REDs - Working the Process

Here are some more details about REDs and where things are at with me. It's been a long couple of months working through all the health things, getting everyone ready for school (teaching at ISU), moving Abby, the start of club soccer for Joshua. I am still feeling overwhelmed and frustrated at how my body continues to spite me, but more on that at the end. 

Below are a couple of great articles talking about REDs signs and symptoms and steps moving toward recovery.  IF you are feeling any of this with your training please stop and take a look at your nutrition, volume and recovery. Trust me you don’t want to get to a place where it is hard to get back.  Right now I don’t know if I will ever run more than a 5k again. I don’t know if I will ever feel good enough to try for an Ironman or if it would even be safe to do so.  REDs and Perimenopause have really thrown me for a loop.

Dr Stacy Simms has a great article linked below on how underperforming can be one of the signs we aren't nourishing our bodies well enough. For me the early signs were super flat runs and then swims. But unfortunately, it went on for ten months and I didn't listen because I didn't know under fueling and inaccurate fueling was causing it. I am wondering now if it also triggered the significant uptick in problems with my hormones (don't get me wrong perimenopause was coming for me but was taking its time until around when my runs went south.)

https://www.drstacysims.com/newsletters/articles/posts/underperforming-research-shows-you-re-likely-undernourished 

This is a great video that talks about all the things that impact our ability to heal and manage our weight, sleep, etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmiPKftFogM

Recap from her video, but she has a lot more details in the video - 5 Signs You Aren't Eating Enough and things need to change (hormones can play into this so make sure you have someone helping you keep track of your hormone levels):

• Fatigue and low energy
• Irritability and anxiety
• Bloating, constipation and digestive issues (food sensitivities)
• Poor sleep and weak recovery
• Stalled fat loss (eating less, exercising more but still gaining weight)

 

What to do about it?

• Track food - so you know what you eat, how many calories, etc for a baseline. most of us who are active but not necessarily training need 1800 - 2300 calories of protein, carbs, fats and fiber a day. There are a handful of good apps that will help with this.
• Slowly increase calories (the fewer calories your body has the more it goes into reactive mode which causes more weight gain especially for people over 40)
• Hit your protein targets - 120 g to 150 g a day - and need calories between 1900 and 2400 a day just doing daily activities

·         Be patient because it takes months to get the body out of fighting mode (almost three months in and I am losing it... I am not good at being patient so trying to find distractions like kayaking, easy cycling, and pickleball but hard to find people to go with me.)

 

https://www.naturalathleteclinic.com/blogs/natural-athlete-solutions/how-to-recover-from-red-s-without-losing-fitness?

Above is a similar article with these key points.

1.      Balance the nutrients - The target energy availability for recovery is above 45 kilocalories per kilogram of lean body mass per day

2.      Carbohydrates, in this context, are a hormonal intervention - that means 2.3 to 3.2 grams per pound of body weight on moderate training days.

3.      Protein, protein, protein - helps repair the damage, build muscle, kick start metabolism

4.      Pull back on all cardio activities to allow for recovery that will eventually improve performance. I’m keeping any cardio low intensity and under an hour for cycling, kayaking, etc. and ½ hour for swimming.  No running now for three months.

5.      Carb loading pre and post workouts, and during for me even for short swims just to not be weak and wobbly afterwards.

6.      Practical targets during active recovery - 8 to 9 hours of sleep opportunity per night ...

Timelines for mine, which is moderate to severe, are 6-12 months.  All of this is going on while also trying to wrangle my hormones, so my perimenopause symptoms go away again as my estrogen tanked in late July. I am focusing heavily on nutrition, strength training and hormone balance right now.

With the reduction in cardio and the hormone roller coaster I have gained 8 lbs. in the last six weeks (my body hording fat to store estrogen unfortunately) and 25 lbs. since December. I am dealing with body issues, mental health spiraling, inability to focus and general apathy to most things, with REDs and Perimenopause duking it out to see which can be most annoying, and a complete and utter disruption of my goals and schedules. But I am doing okay, trying to focus on the positive and what I can do, but allowing more space for rest and recovery. Leaving some things undone. Giving myself grace.

The goal of this post was less for sympathy, I am in a rut and it sucks and I just need to keep working the plan, but my hope for anyone who finds hears my call to listen to your body. If performance is a problem, or strange injuries keep presenting themselves, it might be time for you to listen, reset your program, factor in more rest and more calories AND if you are a woman over 40 get a comprehensive hormone panel with someone recommended by the menopause society.

 IF we take care of our bodies it will eventually take care of us.  As always thanks for reading.