So my decision has
been made, I'm almost 100% back from my injury, and am now 3.5 weeks into
training with my new coach. Now that the dust has settled, I am waiting out the
end of the summer before heading back to a final quarter of school and am
finally back in shape, preparing for my fall racing season, I thought I would
share with you one of the big changes I've started making to my life now that
I've joined Team USA Minnesota:
There are a zillion
reasons why Team USA Minnesota was right for me, but one important one was the
support of a nutritionist who specializes in endurance sports. I transitioned from
400m sprinting to endurance triathlon training rapidly, and along with that came
a huge drop in weight over a short amount of time. In total it was 40 lbs from
January 2011 to March 2013, but the rapid weight loss was about 25 lbs in a
matter of 2 months, November 2012 to January 2013. As an athlete with already
low body fat (6.3% at 143lbs), that’s quite a bit of weight to lose, regardless
of the time period.
Here I am in my peak
weight 165, freshman year of college:
and here I am about a
month ago, at my lowest, of 122.5:
A number of factors
came into play which caused me to lose the weight, but largely it was starting
to run longer distances and cycling often while still consuming the same amount
of food as I was when I was a sprinter. It doesn't take a genius to know that
those two sports DEFINITELY require different fuel. My hunger never really
caught up to me too because it was so rapid. To top it all off, I, as a
biochemistry major, know the ins and outs of the Central Metabolic Pathway, all
of the different mechanisms for energy production and sources, fat storage,
vitamin requirements, etc. I am a nutrition and food science geek. Seriously, I
read nutritional biochemistry journals for fun. It’s hard to maintain proper
food intake when my favorite foods are steamed broccoli, 0% fat greek yogurt,
and turkey deli meat.
So what happens when I’m
in a constant state of improper energy balance?
High kidney and liver
enzyme function: both organs are working extra hard to detox my blood from all of
the tissue break down. When I don't feed myself enough, my body breaks down its
other tissues (muscle first). Extended high levels can sometimes lead to
permanent liver damage.
Low Estrogen: that’s right, low body fat means I
can't store my fat-soluble steroids. My levels are
PREPUBESCENT. So I'm functioning at levels lover than a 10 or 11 year old girl.
Low Vitamin D: another steroid-derivative that is
linked to bone health. It also leaves me at high risk for early onset
osteoporosis. So I'm not only an 11 year old girl but also a 75 year old woman
too. Sweet.
Sleep issues: without enough fuel through the
night, when the liver is functioning at its highest, my body is alerting me to
get up and get some fuel because it doesn't want to break down my organ
tissues. I would often wake up 4 to 5 times a night and have weak sleep periods
between those times.
Body Temp Regulation
Issues: with low body fat,
I get cold very easily. I have had to wear my wet suit in the heated outdoor
pool in Los Angeles, I get goose bumps after I eat because all of my blood flow
goes to my stomach, and I suffered pretty severe hypothermia at a triathlon in
March 2014.
THANKFULLY, with a
trip to the doctor, I found all of this out and that I needed to reverse it
immediately. That was about 9 months ago. I gained 2 lbs for my marathon in
February but then dropped back down 5 - 6 lbs when I was cross training from my
stress fracture injury.
So I needed a
nutritionist, but not any old one would do. Enter Rasa Troup. In addition to
supporting Team USA Minnesota athletes, she also works with athletes at the
University of Minnesota. She has a fantastic steeplechase career under her belt
and now is doing a phenomenal job as a nutritionist.
After going over my
health issues, my training load, and my eating habits, she set out to change my
ways. We Skype once a week, and in each session she teaches me a bit about the
balance that I need. Step by step, we've been adding meals, foods, and volume
into my diet. She says we have to "train my GI tract" to be able to
hold more food and teach my body the new state in which I will be functioning
and training. She is helping me avoid calorie counting, and instead gave me a
general guideline so I can guestimate and substitute different foods in my
meals. The first goal: 3 snacks roughly 400-500 calories, 3 meals roughly 700
calories.
We started with
snacks, making sure I eat 6 times a day. Then we started increasing my meals. Instead
of a 1/2 cup of oats and 1 tablespoon of nut butter (cashew butter rocks, you
should really try it) with two scrambled eggs, I am now eating 1 full cup of
oats with the nut butter, added dried fruits, and the eggs have soy cheese
added too! Just a ton of food to then have to eat again two hours later. But,
like she was telling me, it’s about training my body to know the volume of food
to start getting used to. Next up is lunch! I’m making sure my meals are
balanced and I’m getting enough carbohydrate sources. I sternly believe in
keeping veggies as a staple in my diet, but for now, to gain body fat and
weight to make my organs happy and healthy again, I need to increase the grains
in my diet. She has me keep a food journal, where I take pictures and write
down what is in every meals. I send them to her and they help us figure out
what I am lacking, needs improvement, etc.
I have been working
with Rasa now for about three weeks, so what have I noticed:
I am rarely ever
"stomach-grouping" hungry: Before beginning with Rasa, I (and my mother who dealed
with my grumpy, hungry mood swings) found myself feeling absolutely famished
when I approached my next meal. I would often try and hold out for a meal
rather than snacking which left me feeling crummy. Now I hardly ever find
myself hungry and instead have to keep track of the time to make sure im
spacing out all of my feedings so that I have a constant flow of nutrients.
I am sleeping well: only waking up once a night!
I am recovering
better: able to do multiple
workout days in a row and feeling much peppier.
My workouts are going
awesomely: I ran some great
mile repeats earlier this week, faster than I have ever run them before. I am
able to see my fitness improving and feeling like I don't have to put in quite
as much effort.
Eating a lot is hard: everyone I talk to finds it silly
that I have the issue of not being able to eat enough. At my lunch breaks at
work, I have fifteen minutes to SHOVEL food into my mouth, and I'm still not
getting enough. The societal issue of eating too much and wanting to eat less
is the complete opposite for my situation. I am in a constant state of chewing
and explaining to people that yes I do need to eat that giant plate of food,
and no I will not end up looking like the chubby security guard. Instead I will
be a better runner and healthier human being.
The difference Rasa's
approach has made: I worked with a dietitian last year who was focused on calories
and specific calculations to figure out my needs. This dietitian made me
calculate out 8 nuts, 4 oz of meat, 1/2 cut rice, etc. Rasa on the other hand
does that work on her own and then used the approach of helping me build meals
and snacks that meet the deficits that I have. I got a general outline of what
each meal and snack should have (food groups, amounts) and then she gives me a
bunch of ideas of how to satisfy those.
Since that doctor
visit 9 months ago, I have been telling myself that I need to gain this weight
for my health. If I want to live a happy, healthy, long life, I need to do what
is necessary. But why did it take so long to finally click?
Have you looked
around at the fitness magazines, the fashion magazines, the news, food boxes,
heck have you looked EVERYWHERE? What is our culture focused on? WEIGHT LOSS.
What do girls say their ideal bodies are? Thin, lean, and defined. Without
initially trying, I achieved a thin, lean, and defined figure, but at the cost
of my internal health. The world around me is focused on losing 5, 10, 20
pounds and find beauty in being skinny and fat-free. When I am told that my
goals are to gain those pounds, the surrounding environment sure doesn't know
how to respond. There is plenty of judgment passed on what girls and people in
general should be putting into their bodies. Popular articles all talk about
eating less, eating foods to stay full, and so on. And I know as an elite
athlete, my needs are very different from the average. But how come we don't
see articles catered to serious athletes? They could talk about nutrients and
habits that focused on eating enough, getting adequate energy sources and
ratios, etc. Up until now, I have let the cultural stigma of WEIGHT GAIN get to
me. I would try for a bit and then fall back into my veggie and protein diet,
partially because of the environment around me and partially because I have
trained myself to crave that stuff.
I got to sit down
with Stephanie Rothstein Bruce—a sub 2:30 marathoner and an advocate for good body
image—and talk heart to
heart about the absolute importance of eating enough for your health as being
the number one priority. She helped me figure this out: you only have one body
and it is 100% more important that a running career. You have to do what is
good and right for it and you have to be stronger than the judgment of the
weight-loss crazed society.
This time around, I
have finally grasped the urgency of the regeneration of my health and the
importance it has on my training. I can't run fast if I’m lacking the essential
fuel to run, recover, and improve. Being fit and healthy is a universal goal,
and for right now, healthy means eating bucketloads of food and gaining some
much needed meat on my bones. So I plan to keep putting good food into my body,
the right amount of it in, and bask in the good feeling and increased training
performance I am having. I am so thankful for Team USA
Minnesota, rasa Troup, and my family for the support system that is allowing me
to make the change in my life. I have no doubt that this will help with my
racing and livelihood in the weeks, months, and years to come!
So next time you see
me, ask me why I don't have food in my mouth :p
