Hello Runner,
Welcome back to your weekly moment of endurance nutrition!
Happy Weekend!
How are you today?
I'm fine.
I had a bit of a rough week in terms of PMS. I had a lot of cramps, headaches, and lower back pain.
I kept up with my workouts, but I lightened the load a little. I have to admit that the workouts helped me a lot.
This week, I took the opportunity to focus more on studying how to increase my productivity. I don't know why, but I feel like we have less and less time to do things. It may just be in my head, but knowing how to increase productivity can only be a good thing!
Also, this week at the running club, a friend of mine had a bad breakdown during training. She told me that she had only eaten two boiled eggs that day. Obviously, she wasn't going to have the energy to train. As I'm always prepared, I gave her three dates to eat, which helped a little.
Because of this incident, today I want to talk about the rebound effect and why overly restrictive diets hurt performance.
If you’re a runner who cares about performance, body composition, and long-term progress, chances are you’ve tried to “eat cleaner,” “cut back,” or follow a stricter plan at some point.
It often starts with good intentions: more discipline, better results, lighter legs. But many runners notice the opposite over time—low energy, stalled performance, intense cravings, or cycles of control followed by overeating.
This is pure physiology. And it’s known as the rebound effect.
What is the rebound effect (and why runners feel it so strongly)?
The rebound effect happens when a restrictive diet (too few calories, carbs, or food variety) pushes the body into survival mode.
For runners, this is especially risky because training already increases energy demand. When intake doesn’t match that demand:
Metabolism adapts downward to conserve energy
Hormones regulating hunger and fullness shift, increasing appetite and cravings
Glycogen stores stay low, reducing training quality and recovery
Mental focus and motivation drop, making consistency harder
Eventually, the body pushes back. Hunger becomes louder, control slips, and overeating episodes may occur. This is only the body doing its job.
Overly restrictive diets can lead to:
Reduced training intensity and slower recovery
Higher perceived effort at paces that used to feel comfortable
Increased injury and illness risk
Inconsistent body composition changes (weight cycling instead of stability)
Performance thrives on adequate fuel, consistency, and trust in your body, not on chronic restraint.
How to avoid the rebound effect (and step out of restriction)
The solution is better fueling strategies that work with your physiology.
Personalized nutrition plays a key role because:
Energy needs vary by training load, body composition, and life stress
Carbohydrate tolerance and timing differ between runners
Past dieting history affects how your body responds to intake
A personalized approach helps you fuel enough for performance without losing sight of body composition goals, and without triggering rebound patterns.
STEPS
Four immediate steps if you feel stuck in restriction or rebound
Normalize regular meals
Eat consistently across the day. Long gaps between meals increase rebound risk more than food choices themselves.Reintroduce carbohydrates strategically
Especially around training. Carbs support pace, recovery, and hormonal balance—they are performance tools, not the problem.
Giphy
Stop labeling foods as “off-limits.”
The more forbidden a food feels, the stronger the rebound response. Neutralizing food reduces urgency and overeating.Match intake to training, not fear
Hard days require more fuel. Easy days require enough. Fueling should follow workload, not guilt.
Gif by araldeutschland on Giphy
Product of the Week
This week's Product of the Week is the Overstims Energy Gel Antioxidant.
This was the last energy gel I tried, and I must admit that it has been my favorite so far!
I tried the lemon flavor, and it tastes like lemon pie filling. I thought it was delicious!
The packaging is small, and the consistency is liquid. It did not cause me any intestinal discomfort.
I did some more research and found out that this French brand only uses natural flavors and no preservatives in its products.
Each gel contains 26g of carbs, magnesium, sodium, and some vitamins (the latter being irrelevant, since the gel's function is only to provide energy).
Important: it is not a hydrogel. You need to consume it with water for it to be absorbed in the intestine.
The long-term goal: consistency, not control
Runners perform best when nutrition supports:
Steady energy
Predictable training weeks
Mental clarity around food
Sustainable body composition changes
Letting go of restrictive dieting means choosing a strategy that actually supports your running.
If you want help breaking the restriction, rebound cycle, and fueling your running with confidence, personalized nutrition support can make the difference.
It’s not about eating more or less, it’s about eating appropriately for your body and your training
For a personalized nutrition strategy that covers everything from training fueling to race day execution to recovery, that's exactly what I do in my 1:1 nutritional support program.
I’m accepting new clients for 2026!
Track of the Week 🎧️
This week's Track of the Week is a remix of a song by a band I love. I find this version very exciting! It's good to listen to when you're finishing a workout or an intense race.
I’ve chosen You & Me - Rivo Remix by Disclosure, Rivo, Eliza Doolittle
Any questions or something you would like to share, drop me an email
Wishing you a great weekend and week ahead!
Here’s to health and good runs⚡️
Ana Paula Alonso