jesse@evokeendurance.com
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Good question!
DEXA scan, maybe another blood test just for more up to date info, but not as needed. I typically like to see a CBC, lipid panel, vitamin D, and iron (ferritin included with iron). Meal tracking for a bit is also very helpful. That should be enough for a solid start.
Hey there, Jesse here, a coach and nutritionist with Evoke. This is always a bit tricky to navigate and more information, especially your height and what weight you’re striving to achieve would be good to know. Also, knowing your output and intensity is pretty critical as well. I would advise getting a DEXA scan so you can assess just how much fat you’d be able to lose without any potential issues.
500 calories per day is what is needed to lose a pound per week. In most cases, that much could be too aggressive and impede recovery. What I typically recommend is focusing on weight loss during the off season when you can get away with less food each day because when you’re in the heart of training, the risk is much higher of not improving. This is a bit difficult though because you’re burning less and eating less.
What I do with the people I work with is I have them track what they eat so I can really see what could be cut and what should stay without compromise. It’s great you’re eating enough protein, that’s a big one, but seeing the diet overall would be really helpful to give more personalized guidance here.
If you’d be interested in a consultation, you can book that here:
https://evokeendurance.com/product/jesse-rich/
Otherwise, I hope this helps a bit, but again, hard to give really meaningful help without knowing more.
Hey Brian,
Jesse Rich here, a coach and nutritionist for Evoke Endurance. Thanks for your question! Seeing that just 2% body weight lost in sweat can impair performance, hydration is critical to perform at your best. Looks like you’ve already done a sweat test more or less. I didn’t see super specific times though (i.e. 2 pounds lost per hour), getting more specific there could help you quite a bit. To do that, do what you likely did before which is to weight yourself in the morning on an empty stomach and naked, then go on a run for one hour in the temperature you think would most mimic your race, then towel yourself off of sweat and weigh again naked. You want to replace 100% of water lost.
When it comes to electrolytes, it is impossible to be as precise without a test. I recommend levelen.com. You can get your test there for $120. You might as well just hold off on the sweat rate test if you’re going to do this test because that’s part of it too. You’re right though in that 500mg of sodium is a pretty safe minimum for almost everyone, but it can be up to 1,000mg or more depending on the person. Getting tested is well worth the investment to not have to guess and hope for the best in my opinion. It might be tight to get it done before the race, but at least you can have the water dialed. By the way, you have to train to drink that much too. If you just drink one 500ml flask per hour in training for example, don’t expect your stomach to tolerate one liter per hour unless you’ve done it several times hour after hour in training.
I hope this helps! If you’d like me to review your test if you get it or have a consultation with me, feel free to email me at jesse@evokeendurance.com. Good luck!
Another point is that you may be running when it’s actually more efficient to hike. At a certain grade, power hiking can better to keep hr lower and reduce strain on muscles, ligaments, and tendons. If you’re feeling lactic acid build up, my guess is you’re just going too fast and likely running when it could be more efficient to hike. It does take trial and error to know what grades are good for each. In general, perhaps reducing overall output on easier days would relieve the tension you feel in your lower legs. Zero drop shoes also tend to put higher strain on the calves if you happen to be wearing low to no drop shoes.
