SEEING RED-S
Recognizing RED-S in postpartum
Relative Energy Deficiency in sport is when is a imbalance of energy from you eat and how much energy you use in your daily life & sport, also know as low energy availability
This means your body doesn’t have enough energy coming in for everything you are trying to make it do.
REDs is also known as female athlete triad syndrome, you don’t have to be an athlete or identify as female to experience this
Real life examples:
moms dropping the baby weight “just like that” and cutting calories to fit back into your lululemons
but wondering what happened to your milk supply
- athlete being too busy to eat consistently, but hitting the gym to keep up with your friends for CrossFit and taking days to recover
-this looks like breastfeeding athletes getting bone stress fractures or dealing with chronic injuries after birth
-this looks like female athlete not getting periods “just because”
Common potential causes of REDs
Poor knowledge of appropriate nutrition needs
Busy schedules where people get busy and forget to eat
Limited access to food from food insecurity
Intentional food restriction for weight loss
Sports with weight classes or sports where lower body weight is thought to improve performance
Signs of REDs:
Not enough food eaten for the amount of activity -> overtraining in sport or for newparent life!)
Bladder leaks
Frequent injuries
Sleep issues
Moodiness
Menstrual dysfunction
Consequences of RED-s:
Bone injury & poor bone health
Frequent injuries and illness
Menstrual cycle irregularity or loss of cycle
Digestive problems,
Mental health issues
Fatigue
Bladder incontinence
Hormonal Disruption
And more (not an exhaustive list!)
If you are breastfeeding postpartum, it is important to know:
Your body has unique situation of —
Hormonal and physical changes from birth
Increased caloric requirements to keep your body happily functioning along the way.
All of this is important, because it means if you are a go-getter trying to get back to the gym after birth, you need to pay attention to what your body is telling you.
And if you have been led to believe breastfeeding will help you bounce back to your old pre-baby weight but you are frustrated that the scale hasn’t budged, you might want to challenge that bounce back narrative!
If you are frustrated that the scale hasn’t budged because you have been led to believe breastfeeding will help you bounce back to your old pre-baby weight, you might want to challenge narrative- how well is it serving you?
Bounce back culture is dangerous because expecting to lose baby weight fast:
Ignores the important of sufficient caloric intake needed to recover from birth
Will impact your milk supply needed for breastfeeding
And can lead to risk of REDs
How to help yourself postpartum:
Build your team
Utilize support from a lactation consultant and don’t plan to cut calories during the first 6months
Collaborate with a sports nutritionist to your unique caloric needs as a your swing into performance mode
Stay consistent with your strength and recovery plan to help your body balance the energy spent and for your sports activities plus everything on your life plate.
If you are an active mom feeling slowed down by leakage and you are looking for guidance on where to start gaining your energy back so you can keep charging the trails without worrying about peeing your pants, reach out today!