Fuel Your Strength: Energy Flux and Fueling for Athletes w/ Jamie Scott

Key Takeaways

If You Are Ready To Fuel Your Body Properly, You Should:

Get real with yourself about how much your body needs to feel good and thrive on days with and without exercise
Take the time to prep and plan how to adequately fuel yourself that will work for your life

Fueling Your Body With Jamie Scott

Jamie Scott is a New Zealand Registered Nutritionist, holding post-graduate qualifications in both Nutrition Medicine and Sport & Exercise Medicine, as well as undergraduate degrees in both Nutrition Science and Physical Education, and a Level-1 Mountain Bike Skills coach (PMBIA). Over the past 25 years, Jamie’s career has spanned a number of roles in the ‘health & fitness industry'. He is passionate about helping others learn how to fuel their bodies in a way that supports performance and total body health.

You Are An Athlete

Jamie has been in the industry for over 25 years, so he knows what he is talking about. He has seen the consequences of low energy availability and is here to explain why successful athletes fuel themselves more, not less, and what you can learn from that.

You may not think you are an ‘athlete’, but the truth is that most of us who are moving regularly, whether you are an endurance or strength athlete, a recreational exerciser, or you are a competitive weekend warrior, you fit the bill. The products and training regimens available to the masses definitely qualify for an elite status, which is why it's so important to fuel your body right.

What Is Energy Flux?

Your body requires energy just to simply exist. If you do not fuel your body with enough energy to power your system, your body is forced to effectively take things offline. This means that your brain function, energy levels, gut function, immune system, and menstrual cycle can be affected if you are not giving your system the energy it needs to survive, let alone engage in exercise-based activities.

Your energy intake directly impacts your energy expenditure, and there is a good chance you are not intaking enough. Everything requires energy, which is why it is important to figure out this information and implement the knowledge you learn to avoid dysfunction in the future.

Are you excited to hear Part 2? Share what you are looking forward to hearing more about with me in the comments section of the episode page.

In This Episode

The role of social media culture, coaching, funding, and education when it comes to fueling your body and your sport (17:29)
Defining what an athlete is and the degree of activity that qualifies you to be concerned with your fueling (23:24)
How to find the time and space to eat the amount that your body and activity level needs (28:33)
What low energy availability really means and how it may impact you on a practical level (31:55)
Why diets that limit your caloric intake are not doing you any favors, regardless of how much you move (42:02)

Quotes

“In a nutshell, people are just not eating enough for what they want to do, and that’s becoming more prevalent, and I think the outcomes of that, I get the impression that they are getting worse.” (15:22)

“In this information age, there is very little that gets held back. In terms of the big central pillar stuff. Which then means that your average ‘weekend warrior’ is looking at these elites and going, ‘well, I’m going to get myself a nutritionist, and I am going to get myself a coach’.” (25:30)

“Our energy availability is the equivalent of the charge that’s left on your phone.” (32:36)

“You don't just need energy for skeletal muscle contraction. Whether you are walking, lifting, riding a bike, running, jumping, or climbing trees. Your brain requires energy; your gut requires energy, your immune system requires energy, your growth and repair require energy. There is not a system in your body, not a single cell in your body, that does not require energy to go about these processes.” (34:15)

“This is becoming such a real problem in terms of the culture and normality around these low energy diets and this misunderstanding of what it actually takes to fuel a body at rest, let alone adding additional exercise on top of that.” (41:55)