NUTRITION FAQ’S

In a nutshell, macronutrients are the three main food groups that humans require to sustain life: carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Micronutrients are vitamins and minerals, which are also essential for life and wellbeing. It is crucial that we have the right balance of all of these nutrients in our nutrition plan to ensure optimal health and training performance.

For further information on this, please review the “Micronutrients Under the Microscope” and the “Nutrition Timetable” webinars in the SFE Training Lab resources area.

It depends…We are all different and what works for one won’t work for all. Nutrient requirements vary according to age, gender, cumulative energy demands, hormone balance and other factors that are unique to each of us. Approximating calorie intake can be used as a guide to ensure that we are eating enough to support our health and training goals, but the best way to assess whether we are obtaining the nutrients we need is to monitor our energy, mood, sleep quality, cravings, menstrual cycles and performance during training.

If you are keen to discuss this or any other aspects of your personal nutrition requirements then ask the SFE team about the Nutrition Foundations package that is available from Sept 2022.

It depends… We are all different and what works for one won’t work for all. Nutrient requirements vary according to age, gender, cumulative energy demands, hormone balance and other factors that are unique to each of us.

How much and how often we need to eat will depend to a certain extent on how much cumulative demand we are putting on our body and how well we prioritise recovery. Three balanced meals, equally spaced throughout the day might suffice depending on when and how we train, but for most of us who are trying to fit training around an already busy work and home schedule, it is very likely that we will need to snack shortly before training and often soon after training as well.

We will also need to consider appropriate hydration and fuelling during our training or race; this will depend on the length and intensity of the event.

Whilst some people might feel they are able to train fasted first thing in the morning, this will often result in a larger cortisol and blood sugar spike (stress response) than if we train fuelled. If we train like this over weeks to months the cumulative stress on our system is likely to increase, thereby increasing risks for long term health issues and decreasing the intensity at which we are able to train.

For those of us who have struggled with RED-S (relative energy deficiency in sport) and for those ladies who lack a regular menstrual cycle, we should absolutely not train fasted and should always have a snack of carbohydrate and protein around 30-60 minutes before a session. We should also be discussing our training regime with our coach to ensure that it is appropriate and not exacerbating the energy deficiency and setting us up for longer term health problems.

Training well rested and well fuelled will lead to the best results and will support long-term health. Completing the 2 week SFE training and nutrition diary will allow the team to give you some feedback on your current regime and opting in to the Nutrition Foundations package will help to guide you further towards a better understanding and personalised nutrition strategy.

It depends… We are all different and what works for one won’t work for all. Nutrient requirements vary according to age, gender, cumulative energy demands, hormone balance and other factors that are unique to each of us.

For some people with serious neurological disorders, a carefully controlled and monitored ketogenic diet has been shown to be beneficial. Humans are, however, omnivores and as such we are designed and have evolved to thrive on a balance of the foods that are available to us in our natural habitat. (NB, this doesn’t mean eating Subway because it’s next door to our office!) We need a balance of macro and micronutrients to function and to feel our best.

Under certain circumstances a ketogenic approach can cause a beneficial metabolic shift for a short period of time. Over an extended period of weeks to months, however, the lack of carbohydrate can put extra strain on our metabolism and can lead to problems with thyroid function and hormone balance.

If we are already struggling with energy, mood, irregular periods, hitting a training plateau, then this probably isn’t the time to add a further potential stress to our metabolism by excluding a major fuel source.

To be truly in “ketosis”, burning ketones rather than carbohydrate as our primary fuel, is very challenging and to be strict with this requires monitoring with urine or breath testing on a daily basis.

If you are keen to discuss a ketogenic approach and other aspects of your personal nutrition requirements then ask the SFE team about the Nutrition Foundations package that is available from Sept 2022.

It depends… We are all different and what works for one won’t work for all. Nutrient requirements vary according to age, gender, cumulative energy demands, hormone balance and other factors that are unique to each of us.

As with keto, if we are already struggling with energy, mood, irregular periods, hitting a training plateau, then this probably isn’t the time to add a further potential stress to our metabolism by sending signals that food might be scarce for a prolonged period of time.

There are some recognised potential benefits of fasting that include giving the gut a chance to rest and therefore potentially supporting digestive health; if done carefully there is also the chance of increasing insulin sensitivity, thereby reducing the risk of diabetes and fatty liver.

There are different ways to structure a fast ranging from a 12 hour eating window in every 24 hours through to only a 4 hour eating window, and even multiple day fasts at the extreme end of the spectrum. When training hard and already expecting a lot of our bodies we will have a relatively high energy requirement, in which case fasting for more than 12 hours a day is unlikely to be beneficial and increases the risk of under-fuelling.

If you are keen to discuss intermittent fasting or other aspects of your personal nutrition requirements then ask the SFE team about the Nutrition Foundations package that is available from Sept 2022.

It depends… We are all different and what works for one won’t work for all. Nutrient requirements vary according to age, gender, cumulative energy demands, hormone balance and other factors that are unique to each of us.

As already mentioned, humans are omnivores and require a balance of macro and micronutrients to thrive. The easiest way to ensure we are covering our nutritional bases is to include a wide variety of foods in our diet.

The protein we require in our diet is made up of building blocks called amino acids that we find in abundance in animal sources, but some of the key or “essential” amino acids are in very short supply in plant-based foods. Whilst we wouldn’t need to include meat every day to obtain these in sufficient quantity, having a few meals a week with animal protein can be highly supportive to overall health and can help to reduce our risk of nutritional deficiencies.

The most important consideration for meat that is included in the diet is the quality. Meat that comes from animals raised outdoors, grass fed rather than grain fed, and farmed using organic practices will be of the highest nutritional quality. Organic farming practices also ensure optimal animal welfare and in fact help to replenish rather than deplete the local environment.

If you are keen to discuss this or any other aspects of your personal nutrition requirements then ask the SFE team about the Nutrition Foundations package that is available from Sept 2022.

It depends… We are all different and what works for one won’t work for all. Nutrient requirements vary according to age, gender, cumulative energy demands, hormone balance and other factors that are unique to each of us.

As already mentioned, humans are omnivores and require a balance of macro and micronutrients to thrive. The easiest way to ensure we are covering our nutritional bases is to include a wide variety of foods in our diet.

It is not uncommon for people who start eating a vegan diet after many years of eating packaged and processed animal-based foods to feel some initial benefits in terms of energy and vitality. Over weeks to months, however, these initial improvements don’t often last unless great care is taken to avoid a deficiency of key nutrients.

As mentioned in the question above, there are very few plant-based foods that contain all of the essential amino acids, and it is very challenging to obtain sufficient B vitamins from plants whereas they are found in abundance in animal sources. There is a very high risk of developing deficiencies in key nutrients unless a vegan diet includes a careful supplement schedule.

When training hard and expecting a lot of our bodies it is especially important to ensure that we are not deficient in nutrients and that we have adequate available energy.

If you are keen to discuss this or any other aspects of your personal nutrition requirements then ask the SFE team about the Nutrition Foundations package that is available from Sept 2022.

It depends… We are all different and what works for one won’t work for all. Nutrient requirements vary according to age, gender, cumulative energy demands, hormone balance and other factors that are unique to each of us.

Gluten is found in many readily available sources of carbohydrate and for optimal health and performance, we all need adequate carbohydrate in our nutrition plan. Of course, there are many options for carbohydrate sources that don’t contain gluten, including whole foods such as rice, potatoes, quinoa, oats and butternut squash.

Gluten is one of the most common food allergens, meaning that even if you don’t have Coeliac Disease, it can still cause an immune reaction or exacerbate a pre-existing problem with the immune system. Over time this can increase the risk of developing an auto-immune problem such as an under-active thyroid or certain types of arthritis. Immune reactions don’t always mean rashes and wheezing; they can include gut, mood and joint problems too.

Training hard and indeed any form of physical or psychological stress can deplete the part of our immune defence system that is found within the gut. This makes it easier for gluten proteins to get across the gut lining and aggravate or “trigger” our immune system.

If you have a diagnosis of Coeliac Disease, it is essential that you exclude gluten from your diet.

If you are keen to discuss this or any other aspects of your personal nutrition requirements then ask the SFE team about the Nutrition Foundations package that is available from Sept 2022.

It depends… We are all different and what works for one won’t work for all. Nutrient requirements vary according to age, gender, cumulative energy demands, hormone balance and other factors that are unique to each of us.

That said, the principles can be kept very simple - life is complicated enough! If each meal and snack contains a healthy fat, a quality protein and a slow-release carbohydrate, we won’t go far wrong. What does this look like in practice? Whole foods!! For fats think avocado, olive oil, coconut oil, nuts, seeds; for protein think seafood, fish, meat, tofu, chicken; for carbohydrates think potatoes, rice, oats, quinoa; add a stack of vegetables and spices and at least 2 litres of water per day and you will have great foundation.

Of course, as already mentioned, we are all unique in our genetic make up and specific nutrition requirements so for an in depth conversation about your personalised nutrition plan you might want to consider the Nutrition Foundations package that is available through SFE from Sept 2022.