Do you even know you have one?
Avoid RED-S Syndrome by using knowledge about your 2.5 BMR limit.
Recent research shows that the maximum energy you can expend on a regular basis, without being affected by RED-S syndrome (Relative Energy Deficiency in Sports syndrome), is around 2.5 times your basal metabolic rate (BMR)!
For those who don’t already know, Relative Energy Deficiency in Sports (RED-S) is the current name for a condition that encompasses and expands upon what is/was termed the Female Athlete Triad. RED-S affects women and men, and it’s not an eating disorder. You can have RED-S regardless of how much you exercise. It’s basically a condition where you’re having negative effects from consistently expending more energy and nutrients than you’re consuming. RED-S negatively impacts metabolic rate, hormone levels, menstrual function, bone health, immunity, protein synthesis, and cardiovascular health. If you want to ski fast and be healthy throughout your life, you need to avoid RED-S.
Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the amount of energy your body requires just sitting around doing nothing, not even digesting. Using an online BMR calculator, the average 25-year-old, 5’10”, 160 lb. person has a BMR of around 1700 calories for males and 1550 calories for females. Add in your typical daily tasks plus a 2-to-3-hour intense workout (which is pretty common for many athletes) and you could be up against your 2.5 BMR limit.
Energy Balance
You can safely expend more energy than you consume. However, the energy and nutrients must come from somewhere. And that somewhere is the various glycogen and fat stores, tissues, organs, fluids, and bones throughout your body. Occasionally going into this negative energy balance apparently doesn’t have dire consequences for most people.
However, for a trim and fit athlete who is already pushing the limits of their training on a daily, weekly, and yearly basis, this energy deficiency possibly takes on greater importance. When this mismatch goes beyond the occasional occurrence and persists consistently for several months or more, the ill effects become more serious, measurable, and damaging.
The 2.5 BMR limit reflects our body’s constrained ability to digest food and absorb nutrients. There’s only so much a healthy digestive system can process in a day. Trying to stuff in more does no good.
Micronutrients
Possibly just as important as the number of calories consumed, is the quality of those calories. We need nutritious food to get all the minerals, vitamins, and other nutrients our bodies require. Supplements and multi-vitamins are one option, but some of them tend to be less absorbable than the minerals, vitamins, and other nutrients found naturally in food.
Most food tracking apps only track the macronutrients (carbs, protein, and fat). However, stepping up to the plate is a free food tracking app called Cronometer (this isn’t an advertisement), which can track both the macronutrients AND 60+ micronutrients! The paid version can track up to 82 micronutrients. This is a game-changer for tracking nutrition. Check it out in your smartphone’s app store or online. The photo above is part of a screenshot of the online free version of Cronometer.
Ski Fast And Be Healthy
Being consistent with your training, fueling up with nutritious food, and matching your intake to your output will help you ski fast and be healthy throughout your life.
Unraveling the mysteries of energy expenditure vs. intake, and its impact on health and athletic performance is an ongoing research process with many variables still being explored. Getting to know your body and how it operates is valuable knowledge.
The 2.5 BMR Source
For a more thorough and nuanced discussion of the 2.5 BMR research, go straight to the source: Herman Pontzer, PhD. Among other podcasts, Herman was interviewed by Shawn Bearden on the excellent Science of Ultra podcast, episodes #145 and #134:
https://www.scienceofultra.com/podcasts/134
https://www.scienceofultra.com/podcasts/145
https://www.scienceofultra.com/
Thank you so much for being here. I hope you found this information useful and interesting.
Have a good one,
– Gordon
This post was made possible in part by the generous nutritional support of broccoli.
Originally published March 24, 2021. Minor updates December, 2022.