Tough Girl Podcast Abby McQueeney Penamonte - Registered Dietitian and Nutrition Coach. Helping women to fuel their bodies, improve their relationship with food, fitness, and body image.
Sep 6, 2022
34:26
Abby in her own words: "I used to be a competitive ultra-runner. I competed in 100-mile mountain races and was pretty decent at it. In 2013 I competed and won (female division) the Grand Slam of Ultra-Running. This is 4 x 100 mile races in a 10 week span. But too much endurance + too little calories and carbs= Burnout. Anyone that doesn't believe burnout or adrenal issues are real is a liar. It's real and it's debilitating to your body and mind. I was forced to stop running and I eventually found weight-lifting. I tried my best at CrossFit but really gravitated towards heavy lifting and fell in love with Powerlifting. I worked with a Nutrition Coach and spent years reverse dieting to support my body and goals and un-do all the years of damage I did as an endurance athlete. My sole purpose was to lift as much as I possibly could in a weight class sport and I was pretty decent at it. In 2018 I competed in PowerLifting Nationals. At 138 pounds my best squat was 290 pounds, bench 190 pounds, and deadlift 325 pounds. I ended up hurting my back while lifting in 2019. I eventually decided to walk away from all competitive sports and focus on living a normal life with food and fitness balance. These days my goals include lifting weights to support health and hormones. I want to be fit and strong enough to keep up with Molly-dog and continue hiking some beautiful miles in the Colorado mountains. I enjoy eating all foods and consume over 2300 calories. I strength train for ~ 1 hour x 4-5 days per week. I walk 2.5-3.5 miles every-day with Miss Molly. I am happier and confident with my body now than any time before. You don't need to be extreme or restrict yourself to get results. I follow an all-foods fit approach. As a Registered Dietitian and Nutrition Coach my mission now is to prevent other athletes from making the same mistakes I made. My purpose in life is to serve others (women) and help them fuel their bodies, improve their relationship with food + fitness, and body image." New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday at 7am UK time - Subscribe so you don't miss a single episode. You can support the mission to increase the amount of female role models in the media by visiting www.patreon.com/toughgirlpodcast. Show notes
- Who is Abby
- Living in Denver, Colorado
- Working as a Registered Dietitian and Nutrition Coach
- What her early years were like
- Being 1 of 4 girls
- Being inspired by her older sister and getting involved in running from a young age
- Running in college and being a mid range mid pack person
- Post college getting into longer distances and finding her calling
- Loving the people in the running community
- Getting into the longer distances
- Running her first trail ultra and building a solid foundation
- Enjoying the mental side of the physical challenge
- Why 2013 was her break through year
- Putting in the hard work everyday
- Entering the grand slam of ultra running 4x100 mile races and winning (2013)! (the Western States 100 in California, the Vermont 100 Mile Endurance Run in Vermont, the Leadville Trail 100 in Colorado, and the Wasatch Front 100 Mile Endurance Run in Utah.
- Post season - and trying to recover
- Struggling with insomnia, fatigue, blood sugar levels, being anaemic, and not having a menstrual cycle for 3 years
- Trying to run through the symptoms
- Getting support and starting to help herself recover
- Adrenal Fatigue - HPA Access Disfunction
- Why Abby started strength training
- Having the goal to be as strong as possible
- Running following a low carb diet - and following keto
- Dr Stacey Simms - ROAR
- Why low carb isn't the best for women
- Needing to step away from competitive sports
- Having more balance in her life with regards to food and fitness
- Starting her own business
- Having balance in her life?!
- What a typical week of training looks like
- Loving and appreciating rest days
- Her philosophy with food now - all foods fit
- How to connect with Abby
- Final words of advice
- Figure out why you are making changes