Just wondering, has anyone had experience with weight loss using this energy availability method?
I am currently 81kg, and I am looking to lean up a bit and get to around 78kg for racing. However, it just seems hard to wrap my head around eating more calories than I burn, and still aiming to lose weight (using the recommended weight loss value of ~30 kcal/kg FFM/day). I know energy balance calculations are inherently inaccurate, hence the recommendation for EA, but I was just wondering if anyone has actually been able to lose weight with this method?
Just come across this thread and interested in how this can apply for older male athletes.
The base energy requirements on a daily basis in my case (excluding cycling training) are quite low I would estimate.
I’m in my 50s, have a sedentary job where I spend 8 to 9 hours a day 5 days a week sitting at a laptop. Outside of cycling I walk every day (gentle pace) for about 20 minutes and do some yoga 4 or 5 times a week.
My presumption is that for these reasons I need to factor down the overall estimate of what energy I need to maintain my physiology at a healthy and productive level outside of the cycling I do.
Therefore - for example - my anecdotal experience having tracked nutrition diligently for the last 18 months is that I maintain a healthy and effective ability to train hard consistently at around 2000 to 2200 calories a day - with protein accounting for around 600 of those calories (150g) and the remaining 1400 to 1600 calories split roughly 1150 to 1350 carbs and the rest in fat (fat deriving mostly from chicken / fish and nuts with limited processed foods where possible and practical).
Note these daily numbers are averages - over a week of training - some days higher or lower depending on circumstances and type of training - hard days and day after hard days - more carbs. Easy days, a little less.
Using the equations this seems to give a number around 35(ish) for me.
Wondering if this falls into an acceptable range (based on the research) given the assumptions and parameters referenced - and if not, what am I missing or misunderstanding about this approach.
What I do know for certain - having experimented, is that consistent higher intake in energy, (so more than +400 calories) above those aforementioned range, over more than a week, with all else being equal, leads to bodyfat gain.
@The_Conductor - interested to better understand the concept here and how I can apply it to my specific situation for the benefit of my cycling performance?
I guess in most scenario’s this approach is talked about in terms of maintaining weight and having all the energy to be able to adapt to your training and be healthy in general.
That said, I think it’s perfectly fine to dip into the lower EA state for certain periods of a few weeks (30-35 kcal per kg of lean bodyweight), just make sure that the rest of the time you’re in that optimal range. My 2 cents
This is a really wonderful summary of this concept, that helped me understand. Thanks so much for writing this.
If you would be willing to share how your thoughts have evolved if at all, I would love that.
I’m particularly interested in macro breakdown in terms of 1) deviations due to TEF at higher protein intake 2-3 g/kg, or 2) the ability to buffer above 45 with high carb, low fat by relying on inefficient conversion of CHO to FFA to guard against dipping into low EA with high training load.