Women+ on Wheels: Women+ are not small men

Preface:
On May 24th, 2021 Vie Cycle and the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition hosted the 2nd Annual Women+ on Wheels webinar and panel discussion. We were joined by four exceptional panelists who shared their knowledge and experiences with the attendees. This blog post includes slides and information from a presentation by mad scientist and paracyclist Josie Fouts.
-Sylvie Froncek

"Women+ are not small men!" -Dr. Stacy Sims
"Women are built for child bearing. We have 6-11% more body fat and we burn more body fat during exercise. We have more slow twitch fibers and we rely on carbohydrates as fuel.

"The primary hormones that fluctuate during our cycle of estrogen and progesterone. Estrogen increases fat utilization.
Progesterone delays our sweat response and increases our core temperature causing hot flashes inflammation. It also promoted muscle break down. This is why diets fail women more than men and certain foods can make you feel great one day and bloated another. Our hormones do all this seemingly harmful damage in the name of reproduction and species survival!"
"It's time to start thanking our hormones, stop blaming them, and work with them to achieve our fullest potential whether you're a commuter, recreational rider or elite athlete."

•  If we ignore out menstrual cycles we aren't using our body to it's fullest potential.
  
• Notice in the graphic below that estrogen has two peaks in the menstrual cycle. Slowing down to an endurance pace for training is ideal during these two time periods.
  
• If you want to increase intensity for an upcoming race/ride, eat at lot of carbohydrates.
  
• Progesterone only has one peak and it peaks higher than estrogen. It's better to take a rest week during this peak phase of progesterone and estrogen. Increase inflammatory foods during this time and consume more protein.
  
• Consume 1 gram of protein for every pound of body weight.
  

• Our PMS phase us when we have that peak in progesterone and estrogen.
• Our hormones are lowest when we're on our periods, which comes after that hormone peak.
• If you want to do a hard week of training, your period is the best time to do that!
• Women's bodies are most like a man during their periods, that low hormone phase.

Example of Josie's training schedule

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• After you eat you should wait about two- four hours to digest before you work out. This gives your body a chance to turn food into fuel. If you hop on the bike right away your body isn't getting to digest as effectively because your blood and nutrients are diverted away from that digestion process.
• Timing is key when it comes to choosing the time to ride.
• Anti inflammatory foods during high hormone phase is beneficial. (Ex. tart cherry juice, turmeric, fatty fish, leafy greens, food high in iron)
• Women have a larger limbic system. Part of physiology is that we value having a strong community and people to ride with.
• For women, because we don't burn carbohydrates the same way as men we have less serotonin.
• Visualization is a key training tool!

*Notes from Josie:
"There is no one-size-fits-all in our diverse world. Menopause is a natural process and there is even less research on that phase of life.
"I geared my talk to cover the spectrum of elite cyclists to daily riders. Nutrition and education is important for everyone and I believe that everyday riders can benefit from the information marketed to elite cyclists. For example, I recall there being confusion around the '2 hour minimum' time between food and activity. Why should elite athletes only benefit from full and efficient digestion when everyday riders also have digestive issues and energy needs to get through their day? It is a matter of time until they make the connection that their body too can run as smooth as anyone else's, including an elite athlete's!"

Reference:
Sims, Stacy t. (2016) Roar. New York, New York: Rodale