Let's talk about low-carb diets for endurance athletes! Sports dietitian Holley Samuel, RD, MEd, CPT (@holleyfuelednutrition) joins the show to talk about low carbohydrate approaches for endurance athletes. Good? Bad? Let's discuss!
- Intentional vs unintentional carbohydrate restriction
- The purported benefits of a low-carb approach; does it translate to performance gains?
- The current state of the research on low-carb approaches for endurance athletes
- What "fat burning"/being fat-adapted actually means
- Is it the carb restriction or calorie restriction that creates the risk?
- The limitations of the research and what we still don't know
- The risks of a low-carb approach from a health perspective (especially for people with a history of disordered eating)
- What about body composition?
- The relationship between carbohydrate restriction and Low Energy Availability (LEA)/Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S)
- What's going on with the small subset of (mostly male) athletes who seem to thrive for years on a low carbohydrate approach?
- And more!
Holley Samuel is a dietitian, personal trainer, master of education & eating disorders, and podcaster at her virtual practice Holley Fueled Nutrition. Holley works with runners and helps them learn to fuel their bodies without restriction, make peace with food, and prevent injuries to become stronger and faster runners for life. https://holleyfuelednutrition.com
