Women's Nutrition

I seem to go through phases of taking an increasing number of supplements and then cutting them all out. At the moment I’m just taking vitamin D. But collagen is tempting. I can’t see any reason not to take it (?);

I’m going to do an experiment of 1 regarding supplement. My elbow seriously crackel and pops when I bend it under pressure - weights or press ups, after banging it in a mtb fall.
I’m going to take collagen and vitamin c an hour before strength work and see if it changes…

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That sounds like a good n=1 experiment! At least you have something to judge it against. Keep us posted on your experience/experiment!! Also, let me know what you decide for a collagen supplement. Personally, I’d be inclined more towards bone broth, but I haven’t figured out what the correlation would be. I asked on the other thread about this but chad never responded…

Yes, like @dhellman I’ll be interested in whether you choose pill/powder/bone broth form.

Just heard from my mother today that she needs a knee replacement in due course so that now has me thinking even more about joint health.

I’ve found some marine collagen tablets and some vitamin c tablets in my cupboard, so I’ll start with that. I’ll be doing 2-3 upper body strength workouts a week and 2-3 lower body workouts, taking 2 collagen and vitamin c an hour before.
I have my op on May 1st, so I’ll look for improvement by then hopefully. If it doesn’t work I might start with the bone type collagen when I’m ready to start strength work again, after my op.
N=1 experiment with many variables!!

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Another question from me: any whey protein recommendations?

@Bullseye - are you still on track to have surgery in the next few days?

Hi @Scheherazade
I use Pink Sun Whey protein isolate, which comes from grass fed “hormone free” cows.

No my operation was cancelled until further notice, but my treatment via injections has been extended. There was a bit of a gap in treatment, but it re started again last week and am now making progress again :grinning:

Funnily enough i was going to report back regarding my crunchy clicky elbow. I have been consistent with Vitamin c and collagen and strength work, although not necessarily at the right times!!
I would say there has been an 80-90% improvement. Would that have happened just with more consistent strength work anyway, putting it under load? I figure it can’t hurt anyway.
I don’t think i could take bovine collagen. I haven’t eaten beef in a long time and the descriptions of what’s happening in the US meat industry has just turned my stomach. Most likely my OCD creeping back into my food choices, but I am eating healthily and eating organic chicken and dairy, so I will accept where I’m at.
Such strange and scary times we find ourselves in. I’m so grateful for training. I’m doing an indoor MAF approach at the moment, due to my medical issues and also so i can do as much training as possible, without burning out. I am looking forward to more dynamic training though.

how’s everyone bearing up? (sorry if that’s off topic)

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Ah it’s interesting you’re doing a MAF approach - I have just deferred my only event for the year (Ironman Canada) and was thinking of using a MAF approach to build my running base some more. I’m glad your elbow is better, even if surgery is delayed.

I think I’m doing okay? I learnt quickly not to obsess over the news, and to make liberal use of the mute option on Whatsapp. Hardest part is not knowing when I’ll see my family again as we’re spread over multiple countries and continents. Weekly highlight, now that the weather is better, is outdoor ride/run with hubby.

@Scheherazade, I forget where you’re located… a lot of my friends like the Fluid whey product.

@Bullseye, sorry to hear about the delayed surgery… my friend was scheduled to have her hip replaced (she’s my age, mid-40s… she has hip displasia and has significant damage to her left hip :grimacing: ), but it’s been delayed as well with no clear schedule yet. I’m glad your alternate treatment of injections have resumed and that they are helping a lot. And, that’s really interesting about your elbow! The whole timing thing is just a bit overwhelming to me.

Training certainly is helping to keep most of us sane. I volunteered for some beta testing for some equipment and it requires a bunch of riding hours. The testing was supposed to be done by the 27th, but they reset the clock due to an issue and now I’m waiting for the replacement part to restart the testing. That will keep me riding a lot through May.

@Scheherazade I’m with you about “not to obsess over the news”. I have to limit my news consumption to a bit of time in the morning and a bit of time in the afternoon, and then it’s off limits. I’ve also tried limiting my FB time, although I haven’t been as good about that one this week. The thing that gets me most anxious is the whole “reopening” thing. My work requires some travel, and I think I could manage it generally, but the whole attending/displaying at conferences is where I’m most anxious. So I’m trying not to think about it. :slight_smile:

Ironman Canada sounds hard core. Have you done an Ironman before? We are hoping to get over to BC next summer. Surely that’s a realistic aim :woman_shrugging:
I’m sure you’ve seen the long running MAF thread. It seems ideal at the moment, lots of base volume without stressing the immune system out. Personally, I use the 220 method rather than 180. I have ended up with 100-141 heart rate range. It allows me to do a few 10 second spin ups, or do an easy recovery ride and still feel purposeful.

I agree about choosing what to read/watch. It’s mental nutrition!

@dhellman The testing sounds interesting. What kind of training does it involve?
Are you in the US? from what we hear in the UK different states are opening up at their own pace?
I agree its good to go one day at a time, as the future is so uncertain.

I want to get back out doing some early morning fun local rides. I think it’s possible as my issues improves again. That is working as a positive want, looking forward to.

Worrying about family is a tough one, especially my daughter who isn’t with me and who has just come out of an abusive relationship (he’s gone to prison for 3 years). I use NLP techniques (Neuro linguistic programming) to keep my anxiety small.

@Bullseye the company running the testing just needs hours of outdoor riding so they can identify and resolve issues, including code and hardware. So they don’t actually care what type of riding I’m doing; they just want it to be outdoors as much as possible. So, that’s what I got myself into. It’s good because I don’t have racing to think about right now. We’re sort of back into base training, so hours of riding are good.

I am located in northern California. You’re right in that each state gets to decide how they want to open up. CA, and especially my county, is taking a pretty conservative approach. I live in Santa Clara County, which was one of the early hotspots in the US. My county along with five other Bay Area counties had the earliest Shelter-in-Place orders in CA; the statewide order didn’t come until a few days later. They just announced a new Shelter-in-Place order for our region that takes effect on Monday, 4 May, and it allows a few more places to open up. We’ll see how this goes. Some of the other states are taking a very different approach, to say the least. This is just part of why I am not very keen to travel yet, particularly to a large meeting or convention that will attract people from all over. One day at a time. I’m trying not to overthink it.

I agree with you about how important it is to have “positive wants” and things to look forward to. I definitely look forward to my morning rides, and especially look forward to less-structured weekend rides. I hope you will get there again very soon!

Sorry to hear about your daughter’s relationship. I have worried about people stuck in abusive relationships needing to be stuck at home at this time. I’m glad she was able to get out of that relationship, and I hope she can get some help to build up her mental fortitude and self-confidence. Having this all happen during this crazy time must be even more difficult. I’m glad you have some techniques to help yourself handle it, especially since you have your own health to focus on.

It is relatively easier to have “lockdown” or…a vaccine. It’s the easing of lockdown which is so ambiguous as to increase anxiety. This must be very much the case when there is variation within one country and you have to travel from one area to another. The Uk may end up like that to quell flare ups, we don’t know yet. I hope you can manage to work differently/put aspects of your work on hold until you objectively feel safe enough to travel.

I heard a quote on the Rich Roll podcast : “Will power is the tension of not getting what you want in the moment” It’s interesting to consider the difference between want and need and to consider that when our safety feels threatened, maybe our “wants” become more of a life line?

My daughter has been impressive in the way she has/is coming back from her experience. She’s incredibly resourceful and resilient and has also accepted regular counselling sessions to get her thinking back on track. The anxiety I feel as a mum is very much my own. With the possibility of Lock down easing in the coming weeks, I’m really looking forward to that hug :grinning:

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Food is fuel, strength should be celebrated, and lighter doesn’t always mean better.

:clap: :muscle: :clap: :muscle: :clap: :muscle: :clap: :muscle: :clap:

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It’s nice that people are writing about this and getting the word out. I’ve read similar comments from other women cyclists, and I hope that this message continues to spread.

Just wanted to share some podcasts that I’ve listened to recently that could be relevant to women endurance athletes. TW: eating disorders/disordered eating.

On the list to listen to:

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Thanks for these, I will have a listen x

Great podcasts!!
I’ve listened to the first 2 and subscribed to Witsup. I found the discussion about the possibility of the drive for performance in the sport leading to eating disorder/disordered eating interesting. For me, things happened the other way around. I was very much primed to have an eating disorder from how I process/ed the world - OCD/ASD. Controlling my body weight was a way of controlling my anxiety and being thin was a way of creating a space between myself and others (literally). Exercising was a means to an end. Over the years I learnt new, not necessarily healthy, ways to manage my anxiety.
When I found cycling, I revisited body wieght/image difficulties. Fortunately i met my partner, who helped me shift my perspective to being strong and healthy so I can ride more/better.
In my current predicament, meds are effecting my body composition and are to some extent reducing how much training I can do whilst still feeling well. I’ve switched to doing more strength and skills work and the 2 things are really complimenting each other.
I miss racing, but the lack of it has made me realise how others expectation on my performance (both real and imagined) creates stress for me. Before next season I want to get a power meter on my XC MTB, so I can judge my performance more objectively. I love doing the work, but not for other people :wink:

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I accidentally listened to the two Healthy Body podcasts and this Payson McElveen/Justin Williams interview with Chloe Dygert back-to-back, and all I could think of listening to Dygert (besides wow your all-consuming need to win seems like a really unsustainable mindset, good thing you’re a 10x world champion) was “ARE YOU EATING?!” Her injury list is wild (she went for a hike one time and got a stress fracture in her foot, she’s in constant pain from her hips, etc.), and she seems like exactly the kind of person who would sacrifice her health for performance gains.

(I don’t know anything about Chloe Dygert beyond what I read on the internet, I know she’s got an incredible coach, I’m sure it’s all fine. It was just a little eerie.)

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I haven’t heard that one with Chloe D. I didn’t get the same impression from the Vox Women one but I’ll have to listen to this!