What is Low Energy Availability (LEA)?
Low Energy Availability…
is the mismatch between energy intake from our diet and the energy cost of exercise which can lead to under-fueling.
It can occur when your energy intake has decreased and/or your exercise load has increased i.e., eating less but moving significantly more.
And it’s hard to identify, especially if you are on a weight loss journey, as a runner, the “ideal” is that we are lean because lean equals fast and as the weight drops off those pbs keep coming!
And because sport is entrenched in history, with limited good quality scientific, longitudinal data, there is an inertia of success ie, thin/lean = fast; so, there may a reluctance to change doing things that have always been done.
The threat to the longevity of female runners is how to get the most up to date, high quality research out to the masses; unfortuneately, the impact of this research doesn’t happen overnight, results, improved strength and performance takes time and that isn’t sexy.
Sadly, we don’t see the consequences of what under-fuelling does to a runner because after the first year, or if you’re lucky 2, of pbs, in a sport that is driven by medals and bringing the silver home, an athlete can hit a brick wall where they limp off into the distance.
The exact reasons for under-fuelling are not understood but research suggests reasons range from a lack of knowledge on the energy requirements of female runners, we’re not all 18-24 years old, some of us are parents, grand-parents, or started running later in life, possibly when peri-menopausal, to the simple reason of being fearful of gaining weight.
But our bodies need energy to grow, humans are giant puzzles with so many pieces to who we are; we need to attend to all these pieces to fully be at our best, to function at our optimal level. This is the exciting bit….if you are achieving now when under par, what could you achieve?
What can you do as a runner?
The hard part is that these health problems may be happening below the surface and might only appear once they are well established.
Recurrent injuries like stress fractures, loss of regular periods, a large or sudden loss of weight, constant tiredness or illness, poor recovery, trouble losing weight despite following a sensible plan.
What can you do as a coach?
Create a safe and supportive environment so that your runner can feel confident in speaking to you without judgement.
Starting a conversation without judgement or prejudice is important, be mindful that a person’s relationship with food can be complex and may be beyond your scope as a coach so signposting to a specific sports dietician should be the way forward.
Runners can have personality traits that make them phenomenal runners at grass roots levels, driven, motivated etc but at the same time these traits can also increase the risk of various, mental health concerns that impact on an unhealthy approach to training and nutrition.