Fuelling Through Your Cycle and Menopause
Trail Notes | Fuelling & Female Physiology
Fuelling Through Your Cycle
and menopause.
Your nutrition needs are not fixed across your life.
They can change through perimenopause and menopause, and some women notice patterns across the month. Tracking your own patterns helps you train well and feel better.
Across the month
If you menstruate, some women notice patterns in appetite, energy, cravings, sleep and perceived effort across the month, and others notice none. Track your own and see what shows up. We train the person, not the phase, so your fuelling stays built on eating enough, fuelling the work you are doing, and keeping some flexibility around appetite.
Your own patterns are data, not an inconvenience.
Through perimenopause and menopause
As hormones shift, nutrition becomes more important for muscle, bone, recovery, mood and sleep. This is a time to be more intentional, not more restrictive.
Focus on
- Enough total energy
- Protein anchored across the day
- Regular strength training
- Carbohydrate around harder sessions (about 60 g per hour for long efforts, built up gradually in training, up to 90 g only if your gut is trained for it)
- Healthy fats, calcium, vitamin D, iron where relevant, fibre, hydration and sleep
Iron and bones
Female athletes need to be especially mindful of iron and bone health. Low iron can leave you tired, breathless and unable to recover. Low energy availability, missed periods and low calcium or vitamin D all raise the risk to your bones. Do not supplement iron blindly, ask your doctor for testing.
Eat enough, prioritise protein, keep strength in your week, and fuel the work you are doing.
Food is part of your long-term athletic health, not just today's session.
Written by the Her Trails coaching team
Trail Notes are evidence-informed coaching journals written for women who train, race and run on trails.
Go deeper inside Her Trails
Training With Your Cycle and Running Strong Through Perimenopause and Menopause in Base Camp go further. Two programs help you act on it: Her Shift (education and tracking your own patterns) and Peri Power (8 week strength for perimenopause and menopause), or bring questions to Coaching Corner.
This is general guidance, not medical advice. For symptoms, HRT, iron or bone health, please work with your doctor or a qualified practitioner.
