This week's issue of Feisty 40+ is presented by Previnex. Get 15% off your first order at previnex.com with the code FEISTY40PLUS.

🥘 Do You Need More Protein on Rest Days?

“I try not to eat too much on rest days, but it’s hard!”

That’s a snippet of a conversation I was having with a fellow longtime runner and cyclist as we were sipping seltzer waiting for our lunch. And it’s actually a sentiment I hear a lot: active women who believe they should be eating less on rest/recovery/easy days, even when they’re feeling pretty hungry.

But here’s the thing: even if you’re not running an hour or banging out heavy deadlifts, your nutrition needs are still high and, according to a recent sports nutrition review, you may need even more of some macronutrients, like protein, on those “rest” days–because even if you’re not working hard, your body still is.

In a nutshell, the review: Protein Nutrition for Endurance Athletes: A Metabolic Focus on Promoting Recovery and Training Adaptation published in Sports Medicine reported the following daily protein requirements (per kilogram body mass):

Standard training days: ~1.8 g/kg/day
Luteal phase of the menstrual cycle (when protein requirements may be considered highest) ~1.90 g/kg/day
Intensive training periods, particularly when carb/energy intake is low: ~ 2.0 g/kg/day
Rest/recovery days: ~2.0 g/kg/day

This is in line with the International society of sports nutrition position stand: nutritional concerns of the female athlete that recommends a general daily protein intake at ~1.8 to 2.0 g/kg/day for peri/postmenopausal athletes, with recommendations reaching 2.2 g/kg/day depending on training. This Sports Medicine review also notes that endurance athletes typically get about ~1.5 g/kg/day, which as shown above, may be insufficient–including on rest days when many athletes are eating less.

Rest Days = Regeneration Days

If you’re someone who has a bit of a mental block about eating more on “rest days”, try reframing them, says board-certified sports dietitian Kristen Arnold MS, RDN, CSSD, who specializes in sports nutrition for women.

“While I have typically recommended the same protein intake every day during a particular training cycle (base, build, strength etc), these findings make sense in terms of the rebuilding demands on these rest days,” she says. “In the last year I have started reframing rest days as Regeneration Days, as these days of rest and recovery are when the body is soaking up all the hard work and adapting to the training for performance gains.”

It’s also worth noting that, according to the review, meeting those higher levels of protein intake is especially important if/when you’re low on carbohydrates. “Many of the endurance athletes I work with are unintentionally under-eating carbs,” Arnold says. “It makes sense that while we focus on increasing carbohydrate intake, we can use protein-rich foods to fill energy gaps and ensure athletes aren't losing muscle mass.”

Finally, don’t forget that what you’re eating today isn’t just helping your body today–it’s fueling your tomorrow. By fueling your regeneration on easy days, you’ll be able to nail the harder ones.

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🤔 Might it Be Menopause?

For the second (or maybe the third…) time today you find yourself standing there, stopped dead in your tracks, staring blankly like a doe blinded by high beams, asking yourself, “Why did I come in this room?” After playing modern day Columbo, mentally retracing your steps, it comes to you. But it’s getting tiring…and maybe a little worrisome.

Those memory lapses are definitely frustrating, but this is one that is extremely common during the menopause transition. Some research shows that 62% of women will struggle with cognitive challenges like forgetting why you walked into a room or struggling to recall common words and/or names. Fluctuating and declining levels of estrogen can affect your brain function and lead to temporary lapses in recollection. Other common menopausal symptoms like sleep disturbances, hot flashes, and stress can also contribute to the problem.

Right now, there's no consistent evidence that hormone therapy improves memory or general cognitive function issues (i.e., brain fog). That said, if your memory is on the fritz because your sleep has gone sideways or you’re stressed out with hot flashes and other symptoms, it could help. Otherwise, all the usual advice: healthy diet, exercise, stress-management, and good sleep practices can help your brain do its best through this transition.

NOTE: If you're starting to experience symptoms and you're wondering, “Might it be Menopause?” we have a great resource for you. Check out our Perimenopause Starter Pack, available on demand now.

Join Selene in Milwaukee!

This workshop is designed for triathlon coaches and female triathletes who want to enhance their knowledge and approach to training, nutrition, and performance. Whether you’re an athlete looking to optimize your own performance or a coach seeking to better support your athletes, this interactive workshop will provide valuable insights and tools.

Selene and other experts will be talking about training during all phases of life, including the menopause transition.

We've partnered with USA Triathlon to bring you this half-day, science-backed Women's Performance Workshop in Milwaukee on August 8.

👉 Learn more

🔥 Feisty Badass Athlete of the Week Goes To…

This week we put our hands in the air for British cyclist Paula Ralph, 49, who set out to become the first female to cycle from Cape Point in Cape Town, South Africa to Norway’s North Cape in under 100 days. It didn’t quite work out for financial reasons, but she regrouped and made another go, and last month she rolled into NordKapp, Norway, clocking 12,290km while pedaling through 17 countries over 126 days, solo and unsupported.

“I set out to prove what’s possible when you refuse to give up — even when life throws heartbreak, financial struggle, trauma, and total uncertainty your way,” Paula posted on Instagram, “I did this to raise awareness for education, mental health, and women’s resilience.

Paula ultimately hopes to launch a foundation to bring cycling, mentorship, and hands-on learning into under-resourced communities. We’ll be cheering you on, Paula. Way to persevere.

👉Want a chance to be featured? Click here to share your badass story

👩🏻‍💻 Hit Play Research Round Up

We spend a lot of time scouring the latest research for news you can use to stay strong and feisty forever. Here’s what’s making waves this week:

🦶🏼 Your feet need recovery, too. We love our sprint intervals here at Feisty 40+, but adequate recovery is important, and that includes your feet, according to a new study that found that the plantar fascia (the thick band of tissue on the bottom of the foot) gets temporarily thinner and less stiff after repeated sprints to exhaustion (in this case 400 meter track sprints). After 30 minutes, thickness returned to normal, but the stiffness stayed slightly lower than before the run. Optimal stiffness helps maintain foot stability and avoid biomechanical imbalances like overpronation, which can increase the risk of plantar fasciitis, which is a very common (and very stubborn) cause of foot pain that 40+ women are especially susceptible to. Spacing out those hard days is good for your feet, too.

🚺 Even more reason to take care of yourself in midlife. A study analyzing data from 46,463 postmenopausal women showed that the longer a woman has been postmenopausal, the more her metabolism changes in ways that are linked to faster aging. Researchers identified a pattern of specific metabolic changes—including shifts in fats, amino acids, and inflammation markers—that together form a “metabolic signature” of menopause. This signature was strongly tied to signs of biological aging, like shorter telomeres (which reflect cell aging), higher stress on the body, and an older biological age compared to actual age. The findings suggest that menopause doesn’t just mark aging—it actively shapes how women age. The good news is that existing research strongly suggests that a healthy lifestyle can help counter many of the same metabolic and aging-related changes.

🏃🏾‍♀️ Women are gaining ground in triathlon, showing improved performances and increased participation, particularly in the masters categories, over the past decades, according to a research review. Of course, there’s still work to be done, and we need more studies focused on female-specific factors like hormonal cycles, menopause, and recovery after childbirth to optimize our training and performance and continue forward progress. But we’re happy to see hard work paying off.

What's On My Mind...

Philadelphia (my sports town) is getting a WNBA team! The league is expanding to 18 teams, including Philly, Detroit, and Cleveland. After hearing how “women’s sports are boring” for most of my life, I am loving the explosion of interest in women’s sports. Now we just need to get these hard working women properly paid. You bet I’ll be doing my part by buying tickets and merch and following my favorite teams and players–all stuff that really matters when it comes to the bottom lines. (If you’re stoked, too, and want to keep on top of all the women’s sports news you can use, Feisty has a new podcast called The Feist. Give it a follow and stay informed.)

🎧 Listen to this week's episode of Hit Play Not Pause - Brave Enough to Be Real: Honest Talk about Menopause, Midlife and Athletics with Christine D'Ercole

Feisty 40+ is written by Selene Yeager. Edited by Maya Smith. Ads by Ella Hnatyshyn

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