Days• Example: 1,359 Calories x 1.6 = 2174.4

• REE x 2.4 = Calories on High Volume/Intensity Days• Example: 1,359 Calories x 2.4 = 3,261.6

4. This is your daily range of energy intake:• Example: 2,174.4 – 3,261.6

Another study suggests: 45 calories per kg of fat free mass 50 kg girl at 15% body fat = 42.5

kg42.5 kg x 45 cal/kg = 1912.5

caloriesThen you calculate energy used

during endurance exercise, ~600 cal per hour

WHAT DOES 3,000 CALORIES LOOK LIKE?

WHAT DOES 4,000 CALORIES LOOK LIKE?

WHAT DOES 5,000 CALORIES LOOK LIKE?

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WAYS TO MAKE MY DIET BETTER TOMORROW:

• Eat a peanut butter sandwich on whole grain bread one hour before and one hour after training • Drink a big glass of

chocolate milk within a half hour of practice ending• Has a salad with dark

greens with vegetables with every lunch and dinner • Eat a snack between each

meal • Never skip meals • Six smaller meals are bigger

than three larger meals • Drink two cups of water

immediately after waking

MACROMOLECULES:

Carbs: studies show 8g/kg/day is ideal for carbo loadingProtein: ~.5g per pound dailyFat: Women oxidize more fat comparatively than men during endurance; think of the implications

VITAMINS:

Vitamin D is fat soluble; also responsible for calcium absorption (need about 300-2000 IU

So . . . You need fat to break down/activate Vitamin D which in turn helps with Calcium absorption . . . See how restrictive eating leads directly to stress fractures

MINERALS:

Calcium: 1000mg at leastIron: 18 mg per day is preferred for female athletes; if a history of anemia, test quarterly for ‘ferratin’

WHEN SHOULD I EAT?

Two Main Goals Before Training/Racing:

1. Fuel the body as much as possible without spiking blood sugar

2. Avoid eating anything that might cause upset stomach

*If you are properly hydrated it’s easier to digest your food

WHEN SHOULD I EAT?

Two Options:

1. A light meal 2-3 hours before 2. A full meal 3-4 hours before and a snack 1-1.5

hours before

WHEN SHOULD I EAT?

• Early Morning Training/Racing – Body low on nutrients because most were used to recover the body during sleep. Drink 2-3 cups of water upon waking and get enough calories in without spiking your blood sugar. • Length of Time Between Waking Up and Training/Racing:• 3 Hours Full breakfast or meal• 2 Hours A light breakfast • 1.5 hours A light breakfast or PB sandwich• 30-60 mins PB Sandwich, Nutritional Shake, Energy Bar• 10-30 mins Nutritional shake, Energy bar• Less than 10 Sports drink

Do one of these in addition to the 3 hour and 2 hour plans

WHEN SHOULD I EAT?

Three Phase Post Training/Racing Nutrition:

1. 0-5 mins after Hydration Sports drink better due to salts & sugar2. 5-20 mins after Snack Energy bar w/ protein; PB sandwich;

Protein shake3. 45-60 mins after Meal A full meal or another snack with meal to

follow A large glass of chocolate milk

Endurance Nutrition: Trouble Shooting Guide, by Clyde Wilson

HOW MUCH IRON SHOULD I BE TAKING AND IN WHAT FORM

• Aim for 3 to 5 oz of red meat (think hockey pucks) 3 to 5 times per week.

• Heme-iron, iron that is already broken down (i.e. in meat) is absorbed at a rate of 25% in the body versus other types of iron which are absorbed around 3-15%.

• Vitamins such as Vitamin C can help with the absorption.

• Iron pills can be taken, but are not as effective as food and proper diet.

• Ladies should get their ferratin levels checked 2-4 times a year with a typical range being around 12-150ng/mL. Any lower than that and you might want to talk with your doctor regarding additional nutritional supplements.

SHOULD I BE TAKING A MULTI-VITAMIN?

• If you are eating properly . . . Not necessarily• If you are eating improperly . . . Yes• If you have had dietary concerns in past . . .

Yes• If you take vitamins and believe they help . . .

Yes• If you want a “nutritional insurance policy” . . .

Yes

WHAT ARE GOOD SUPPLEMENTS I SHOULD TAKE?

• Iron• Vitamin D• Zinc• Fish Oils• Protein?

WHAT THE BODY TYPE AND WEIGHT I SHOULD AIM FOR?

• More than anything else, take pride in your body

• Lean (lean does not necessary mean skinny), muscular body is ideal not skinny and waif-like

• The body type and weight that naturally arises from good nutrition and training

• The body type that is genetically given to you