I have a very special story to share today from a friend and client of mine. Megan is an everyday athlete, a sub-4 hr marathoner, a diabetic, has struggled with stress fractures and setbacks during races due to improper fueling, is juggling jobs and everyday stresses, and has seen many doctors over the years, while still struggling to figure out what was going on in her body. As an injured runner, she had a lot to overcome to reach her marathon goals.
Yet, through coaching, testing, and implementing slow changes over time, she was able to see dramatic changes in just a few months.
Here is her story, in her own words:
“I’m a statistic in more ways than one. I bet many of you reading this are too and just don’t know it yet.
The first reason is that I ran my very first marathon in 2016 at the age of 29 which is statistically-speaking the most common age of all for first -time marathoners. That experience led to 7 more marathons, dozens of half marathons, and a new lifestyle of running more days a week than not. What it did not intuitively lead to was the knowledge of how to fuel my body well for the training and racing I wanted to do as a female athlete in her mid-30s.
The second reason I’m a statistic is that I became like over 50% of all regular runners in 2020 – injured. I crossed the finished line of my fastest half marathon one day, and the next day I had to call an Uber to take me a quarter of a mile because I was in so much pain. I had a stress reaction in my femoral neck. I nearly broke the largest bone in my body! How did that happen? Maybe it was my ridiculously stressful lifestyle or consistent lack of sleep, but knowing what I know now, I’d say nutrition was the largest factor.
The third reason I’m like many of you reading this is that I had no clue how to fuel well while training for marathons. I scarcely knew how to fuel my body well on a day-to-day basis though! It’s humbling to admit, but I operated in a reactionary fashion to what I thought did and didn’t work. I didn’t have a good reason for what I was doing. Until I started working with Stephanie. She really opened my eyes to the power of carbohydrates in endurance sports in the beginning. Even though my poor carbohydrate education was likely born from being diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, I’m no different than most Americans who at some point are led to believe that carbs are bad. So my carb intake changed. Slowly but steadily, I learned and applied better fueling strategies. I achieved big race PRs in 2021 as a result!
The fourth and biggest statistic of all is that I was flagged by my endocrinologist as being “iron deficient” due to low ferritin levels in my routine blood work. An appointment with a hematologist and four iron infusions later, supposedly I was good to go. Except I wasn’t. My skin broke out with acne so bad that I was convinced my body was falling apart in some horrific way. My hair was falling out. I was exhausted all the time. Was it some kind of allergy? Was there something wrong with my hormones? I was lost and frustrated and consulted Stephanie for help figuring out this new puzzle piece.
She recommended that I do HMTA testing to see what was actually going on in my body. The results came back, and just as she suspected, it wasn’t iron that was the problem… it was copper. The short story is that my body was missing the other minerals it needed to make iron work properly. I had an iron dysregulation problem. And instead of helping, the iron infusions my doctor had prescribed only exacerbated the problem. Since that discovery, I have been taking a probiotic and magnesium supplements and a beef liver supplement. I started tracking my meals in Cronometer and increased my protein intake to meet my training needs. I started drinking more water, and I focused more on my sleep habits and rest days. Stephanie even helped me figure out my race nutrition plan so I would for sure hit all the necessary carb/calorie/sodium targets per hour, which was SO HELPFUL! I’m not exaggerating when I say my skin was settled and back to normal (minus unfortunate scarring) within a month. My energy is back up again too, and my hair is not falling out in chunks any more.
I wanted to share this so that others know that there’s hope! I strongly believe that every athlete needs a coach AND a dietitian. They are not the same thing, and they are both crucial for overall health and optimal performance. Stephanie is a diamond because she’s a dietitian who is an athlete. She talked to me with grace and kindness when I was struggling and encouraged me to make small changes and keep moving forward, focusing on consistency over perfection. I feel more knowledgeable and empowered to be in control of my nutrition – the guesswork is now negligible. My skin is drastically better, it’s shocking. I am much more in tune with my body’s cues and have learned ways to manage it better, and I have much better habits with my nutrition, both during marathon training and after.”
Does a part of Megan’s story hit home for you? Interested in how nutrition coaching and HTMA testing could help you? I’d love to talk with you and see if I can help.
