Refuel, Repair, Rehydrate, Revitalize: Nutrition for Optimal Recovery

from NASM (National Academy of Sports Medicine)

Whether you’ve just finished a HIIT workout, completed a CrossFit WOD, hit your personal best lifts, or finished a triathlon, your focus should move from performance to recovery.

This involves: Refueling, Repairing, Rehydrating, & Revitalizing: Evidence-based strategies to enhance the recovery process should focus on:
   Energy balance: are you trying to lose weight, gain it, or simply maintain?
   Macronutrients: proteins, carbs, & fats (7 in the proper amounts)
   Micronutrients: vitamins and minerals
   Hydration: water, water, water!
   Nutrient timing: eating often enough to stay refueled and ready for action
   Supplements: as needed and/or desired

Energy Balance: Energy (calories) is the foundation of your repair process. Optimize your energy for your training activities by focusing on the 3 Ts:
   1). Total calories– Match your caloric intake with your training/activity requirements and goals. Not eating enough stresses your nervous system and adrenals and may delay the recovery process.

   2). Type of calories– Focus on carbohydrates for energy and glycogen restoration, adequate protein for repair and muscle protein synthesis, and healthy fats to minimize inflammation and support overall health.

   3). Timing of your meals– Time your meals strategically around training sessions and competitions.
Energy availability is essential for performance and recovery. Energy availability is the difference between energy intake (diet) and energy expenditure (exercise, training and competing, and NEAT- non-exercise activity thermogenesis).

 (LEA) occurs when there is an imbalance between the energy intake (calories from carbohydrates, proteins and fats) and energy expenditure, resulting in an energy deficit. Affecting both men and women, LEA can be inadvertent, intentional or psychopathological (e.g., disordered eating). It is a factor that can adversely impact reproductive, skeletal and immune health, training, performance and recovery, as well as a risk factor for both macro- and micronutrient deficiencies.

Are you at risk for LEA (Low Energy Availability)?
   a), Performing multiple training sessions daily/weekly, especially if you’re always pushing your strength and/or endurance boundaries in each and every workout.
   b). Irregular eating patterns: if you don’t eat the appropriate type and amount of food at regular intervals, your energy balance and your performance will suffer.
   c). Failing to meet the quality element of your energy needs: see “b” above!
   d). Unrealistic/unsupervised calorie restriction to make your weight: “gotta make it so right now” goals and draconian methods will take you further from your goals, not move you towards them.

Signs & Symptoms of Poor Energy Management
Chronic fatigue
Inability to gain or build muscle or strength
Recurrent injuries
Training hard but not improving performance
Poor performance
Decreased muscle strength and power
Poor healing/recovery
Recurring infections and/or illnesses
Depression and/or irritability
Anemia/low serum iron
Disordered eating
Irregular menstrual cycles
Abnormal or unplanned weight loss
Gastrointestinal problems
Decreased bone mineral density
Stress fractures

Practical Strategies to Meet Your Energy Needs
1). Aim for three meals and a couple of healthy snacks in between.
2). Adjust your intake based on your activity needs (more for more activity, less when less active).
3). Supplement with additional snacks and protein shakes to meet the energy demands of your training, if necessary.
4). Develop realistic and health-minded performance and body composition goals.
5). Set realistic timelines for any weight loss or body composition changes. Lost? Get professional help!

Follow well-planned and personalized training and nutrition strategies that can best prepare you to perform and stay healthy.

Determining Your Energy Needs: There are a number of online calculators that can help you estimate your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) and Activity Energy Expenditure to determine your Total Daily Energy Expenditure and optimum energy requirements

http://www.calculator.net/bmr-calculator.html or https://tdeecalculator.net/
Bottom Line- Meet your energy needs by matching your caloric intake with expenditure.

Macronutrients: Macronutrients are both energy substrates and signaling molecules that can be strategically manipulated in order to ensure adequate recovery.