thank you Euan. Normally I eat a regular breakfast and fuel training properly, hence do not make big changes in training while on a caloric deficit. The rest of the day might be a bit more challenging, as the deficit comes from eating a bit less during lunch and dinner (and removing all snacks), even though I find that after the first 1-2 weeks, the whole thing gets easier (probably due to the same things discussed in this blog, slower metabolism as reflected in resting heart rate, etc. - but I do tend to need an extra nap at times). Doubles are certainly more rare or not a thing when on a caloric deficit. I do find that training is "a good meter" for this, meaning that if I am overdoing it with the diet, then I will feel too low on energy during training and I can easily correct (i.e. eat more), while it would be more challenging to maintain a small deficit while not training (without exercise it's harder to understand if you are on a small deficit or really underfueling, I think). Complex, large individual variability, etc. - but this is how I tend to do it. As per the why, another long conversation, but to keep it short, I thought I had some extra weight that could be explaining part of my performance decline in the past 6 months.
Thanks Marco. I struggle a little with fuelling myself and I think at this time of year where we tend to excess I find it difficult to balance hence my question.
I’ve really enjoyed following your blog this year. Particularly the race specific reports and training analysis. All the best for 2025 and looking forward to following along
spot on with this analysis! i've been seeing the very same thing with me and other friends for 3+ years (consistently). the functional medicine view of these events is thru the lenses of the freeze state of the nervous system, which you did touch on, the body is trying to conserve energy. crystal clear example when higher hrv does **not** mean one ought to push harder.
I’d be interested to read more about reasons for, and how you achieve the calorific deficit you mentioned.
How does this impact your training and do you reduce training load during this time?
thank you Euan. Normally I eat a regular breakfast and fuel training properly, hence do not make big changes in training while on a caloric deficit. The rest of the day might be a bit more challenging, as the deficit comes from eating a bit less during lunch and dinner (and removing all snacks), even though I find that after the first 1-2 weeks, the whole thing gets easier (probably due to the same things discussed in this blog, slower metabolism as reflected in resting heart rate, etc. - but I do tend to need an extra nap at times). Doubles are certainly more rare or not a thing when on a caloric deficit. I do find that training is "a good meter" for this, meaning that if I am overdoing it with the diet, then I will feel too low on energy during training and I can easily correct (i.e. eat more), while it would be more challenging to maintain a small deficit while not training (without exercise it's harder to understand if you are on a small deficit or really underfueling, I think). Complex, large individual variability, etc. - but this is how I tend to do it. As per the why, another long conversation, but to keep it short, I thought I had some extra weight that could be explaining part of my performance decline in the past 6 months.
Thanks Marco. I struggle a little with fuelling myself and I think at this time of year where we tend to excess I find it difficult to balance hence my question.
I’ve really enjoyed following your blog this year. Particularly the race specific reports and training analysis. All the best for 2025 and looking forward to following along
thank you and all the best for the new year to you as well!
spot on with this analysis! i've been seeing the very same thing with me and other friends for 3+ years (consistently). the functional medicine view of these events is thru the lenses of the freeze state of the nervous system, which you did touch on, the body is trying to conserve energy. crystal clear example when higher hrv does **not** mean one ought to push harder.
thank you! I appreciate the comment and I’m glad these responses resonate with your experience