Food is My Fuel(-Time Job): How to Eat Like a D1 Female Athlete

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When I read Good for a Girl: A Woman Running in a Man’s World, it completely changed my perspective on athletics. It highlighted so many taboo topics for female athletes, including the female performance plateau, eating disorders, RED-S (Relative Energy Deficiency in Sports), and mental training. But while it exposed me to the dangers of undereating as a female athlete, I didn’t dwell too much on it because it didn’t seem applicable to me. I patted myself on the back for having a healthy relationship with food and moved on.

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Reading Good for a Girl critically changed my experience as a female athlete.

So, I knew about RED-S. I didn’t restrict my food. I didn’t have an unhealthy relationship with my body or eating. I even wrote about the dangers of RED-S and undereating for a school project. But unfortunately, sometimes knowing is not the same as preventing.

When I came to UMass, I was not prepared for the extent to which my energy needs would skyrocket. My daily step count increased by over double what it had been at home, on top of training as a D1 athlete for 8–20 hours a week. I thought I was on top of my eating, with three meals a day from the dining halls and occasionally a snack from the fueling station. It took me months to realize what worked for me in high school wasn’t going to work in college.

I didn’t get a period from the time I got to UMass until November. I was confused, but thought it might have something to do with my birth control. I didn’t talk to anyone about it. In October, I was diagnosed with a stress reaction in my shin and put in a walking boot.

Months later, in an effort to level up my training after I started running again, I went to see Molly Barnes, a UHS nutritionist who works with athletes at UMass. She had me track my food for a few days to pinpoint my eating habits. I found that my meals were structured well with balanced protein, carbs, and vegetables, but I went far too long in a day without eating. 

The Female Athlete Triad of Menstrual Dysfunction, Decreased Bone Health, and Disordered Eating is three concretely interrelated conditions under the RED-S umbrella.

Molly helped me put together that my large gaps in eating (over three hours) may have contributed to inadvertent RED-S that led to me losing my period and getting a bone injury. This motivated me to focus a lot more on eating not just when I was hungry, but in order to support my energy demands and prevent issues with under fueling in the future.

How to Eat Like a D1 Female Athlete:

Never work out on an empty stomach.

Unfortunately, not eating before workouts affects women more than men due to our hormonal cycles. When you work out on an empty stomach, your body tries to draw on energy stores that don’t exist. So to get the protein it needs to function, it breaks down and uses what’s in your muscle tissue instead, rendering your workout basically useless. You won’t be able to build muscle when it’s being broken down to support the workout happening in the first place! Before an early morning workout, grabbing a quick snack like a protein bar or yogurt can go a long way.

Quantity over quality.

It is simply more beneficial to eat something “unhealthy” than not eat at all. Yes, it is good to prioritize foods that make you feel good. Sometimes, if I’m craving something without a lot of nutritional value, I’ll eat something else that I know is going to make my body feel better first, just to make sure I’ve met my basic needs. But if I’m still craving it after, I go for it! It’s more important that you eat something you enjoy than make it the most “healthy” it can be. This also applies when you’re on the go and don’t have many options to choose from.

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When I finally started running again, my appetite increased. This time, I wanted to be prepared to meet it.

Eat every two to three hours.

I always joke that I spend all my time eating or thinking about the next time I’m going to eat. The truth is, getting enough nutrition as a female athlete takes a lot of preparation and intentionality. You can’t simply act on it when you get hungry. Though eating every two to three hours takes a little extra planning on the front end, your body will thank you when you’re not depriving it of the fuel it needs.

Don’t go anywhere without a snack (ideally high-protein!).

Got an emotional support water bottle? Me too. But I also have my emotional support snacks. It’s always a good idea to be prepared with something to eat, such as a granola bar, protein shake, crackers and cheese, or trail mix. I’ve now gotten accustomed to eating every two to three hours, so when I don’t follow this rule, my stomach starts growling at me!

Make sure to eat vegetables, carbs, and protein during meals.

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Eating like an athlete means not only eating healthy foods but also eating a lot!

For each meal, I try to focus on fulfilling these three categories: vegetables (or sometimes fruit), carbs, and protein. Carbs, like rice, pasta, and bread, give you energy. Protein, like meat, fish, and beans, help you build muscle. Raw or cooked vegetables provide you with rich nutrients like vitamins and minerals. Once you’re used to this system, picking things out from each category comes easily, and makes you feel nourished and fulfilled after eating, too!

Sometimes it feels like fueling as a female athlete is a full-time job. I have to plan ahead, buy plenty of food to keep in my dorm, and make countless trips to the dining hall (good thing UMass Dining is #1!). But if it takes a little extra work to do the sport that I love at a high level, that’s a tradeoff I’m beyond willing to make. 

And if you’re just looking to fuel your academics, you can follow similar principles—even if you're not a D1 athlete! The same concepts are relevant: eat before studying so you have fuel for your thinking, keep snacks around to boost your brain, and most importantly, be aware that nutritional support is key to success in all areas of life.