Home› General Training Discussions

Women Specific Nutritional Needs?

Jess WithrowJess Withrow
in General Training Discussions

 O.K. chicas....  here's one my other half definitely can't help me out with!  

I recently read the article in the June 2012 copy of 3/GO titled, "Women Are Not Small Men."  Some really interesting stuff in there regarding how women utilize fuel and recover, and how our hormones influence how we burn fuel...  What struck me in particular was the following - the author (Dr. Stacey Sims) recommends increasing protein intake to 1.8g/kg "~ 10 days out from your period."  When I was reading this article, it was about a week BEFORE mine, and - let me tell you - I. Was. Hungry!  

So that got me to wondering - does anyone else notice a cyclical hunger trend?  And SHOULD we be fueling differently/more durning certain points in the cycle during IM training (or...  are the hormones telling me I *need* chocolate???)?  Thoughts?  Penny?  

Here's a link to the article (hope it actually works!):  http://www.3gomagazine-digital.com/3-go/201206?pg=50#pg50

Comments

  • txvettxvet

    Thanks for linking to that article, Jess!  I'm very interested in what Penny has to say about it.

    I try to listen to my body, and my body tells me that it needs chocolate at that time of the month!

  • penlynwilsonpenlynwilson
    Really interesting! I'm going to pull the articles she references.
  • eldrake25eldrake25
    Wow, this is really interesting. I struggled with my training for IMTX everymonth around my period. This included anythign from mild fatigue, low grade fever, and skin/staph infections. I just thought my immune system was getting hammered from all the working out - also wondering if tweaking my nutrition could eliminate the majority of these issues. Now, I am definately going to look into a more detailed nutrition plan. As a coincidence, I totaly bonked at TX and ended up with a DNF (1 week out from my period) - that's not an excuse, just saying it could totally be one of the many factors that lead up to the disappointing result.
  • Jess WithrowJess Withrow
    @ Kristen - YES I NEED that chocolate!!! ;-)

    @ Penny - looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

    @ Emily - I hear you... the hormones are a game changer! My HR increases dramatically in the week pre-period - usually a 10 BPM bump per zone. Sorry to hear about IMTX!
Sign In or Register to comment.