Less Fuel, More Problems. Why Menopausal Athletes Need to Eat More with Heidi Skolnik (Episode 103)

Eat less. How many times have you seen and heard that message? As a generation that grew up steeped in diet culture, most of us have it deeply internalized…often to our detriment. Underfueling among active women is extremely common and puts us at risk for low energy availability (LEA), which can lead to relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S), a condition that not only hurts performance, but also can cause irreparable negative health consequences. LEA/RED-S can be especially difficult to spot in midlife women because the symptoms mirror those we experience during perimenopause. We dig into all of it this week to help you avoid LEA/RED-S and get the fuel you need to feel and perform your best with Heidi Skolnik, MS, CDN, FACSM of Nutrition Conditioning, LLC, and author of The Athlete Triad Playbook.

Heidi is a sports nutritionist, exercise physiologist, and thought leader in her field. She has been part of The Women’s Sports Medicine Center at Hospital for Special Surgery for over 20 years and oversees the nutrition program at The Juilliard School and the School of American Ballet. Heidi has sat on the Board of The National Osteoporosis Foundation for ten years and currently sits on the Medical Advisory Committee of The National Menopause Foundation. She is also the co-author of the NYTimes Best Selling The Whole Body Reset (Simon & Schuster and AARP). You can learn more about her and her work at heidiskolnik.com

Resources:

https://athletetriadplaybook.com/

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2021.640621/full

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