[Rebecca Dent]

Rebecca Dent on October 30, 2020 at 9:59 am · in reply to: Endurance athletes and kidney stones #46407

Hi BF,

As both Rich and Dane have mentioned above, hydration or dehydration is a risk factor for causing kidney stones. A high salt intake from your diet can also contribute to causing kidney stones. Oxalates from the foods you mentioned and also too much vitamin C (from supplemental form) can also contribute to your type of kidney stone. A lower oxalate and higher calcium (from food) diet, along with lower salt intake if high and increasing hydration (aiming for 2l of volume passed per day via urine) is recommended to further prevent kidney stones forming. You still need to keep fruit and veg intake up just choose them wisely as not to be high in oxalates. Potentially reducing your intake or red meat/meats may also benefit. But this all depends on your own starting point and how much you are already eating. Hope this is helpful.

If you are concerned then I would advize you to book an appointment with a local dietitian who can take a full analysis of your diet and bloods and any medication and then provide the best dietary approach for you for prevention.

Rebecca – Uphill Athlete Dietitian.

[Rebecca Dent]

Rebecca Dent on October 8, 2020 at 3:15 am · in reply to: Food diary app #45817

Hi Andrew,

The most commonly used one (worldwide) is myfitness pal. It sets these requirements for you based on your personal details (height/weight/body comp goals) and activity levels. You have to pay to be able to adjust macros. Myfitness pal also syncs with Training Peaks if you are setting out your training plan using this platform.

Alternatively you can just use a spread sheet and calculate the nutrition content of the foods you are consuming using food databases such as https://nutritiondata.self.com or https://fdc.nal.usda.gov This way you can set your own energy and macro nutrient requirements and track.

There are a lot of other tracking apps it’s a case of testing some out and seeing which ones are your preference. Many of them are based around weight loss.

Perhaps others will contribute to your post and offer other suggestions.

Hope this helps

Rebecca – Uphill Athlete Dietitian

[Rebecca Dent]

Rebecca Dent on August 21, 2020 at 5:26 am · in reply to: Questions leading from the Podcast #44425

Hi Tim,

Thanks for your great questions. Yes as ever with nutrition there is always a lot of information/research surrounding the topic, and context is king when it comes to application.

I’m going to attempt to answer your questions and I’ve asked Scott to step in and help, so hopefully we can have his input.

Question 1)

As we tried to highlight in the podcast regardless of dietary intake simply carrying out endurance training per se, at the lower intensity heart rate zones, increases our bodies ability to utilise fat as a fuel source (fat adaptation). There is limited data to show that carrying out fasted training translates into superior performance benefits. However both Scott and myself have observed when those who do carry out fasted training appropriately, this person sees benefits to their training in terms of; can start to go further over time without eating during their fasted run, reduce desire to eat on non fasted low intensity runs, reduce cravings for carbohydrate/sugary foods. So potentially yes you could reap greater benefits in a short space of time but this will also depend on the training status of the individual. I’m not sure there is a ‘lipid preferential’ zone during the day. The lipid preferential state will come from the intensity of the training session i.e. zones 1 & 2 low intensity and potentially you can influence this state via carrying out the training session a fasted state and manipulation of dietary intake.

Question 2)
Generally if you were simply carry out a recovery session fasted, this is not going to create a higher state of stress. I would assume the recovery session was of low intensity and for a short duration? Depending also on the time of day (which I again assume was first thing in the morning prior to breakfast) at this time your muscles are still going to contain a source of glycogen. It is the low/depleted glycogen levels in the exercising muscles that have a greater influence on the increased stress response (again assuming you are not on a low carbohydrate/keto diet and ate carbohydrate in your recovery meals post exercise the day before).

I will let Scott answer this final part of your question in terms of carrying out a strength based session later in the day after a fasted session.

Question 3) I’ve not heard of this myth so will let Scott answer this question. However it sounds like a myth as when training for the mountains / ultra endurance you need to train both energy systems (aerobic and anaerobic) and get strength to support your efforts of your objective. You will just need to be strategic about this training.

I hope thats be of help?

Rebecca

[Rebecca Dent]

Rebecca Dent on June 30, 2020 at 9:02 am · in reply to: AM fasting during recovery from minor operation? #43169

Hi Graham,

Im the uphill athlete dietitian. So I can give you a clear answer I just need to ask a couple of questions:

1) What is your reason for intermittent fasting whilst recovering from a knee scope?
2) How limited is your physical activity following the scope? are you off your feet or still able to train to some extent?
3) What did they do for the knee scope? Did the surgeons just look around? Do a clean up of the injured area or something more invasive?
4) When did you have the scope?

Thanks

Rebecca Uphill Athlete Dietitian

[Rebecca Dent]

Rebecca Dent on June 22, 2020 at 11:42 am · in reply to: Vegan – GF – raw diet – hungry after workout #42970

Hey Akd, sorry to be coming to this post late. Im the uphill athlete dietitian.

For post fasted run nutrition guidance, I recommend to all the uphill athlete clients to eat a recovery snack that includes a source of protein and carbohydrate e.g. vegan blend protein shake with added gluten free oats or banana + nut butter, rice cakes + nut butter.

It sounds like your diet is quite limited in options; for health and for optimal performance it is important to include sufficient protein daily, healthy fats (nuts, seeds, avocado, olives, olive oil, but not coconut oil), some carbohydrate especially for us females and trying to eat foods that contain a source of calcium especially when we are over 40. If you are not eating enough protein daily it is likely this that is leaving you feel particularly hungry, additionally not eating enough calories will also leave you feeling super hungry.

I hope that has answered your question.

Rebecca Uphill Athlete Dietitian

[Rebecca Dent]

Rebecca Dent on May 29, 2020 at 3:03 am · in reply to: Loss of appetite with increase in training/nausea #42188

Hi Shannon, Thanks for your question.

Loss of appetite is common following long races/events/training session and exercise induced gastrointestinal issues such as nausea are common in ultra distances due to the physiological consequences that occur whilst in motion over an extended period of time. And research shows a greater percentage of women to men experience these issues. However there are some neat nutrition strategies that can help you start to resolve your specific issue. A couple of things that can contribute to nausea (in addition to exercising for a long period of time) are;

– Exercising for long periods without eating
– Under or over hydration
– Water alone or too much electrolyte/salt intake
– Too much carbohydrate intake (but this does not sound like it relates to yourself)
– Caffeine intake on an empty stomach

Studies have shown that you can actually train your gut and get it used to eating on the go and helping to relieve potentially your nauseas.

If you are struggle to eat any solids following training/long duration exercise then you could try to consume a liquid food such as a meal replacement shake, protein shake, recovery shake, glass of milk, home made smoothie (as preferred) and try to just take small sips regularly. Aim to start drinking this within 30mins of finishing your session. But you can drink this drink over a 1hr period.

It may also help to eat more during your longer sessions, again this takes practice over continuous training sessions (even if you are not feeling hungry) for a minimum of 2weeks to start to feel a difference. Choose a couple of your training sessions in the week to trial eating / drinking e.g. a sports drink during this session, then slow right down to eat/drink during this session until you are used to eating more on the go. Another tip is to eat a small meal or snack then go straight out to training (again a low intensity is required). Then eat on a regular basis during training, small amounts.

GI issues in training/races/long events are all individual and require some problem solving. If you would like to chat this over in more detail you are welcome to sign up to a phone consult below.

Phone Consult with High Performance Dietitian Rebecca Dent – $50/30min – PAY AFTER YOUR CALL

I hope that provides you with some insight.

Rebecca (Uphill Athlete Dietitian)

[Rebecca Dent]

Rebecca Dent on May 18, 2020 at 12:20 pm · in reply to: Total fast versus carb fast? #41848

Hi DaveB,

Thanks for your question and thanks Scott for sharing your experience.

The term for theses fasted style workouts for endurance training carried out in zones 1 & 2 was called ‘Train Low’ strategies and more recently the terminology has changed to ‘fuel for the work required’ nutrition strategies, to encourage periodisation of nutrition depending on the specific phase of training.

Research has shown that by carrying out ‘fasted’ or ‘train low in carbohydrate’ training, this positively influences some of the cellular pathways involved in endurance training and enhances both the physiological adaptations to endurance training and fat adaptation. It is the low carbohydrate availability that has been demonstrated to initiate these positive adaptive changes in training response. Research has also shown that including a source of protein before your ‘fasted’ workouts does not impact this adaptive response to the low carbohydrate intake so you can indeed ingest some protein prior to your ‘fasted’ training which then coins the phrase you used a ‘carb specific fast’.

When working with uphill athletes I would recommend eating some carbohydrate free protein supplement before to help offset the increase in muscle damage that occurs during fasted workouts of longer than 90mins. So eating boiled eggs or smoked salmon would be ok but not cottage cheese, as it contains a source of carbohydrate from the milk sugars present in dairy products. As Scott has experienced it may help with your feelings of nausea and lethargy you can certainly give it a try.

In relation to your nausea and lethargy, are you training in the zone 1&2 during these fasted sessions? And at what time point during your fasted session are you starting to feel nauseas/lethargic? Additionally when introducing fasted sessions they do feel hard to do, you need to give it time and build up slowly the length of time you are carrying out a fasted session.

I hope that clears up your question?

Rebecca Uphill Athlete Dietitian

[Rebecca Dent]

Rebecca Dent on April 29, 2020 at 8:49 am · in reply to: Bonk in fasted long run #41024

Hi Angelos,

How old are you? You don’t need to follow a ketogenic diet to become fat adapted, there are world class athletes who consume carbohydrate that are highly fat adapted. Research has also measured and demonstrated this. Continuing to build on and be consistent with your training will continue to support your endurance performance (and fat adaptation).

If you are still young, I also wouldn’t encourage such restrictive eating practices especially when you are already doing several fasted sessions through the week.

What are you training for? I would suggest that 2.5hrs is a good time to be able to carry out training fasted, what is the purpose of pushing it further? In the main event the goal is not to see how far you can go and not eat, the aim is to make you more fuel efficient for the main event (and eat during the main event). The training you are carrying out fasted at the moment is still going to be having an influence on fat adaptation and endurance performance, it comes back to consistency over time. Also be aware that fasted training increases the stress on the body e.g. on the immune system /increase muscle damage, increase fatigue, so I would caution against pushing the time you can carry out fasted and the negative impact this can have, it’s about striking a balance. You need to be able to put in good quality training for your other sessions (that also count towards your performance) and not increase day to day fatigue which may also impact your day to day energy levels and motivation to study.

Living on a budget: Depending on your existing budget it can be more expensive to eat a ketogenic diet, as it’s based on protein and fats, which are generally more expensive to buy and you also want to ensure you are purchasing good quality protein sources not just the cheapest off the shelf. As Scott explains however it may not be more expensive than eating a good quality diet containing whole foods. However this again depends on your starting budget. Often cost savings can be achieved via planning and preparing meals in advance and not just visiting the super market on the hop and also knowing what to purchase and what alternatives you can eat to increase healthier food options. It sounds like you can make some good choices at your University Restaurant.

If you want to jump on a phone call Angelos and talk this through and clear up any confusion then you can follow this link and book in with me and I can help give you some nutrition guidance.

Phone Consult with High Performance Dietitian Rebecca Dent – $50/30min – PAY AFTER YOUR CALL

[Rebecca Dent]

Rebecca Dent on April 29, 2020 at 8:35 am · in reply to: Do plant based female endurance athletes supplement? #41018

Hi Diana,

I’m the uphill athlete dietitian. As Thomas and Scott have both mentioned care needs to be taken when supplementing with iron. The length of time to supplement depends on your ferritin level when you commenced supplementation of iron and the daily dose of iron you are taking. If ferritin levels were less than 12 then it can take around 3-6months to bring ferritin levels/iron stores back up to within an ideal normal range >20 but for any athlete especially a female following a vegan diet ferritin levels of 50 or above would be good to maintain. As yours were around 22 but now 32, how long did this take for your iron levels to increase whilst on a supplement? And what is your daily supplement dose of liquid iron? Initially when iron deficient your body is more efficient at absorbing iron.

It can be possible to maintain iron levels on a vegan diet, but you do have to be quite meticulous about this. A vegan diet is high in fibre and you are obtaining iron from non-heam sources (plant based sources) both make it harder for your body to absorb iron as opposed to heam iron (animal sources) such as red meat that your body can absorb readily and much easier. If you would like to follow a more vegan / plant based diet then I would recommend a daily (lower dose) iron supplement. Those who follow a vegan diet need to consume 1.8 times the recommended daily intake that is set per country, so instead of 14mg or iron for females (UK RDA’s) this would then equate to 25mg of iron per day if consuming iron from plant based sources. It sounds like you have been doing all of the right things to boost your iron stores back up and also you have a very sensible approach to your nutrition.

If you’d like to have a 30min phone consult with me to chat through your dietary preferences and making sure your iron levels are sustained then you can book in by simply following the link https://uphillathlete.com/product/phone-consultation-with-rebecca-dent-30min-session/

I hope that has been helpful.

Rebecca

[Rebecca Dent]

Rebecca Dent on April 20, 2020 at 1:41 pm · in reply to: Carbohydrates & Fat adaptation #40698

Hi Julie,

Great question and it sounds like you have good knowledge around this subject. Yes endurance athletes with training do become better at using fat as fuel source regardless of dietary intake. Carbohydrates are actually more efficient at yielding energy (ATP) as you require less oxygen to produce the energy compared to fat, however you do yield more ATP from fat but this requires more oxygen for this process. So depending on the intensity of your training (and the resulting oxygen demand required to carry out this training will influence the fuel demand, carbohydrates vs fat). You can influence which fuel is predominantly utilised depending on a number of factors including training intensity, duration, but also training level, age and gender and also nutrition intake. Here is a nice review https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1751499111000060 explaining fuel utilisation during rest and activity.

The idea is that as you train for endurance and use train low nutritional strategies (low carbohydrate intake strategically planned around low intensity training) you can further enhance fat adaptation (without the need to completely restrict carbohydrate from the diet). If you completely omit carbohydrate from the diet, then this has shown you down regulate your muscles ability to use carbohydrate as a fuel source, so essentially you lose your top gear, power output will be reduced. Which may not be a problem for prolonged lower intensity events/races, however I see no reason as to why you would not want to utilise both fuel sources and become what is deemed as fuel efficient. You can then tap into both sources this way, tapping into carbohydrate when you power uphill, the ascent home or hard scramble/effort/climb during mountaineering but train your body to use your most abundant fuel source within the body, which is fat during lower intensity prolonged effort.

Nutrition guidance for ultra endurance is changing suggesting fuel for the effort required, periodising nutrition intake (mainly carbohydrate) relative to the training demand and adaptation sought, as well as the profile of the main event.

I hope that has answered your question? It’s quite an in-depth and extensive topic and if you would like more of the spefici science I would be happy to post up links to this further research to read.

Rebecca Uphill Athlete Dietitian

[Rebecca Dent]

Rebecca Dent on April 20, 2020 at 1:51 am · in reply to: Bonk in fasted long run #40666

Hi Angelos,

Thanks for your question. There are some good replies too. Firstly I would ask, how long have you been carrying out your fasted sessions for? Recently started earlier this year or longer? And as rachelp has mentioned you want to be carrying out your fasted sessions at a low intensity (zones 1 & 2) so perhaps think about what HR you are predominately working at during the longer fasted runs? With the uphill athletes I work with I tend to suggest a carbohydrate intake of 2g per kilogram of body weight per day and 3g-4g per kilogram of body weight per day on strength days/higher intensity aerobic workouts. Perhaps first start by going slower in your longer runs to be able to push past the 2.5hr mark and maybe just increase the time incrementally to 3hrs, then 3hrs 15min etc? Your suggestion of reducing carbohydrate intake on the day before your fasted run could also help so you are carrying out your fasted sessions in a muscle glycogen depleted state and not just following an over night fast when blood glucose levels are low. There are various ‘train low’ strategies that can help with enhancing fat adaptation. Perhaps start with reducing over all daily carbohydrate intake if you suggest you are a high carb eater (but fuelling high intensity/strength sessions with carbohydrate) and go slower in your longer runs. Let us know how you get on?

[Rebecca Dent]

Rebecca Dent on March 9, 2020 at 6:42 am · in reply to: Recovery drink for a expedition #39390

Hi Climbgoon,

Thanks for your question. A 3:1 recovery powder refers to 3 parts carbohydrate to 1 part protein as a result of recommendations from several research papers that looked into the optimal nutrition strategy for recovery post exercise to help achieve both strength gains and muscle mass gains and replenish carbohydrate stores.

Taking this drink whilst on an expedition will potentially be playing a different role as to taking this drink after a training session back home. Firstly I would recommend the higher in calorie one you can get the better, muscle mass loss during an expedition can be as a result in one or several of these; insufficient calorie intake, less active than when training and more sitting around acclimatising, plus also reduced protein intakes.

The timing of when you propose to take this drink is good at two different time points ensuring protein intake is spread thus further supporting muscle mass recovery/attenuating muscle mass loss.

Drinks choices are quite individual and depend on the taste and your preference. Trial different brands such as Gu, power bar, myprotein, optimum nutrition, hammer nutrition, high 5, Maxi muscle (these are more of the well known brands, others may have some good suggestions of good brands within your location). Perhaps test them out before you go and during one of your big days out, taste preferences change during physical exertion.

Hope that answers your question?

Rebecca Uphill Athlete Dietitian

[Rebecca Dent]

Rebecca Dent on January 8, 2020 at 6:28 am · in reply to: Iron Supplementation Protocol #35697

Hi Elliot,

Just some practical nutrition guidance for you on your low iron.

Firstly who carried out your blood test? If it was your doctor I would hope he/she would have advised accordingly on dose and duration of iron supplement. It can take up to 3-6months to restore low iron levels (iron deficiency) or anaemia (usually classified as levels lower than 12 so you are right on the cusp) via supplementation.

As Scott explains I would like an individual endurance athlete particularly female to have serum ferritin levels above 50 to ensure optimal performance and health. I would carry out a full assessment history as to why your levels may have dropped (e.g. vegetarian diet as you follow so lower intake of animal based iron (the haem iron Scott refers to), menstural losses/blood flow, training at altitude, endurance training all of which increase requirements for iron intake or cause an increase in usage of iron). In order to then put in strategies to prevent them from dropping again.

When taking an iron supplement it is important to:

1) Take it with a source of vitamin C such as a glass of fruit juice which aids the absorption or iron.

2) Avoid drinking any caffeine substance 60mins around taking the supplement as caffeine inhibits the absorption of iron.

3) It is also important to increase your intake of iron rich containing foods, as ideally you do not want to stay on the supplement long term but to support iron levels via dietary intake.

4) As a vegetarian and young female endurance athlete your daily iron requirements are increased so it is about planning a more considered dietary intake to include iron rich plant based foods daily.

5) It is about finding one that does not upset your stomach.

I would caution against an IV infusion especially if you are competing nationally or internationally as it is prohibited by the world anti doping agency (WADA).

Elliot if you want to sign up to a phone consult we can chat this through in detail and I can give you more support. It’s important you get this right both short term and in the long term and get individual guidance for you.

Hope that helps.

Rebecca Uphill Athlete Dietitian

[Rebecca Dent]

Rebecca Dent on January 8, 2020 at 5:20 am · in reply to: Article with cautions on female fasted training #35693

Hi Aaron,

Thanks for bringing this article to our attention and thanks Scott for stepping in, it’s not controversial at all Aaron but great for discussion and conversation.

I would totally agree with everything Scott has written. This article does not draw any firm conclusions and is perhaps more cautionary. I think what the article is really trying to highlight is ensuring that endurance athletes are eating enough to fuel their requirements as the issue of relative energy deficiency in sport has been brought to everyone’s attention recently. If fasted sessions are added in, this then further increases the risks of creating an undesirable energy deficit and insufficient fuelling.

I think this has to be taken in a case by case context regardless of sex in terms of when to recommend fasted training (as Scott explains). What I have seen practically in ultra endurance athletes and uphill athlete clients is that regardless of fasted sessions it is about making sure with an increase in training load, dietary intake is matched to support fuelling, training adaptations, recovery and health. When fasted training sessions are added in they do further increase the stress on the body (i.e. immune system, increase in muscle damage, further rise in the stress hormone cortisol) so it is key that appropriate recovery is added in (in terms of training and diet) and the ‘athlete’ meets daily energy and nutrient demands, when this is achieved the risks are then minimal.

I am yet to see any evidence on the detrimental impact of fasted training sessions and female athletes (when carried out safely and as advised with a supporting dietary intake that helps to meet energy demands), I think more research is being carried out on female athletes but I think the risks are there for men as well as in women.

The other occurrence I am noticing more and more with athletes is that fasting days are being carried out in addition to fasted training sessions, and this I would advise against. Evidence has shown that when we spend extended periods of time in a negative energy state this over a period of time can start to have a negative impact on health and performance (such as those detriments the article highlights).

My advice would be when carrying out fasted sessions appropriately it is really vital that you include a recovery meal/snack within 30-60mins of the fasted session (that includes carbohydrate and protein), to then ensure daily energy requirements are met via meals/snacks for the rest of that day to support recovery, training adaptations and health.

It is also about good education around fasted training sessions and if the correct guidance is provided for athletes around fasting training then I think as Scott highlights, we know it is beneficial to endurance performance and health markers.

Fasted training will have long term risks (in both men and women) if not followed appropriately and if insufficient dietary intake is not eaten over a period of time. Fasted training will also hold risks if that individual who is carrying out the fasted sessions is already compromised in terms of other confounding issues e.g. RED-S, an existing already low body fat/under weight, significant weight loss, over training, illness, or pre-existing history of disordered eating /eating disorders, menstrual dysfunction.

Rebecca

[Rebecca Dent]

Rebecca Dent on December 18, 2019 at 8:11 am · in reply to: Christmas Indulgence #34576

Hi Terrylui,

Myfirness pal syncs up with training peaks and is quite quickly and easy to use (if not onerous at times if you do it daily).

There are quite a few trackers out there but this is one most of UA use. You can simply make a note on paper/track using an app or spreadsheet it is up to you. The aim is to just help you stay on track and keep you accountable. No method will be full proof as such that input error/recall error and tracker error do occur so it is about using the tracker as a guide.

After a quick google I came to these options:

https://www.lifewire.com/best-food-tracker-apps-4172287

Test a couple out but the go to is usually MyFitnessPal.

May be I will make this a separate forum post and get peoples thoughts.

Thanks

Rebecca – Uphill Athlete Dietitian