Hello friends
I recently injured my achilles tendon and I am wondering if my eating behavior could play a role. I became injured one week after making a few risky training decisions, but it also took place after 1-2 weeks of caloric restriction as part of an effort to gradually reach a lighter weight. I am wondering…
Does caloric restriction negatively impact tendon elasticity or collagen deposition (etc.), thereby increasing the chances of the onset of tendinopathy? Could this be a process by which moderate weight loss significantly increases cortisol levels and thus promotes catabolic physiological processes?
Have you experienced an increase in injury susceptibility in response to caloric restriction?
Thanks
I do not know the answer for sure, but, looking at the evidence for caloric restriction, I would imagine that caloric restriction would do the opposite.
Maybe there is some study that can answer that. It’s nearly impossible to judge this just from someone’s experience.
By being in caloric deficit, and as long you get enough minerals and vitamins, you do not automatically put your body in some sort of imbalance. You don’t even put yourself in an energy deficit actually, because your body can get energy from your own body macronutrients. You don’t get hypoglycemia, mineral or vitamin deficiencies or anything. So, my hypothesis is that the local nutrient “environment” around the Achilles tendon should not change much.
Tendons are mainly connective tissue, so, I believe they should not be affected by a calorie deficit the same way as muscles can be, for example.
Maybe there is some study that can answer that. It’s nearly impossible to judge this just from someone’s experience.
By being in caloric deficit, and as long you get enough minerals and vitamins, you do not automatically put your body in some sort of imbalance. You don’t even put yourself in an energy deficit actually, because your body can get energy from your own body macronutrients. You don’t get hypoglycemia, mineral or vitamin deficiencies or anything. So, my hypothesis is that the local nutrient “environment” around the Achilles tendon should not change much.
Tendons are mainly connective tissue, so, I believe they should not be affected by a calorie deficit the same way as muscles can be, for example.
If being in caloric deficit for several weeks is not an energy deficit, then how do you define energy deficit??? Also, i would beg to differ on the “you do not get hypoglycemia” statement b/c i do get hypoglycemic a few times a year when i do too much training with too little food intake.
Hello friends
I recently injured my achilles tendon and I am wondering if my eating behavior could play a role. I became injured one week after making a few risky training decisions, but it also took place after 1-2 weeks of caloric restriction as part of an effort to gradually reach a lighter weight. I am wondering…
Does caloric restriction negatively impact tendon elasticity or collagen deposition (etc.), thereby increasing the chances of the onset of tendinopathy? Could this be a process by which moderate weight loss significantly increases cortisol levels and thus promotes catabolic physiological processes?
Have you experienced an increase in injury susceptibility in response to caloric restriction?
Thanks
This may answer your question?? Can you expand on these decisions?
If being in caloric deficit for several weeks is not an energy deficit, then how do you define energy deficit??? Also, i would beg to differ on the “you do not get hypoglycemia” statement b/c i do get hypoglycemic a few times a year when i do too much training with too little food intake.
About caloric deficit: Of course when you have lower caloric intake, your body will get less energy from food, but it will get energy from your body fat instead.
So, for example, one week you consume 2 k Calories per day, and the next week you have a low-calorie diet with 1 k Calories per day, and you spend 2 k Calories both weeks.
In week 1, you will get all the calories from the food and in week 2 you will get 1 k Calories from food and 1 k Calories from your body stores (glycogen/fat/proteins). So in any case, you have 2 k Calories available. In week 2, you will burn 1 k from your body, but mainly from your body fat stores, so the Achilles tendon specifically should not be significantly affected by this caloric deficit. Achilles tendon is mainly connective tissue, so when you lose calories, you don’t really lose a tendon strength or mass – at least this is my hypothesis.
About hypoglycemia: Even prolonged complete fasting (for example, for a week) in healthy individuals usually does not cause hypoglycemia. Too much training and too little food combined - yes it could cause hypoglycemia, but I was just thinking that even this should not cause significant damage to the Achilles tendon. But who can tell.
I increased my mileage a little fast (25% in 2 weeks) and ran the final week of mileage in 5 days instead of spread over 7. I also went from doing a majority of treadmill running to doing a full week exclusively outdoors (due to holiday gym closure). On top of this I did mile repeats on the treadmill, which I think becomes overly stressful and unnatural when the pace gets really high. These factors alone are probably sufficient to cause my injury, but I wanted to investigate it from all angles! Thanks
If being in caloric deficit for several weeks is not an energy deficit, then how do you define energy deficit??? Also, i would beg to differ on the “you do not get hypoglycemia” statement b/c i do get hypoglycemic a few times a year when i do too much training with too little food intake.
About caloric deficit: Of course when you have lower caloric intake, your body will get less energy from food, but it will get energy from your body fat instead. So, for example, one week you consume 2 k Calories per day, and the next week you have a low-calorie diet with 1 k Calories per day, and you spend 2 k Calories both weeks.
In week 1, you will get all the calories from the food and in week 2 you will get 1 k Calories from food and 1 k Calories from your body stores (glycogen/fat/proteins). So in any case, you have 2 k Calories available. In week 2, you will burn 1 k from your body, but mainly from your body fat stores, so the Achilles tendon specifically should not be significantly affected by this caloric deficit. Achilles tendon is mainly connective tissue, so when you lose calories, you don’t really lose a tendon strength or mass – at least this is my hypothesis.
About hypoglycemia: Even prolonged complete fasting (for example, for a week) in healthy individuals usually does not cause hypoglycemia. Too much training and too little food combined - yes it could cause hypoglycemia, but I was just thinking that even this should not cause significant damage to the Achilles tendon. But who can tell.
Well, sure, i agree that the caloric deficit, even with hypoglycemia, should not really be affecting Louie’s Achilles. And, i fully understand that when you burn more than you take in, then your body makes up the diff by burning stored glycogen, fat, and/or protein. My point is simply that, when you run a caloric deficit, then that is by definition an energy deficit. Perhaps I’m splitting hairs or overly focusing on semantics but i think it is important to be clear about what an energy deficit is, that is all:)