You Can’t Out-Train An Empty Tank
I was chatting to a client recently about food and training.
Not weight loss.
Not calories.
Not how to make everything lower calorie, higher protein, sugar-free, guilt-free, joy-free or whatever else the wellness industry is flogging this week.
Fuel.
Because sometimes we become so obsessed with eating less that we completely forget one fairly important reason why we eat.
Our bodies need food.
They need protein.
They need carbs.
They need fat.
They need vitamins and minerals.
And they need enough total energy to actually do all the shit we’re asking them to do.
Now, this applies to everyone.
You don’t have to be an athlete to benefit from fuelling yourself properly.
But I’m particularly talking here to those of you who train hard.
The runners.
The Hyrox lot.
The CrossFitters.
The cyclists.
The people lifting three, four or five times a week.
The people entering events.
The people training for something.
The people who want their body to perform whether in the gym or in the bedroom.
Because you cannot continually demand more from your body while giving it less to work with.
Eventually it’s going to send you the fucking invoice.
The Dangerous Bit Is That At First You Might Feel Brilliant
You change your diet.
Calories come down.
Carbohydrates probably will come down as it’s realistically the one we can manipulate.
You’re training hard.
Weight starts dropping.
You feel lighter.
Motivation is high.
Training might even initially feel bloody brilliant.
You are as they say Fucking unstoppable.
Having low energy for a little while won’t instantly ruin your health.
Short-term positive outcomes can actually reinforce the behaviour.
You think:
“This is working.”
So perhaps you cut a little more.
Train a little harder.
Add another session.
And keep going.
Until eventually…
something starts changing.
Sessions feel harder.
Recovery gets worse.
Weights stop progressing.
Your running feels flat.
You’re tired.
Irritable.
Thinking about food more.
Little niggles keep appearing.
You get ill more often.
Sleep might suffer.
Performance stalls or starts going backwards.
And in women, changes to the menstrual cycle can be an important warning sign.
You’re training harder than ever.
You’re being incredibly “disciplined”.
So why aren’t you getting better?
Sometimes discipline isn’t what you’re missing.
Fuel is.
Your Body Isn’t Trying To Fuck You Over
Your body isn’t your opponent.
It isn’t deliberately holding onto fat to annoy you.
Your metabolism isn’t sitting there plotting against you, like some evil James Bond villain.
You don’t need to continually punish your body into submission.
Your body is trying to keep you alive while doing everything else you demand of it.
Train.
Work.
Think.
Walk.
Parent.
Recover.
Maintain bone density.
Support immune function.
Regulate temperature.
Produce hormones.
Repair tissue.
And several thousand other things you’re blissfully unaware are happening while you’re reading this.
All of that requires resources.
So perhaps instead of constantly asking:
“How little can I give my body?”
We should be asking:
“What could it do if I actually gave it what it needs?”
Protein Is Brilliant
I’m a nutritionist.
I own a gym.
Obviously, I’m going to tell you protein matters.
Protein supports muscle repair and growth.
It can help preserve lean tissue during weight loss.
It contributes to satiety.
It’s useful for recovery.
Brilliant.
Eat your fucking protein.
But somewhere along the way we’ve started behaving as though protein is the only macronutrient that’s allowed to have a fucking job.
Chicken.
Protein yoghurt.
Protein shake.
Protein everything.
Meanwhile carbs are standing outside tapping on the window asking:
“Am I allowed back in yet?”
Yes.
Come in.
We’ve been expecting you.
Carbohydrates Are Not The Enemy
If you train hard, carbs can be incredibly useful.
Your body stores carbs as glycogen in your muscles and liver.
That gives you readily available fuel for training, particularly when intensity starts climbing.
Lifting.
Running.
Conditioning.
Hyrox.
CrossFit.
Team sport.
Intervals.
All the horrible shit we apparently voluntarily do for fun you know the stuff we did as kids but for some reason now we pay for it.
So, if you’re asking your body to repeatedly produce hard efforts while deliberately restricting one of its most useful fuel sources…
don’t be shocked if eventually performance suffers.
Theirs is also an interesting development in the research around RED-s(Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport) too.
Low carb availability is increasingly being considered alongside low overall energy availability when looking at health and performance consequences.
So yes.
Total energy matters.
But what you’re eating matters too.
And Fat Didn’t Suddenly Become Optional Either
We did this to fat before we did it to carbs, remember the 80s.
Apparently, every few years nutrition needs a new villain.
Dietary fat provides energy, essential fatty acids and helps us absorb fat-soluble vitamins.
So, I’m not particularly interested in asking:
Which macronutrient can we eliminate?
I’m interested in:
What does this person need?
Enough protein.
Enough carbohydrate.
Enough fat.
Enough total energy.
Enough micronutrients.
Enough variety.
And enough flexibility that they can actually enjoy their fucking life.
Because there’s another part of nutrition we seem determined to optimise out of existence.
Food Isn’t Just Fuel
Yes, food is fuel.
But food is also food.
Food is dinner with your family.
It’s going out with friends.
It’s the meal you remember from a holiday.
It’s your mum’s cooking.
It’s birthday cake.
It’s sitting in a restaurant with somebody you love.
It’s Christmas dinner.
It’s discovering somewhere that makes an absolutely ridiculous burger.
It’s sharing something.
Celebrating something.
Comfort.
Culture.
Tradition.
Pleasure.
Food is supposed to be enjoyable.
We don’t need to reduce every mouthful to protein, carbohydrate and fat.
You can understand nutrition and still eat something purely because it tastes fucking lovely.
In fact, I’d argue that a genuinely healthy relationship with food probably needs room for exactly that.
Fuel your training.
Support your health.
But for fuck’s sake…
enjoy your food as well.
When There Isn’t Enough Energy To Go Around
This is where we need to talk about Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport — RED-s.
And this section is particularly relevant if you’re training hard or competing.
RED-s can occur when there’s a prolonged or severe mismatch between the energy coming in and the energy being used through exercise, leaving insufficient energy available to optimally support the rest of the body’s functions.
And despite the name, this isn’t just an elite-athlete problem.
Nor is it exclusively a female problem.
Men can experience RED-s too.
But in women, changes to menstrual function can be one of the more obvious warning signs.
And losing your period because you’re training hard and under-fuelling isn’t a badge of honour.
It’s information worth paying attention to.
Problematic low energy availability can affect reproductive function, bone and musculoskeletal health, immunity, glycogen synthesis, psychological wellbeing and ultimately performance.
Which produces a rather spectacular irony.
You restrict food because you want to become a better athlete…
and eventually the restriction can become one of the things stopping you becoming one.
Imagine Actually Fuelling The
What happens when somebody who’s been under-fuelling starts giving their body what it needs?
There’s fuel available to train.
There’s carbs available for harder work.
There’s protein available to support repair and adaptation.
There’s energy available for recovery.
Suddenly training can start feeling very different.
You’ve got another gear.
You can push.
Recover.
Come back.
Push again.
Recover again.
One enormous session where you absolutely destroy yourself isn’t particularly useful if you’re fucked for the next five days.
Training + recovery + adaptation.
Repeat that consistently and things start happening.
You get stronger.
Fitter.
Faster.
More capable.
That’s when you can start feeling fucking unstoppable.
Not because you’re continually overriding what your body is telling you.
Because you’re finally working with it.
But Knowing What To Eat Can Be The Easy Bit
I can explain why somebody needs carbs.
I can calculate protein.
I can discuss meal timing.
We can talk about pre-training meals.
Post-training recovery.
Hydration.
Energy requirements.
That’s the science bit.
Sometimes that’s relatively straightforward.
The harder conversation can be:
“I understand that I need to eat more… but I’m frightened to.”
Because food doesn’t exist in a psychological vacuum.
We have decades of messages attached to it.
Carbs make you fat.
Eating less is good.
Hunger means it’s working.
Being lighter means you’re healthier.
You have to earn food.
You need to burn off dessert.
You shouldn’t eat after a certain time.
Rest days require less food because you haven’t earned it.
Clean food.
Dirty food.
Good food.
Bad food.
Cheat meals.
Guilt.
Control.
That’s a lot of fucking baggage to put on a plate.
Unf*ck Your Food Story
And that’s exactly where the idea behind Unf*ck Your Food Story came from.
Not another diet.
Not another set of food rules.
Not me pretending ten emails and a worksheet are going to unravel somebody’s entire psychological relationship with food.
Because they’re fucking not.
It’s about starting the conversation.
Where did your beliefs about food come from?
Why do you think carbohydrates are bad?
Why does eating more make you anxious?
Why does the number on the scale determine whether yesterday was a “good” day?
Why do you feel like you need to earn food through exercise?
Why can you tell somebody else to enjoy birthday cake while feeling guilty when you eat it yourself?
Sometimes simply recognising the story you’ve been telling yourself is useful.
Then perhaps we can start writing a slightly different one.
But let’s be very clear.
That’s a drop in the ocean of the psychological side of food.
If thoughts around food are causing significant anxiety, fear, compulsive behaviour, restriction or distress — or you’re worried about disordered eating or an eating disorder — speak to an appropriately qualified professional.
A nutritionist can help with nutrition.
Sometimes you need psychological support as well.
Sometimes you need medical support.
Sometimes you need a whole team.
There’s no prize for trying to unfuck everything by yourself.
Stop Fighting Your Body
Your body isn’t something you need to defeat.
Food isn’t something you need to win against.
And your training isn’t punishment for what you’ve eaten.
They’re supposed to work together.
Food supports training.
Training provides the stimulus.
Recovery allows adaptation.
And somewhere amongst all of that you’re also allowed to sit around a table with people you like, eat something purely because it tastes fucking fantastic and not give the macros a second thought.
That’s health too.
So perhaps stop asking:
“How little can I eat and get away with?”
And start asking:
“What could this body do if I properly supported it?”
Feed it.
Train it.
Recover it.
Enjoy it.
And get help with the bits that are difficult.
Because if you give your body what it needs instead of continually fighting against it…
It might just become your biggest fucking supporter.
