Hey Everybody!

We interrupt your regularly-programmed highlights email to bring you our Holiday Highlights. Expect two or three editions with a (slightly) more festive theme, whilst still hitting on the usual kinds of topics.

For the first Holiday Highlights, I wanted to mention an article I wrote a few years ago called:

“Why You Should Eat More And Train Less This Christmas”

Conveniently, just the title alone provides a different perspective, as well as something to do to improve your health this holiday season!

The original article was actually one of the first I ever wrote, before I met Chris or became part of NBT. However, it has (to my surprise) remained pretty relevant to what we do! We’re frequently asked about the commonest dietary errors we see in athletes. For me, the biggest one is not eating enough! It’s something we deal with pretty much every day.

I completely understand why under-eating is such a pervasive problem for athletes. On top of the usual exposure to photoshopped magazine covers, most people in the health industry are currently running one or more of the following storylines:

• (Saturated) fat causes heart disease.

• Carbohydrates cause diabetes and obesity.

• Protein (or certain amino acids) cause cancer and reduce longevity.

• Caloric restriction and fasting are crucial to long-term health.

While in certain scenarios I could make a case for each of the above being important, none of those statements are true in isolation. And when the health-conscious athlete adds them together in one combination or another, they end up over-thinking every meal, and eating too few calories overall. This can happen very quickly in somebody with a high training load who avoids modern processed foods, because calories rapidly become harder to consume in large quantities.

Though there is plenty to be said about the myths behind fat, carbs, and protein, I’ll focus on the last of those four bullet points. For instance - consider the fact that you’re probably already doing the thing that activates autophagy (one of the main benefits of fasting) most rapidly - endurance exercise.

The “benefits” of caloric restriction have also largely been demonstrated in non-athletic participants, with potential side effects including decreased bone strength, anaemia, and a reduced metabolic rate beyond what would be expected due to decreased weight. None of these things are good for performance. And they at least partly explain why an energy deficit is a significant risk factor for illness and injury in athletes.

To get the most out of this week’s tip, I recommend following it for most of the festive season. This is because (if you’re anything like me), you’ve probably not taken a real rest period for quite some time. It can take longer than you think to truly recover from training (see the original article for some references), and the negative consequences of a relative energy deficit often take many weeks to recover from. Even if you have a fat loss goal, this recent study found that spreading out a calorie-restricted diet by adding in two-week refeeding periods resulted in the same weight loss, but with a greater preservation of muscle and a smaller reduction in metabolic rate.

So this holiday season, enjoy some time away from winter training sessions, and spend that time with colleagues and friends, and food, instead. This doesn’t have to entail a complete departure from your normal diet and training, but you also shouldn’t feel guilty about eating more calorie-dense foods than you normally would. In fact, allowing yourself to be less restrained in your diet might be good for your stress levels! And you can think about how you’re helping your body rest and recover, allowing you to reach your goals for next year even faster!

Thanks for reading, and have a great week!

Tommy Wood, MD, PhD

P.S Got anything that you think is a highlight? We’d love to hear from you! Send your thoughts to support@nourishbalancethrive.com.

P.P.S If you’ve been diligently adding our highlights tips and other things to your health and fitness routine and you’re still not happy with your results, then some testing may be in order. At Nourish Balance Thrive, we’ve helped over 1,000 athletes identify and resolve the root causes killing their performance. Book a free consultation, and we’ll take a look at your history and share how we’d work with you as part of our “Elite Performance Program.”