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CASE REPORT article

Front. Nutr.
Sec. Sport and Exercise Nutrition
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2024.1465001
This article is part of the Research Topic Food and Nutrition for Athletics: Redefining the Role and Application View all 9 articles

From Semi-Starvation to the Stage: A Case Report on Indicators of Low Energy Availability in a Drug-Free Bodybuilder During Contest Preparation and Peak Week

Provisionally accepted
Alex J. Ritson Alex J. Ritson 1Lyle McDonald Lyle McDonald 2Joseph Agu Joseph Agu 3Laurent Bannock Laurent Bannock 1*
  • 1 Institute of Performance Nutrition (IOPN), London, United Kingdom
  • 2 Bodyrecomposition Ltd, Austin, Minnesota, United States
  • 3 University of Nottingham, Nottingham, England, United Kingdom

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Natural bodybuilding involves periods of low energy availability (EA) combined with resistance training and high-protein diets to achieve extreme leanness. This study tracked a drug-free bodybuilder adopting evidence-based nutrition practices during 18 weeks of contest preparation. We measured endocrine function, resting energy expenditure, respiratory exchange ratio, body composition, resting heart rate, oral temperature, mood, and strength performance. Endocrine function was remeasured after two days of energy repletion. From baseline to week 18, free triiodothyronine (T3) and total testosterone (TT) fell into clinically low (2.7 pmol/L-1) and sub-clinically low (9.1 nmol/L-1) ranges. Resting energy expenditure decreased by -519 kcal (REEratio 0.78), and respiratory exchange ratio decreased from 0.95 to 0.85. Body mass reduced by -5.1 kg, with a sum of eight skinfold loss of -15.7 mm. Correlations were observed between body mass and decreases in oral temperature (r = 0.674, p = 0.002) and resting heart rate (r = 0.560, p = 0.016). Mood remained stable until the final two weeks and relative one-repetition maximum decreased in the squat (-5.4%), bench (-2.6%), and deadlift (-3.6%). Following two days of modest energy repletion, free T3 increased (18.5%), returning to sub-clinically low values (3.2 pmol/L-1), whereas TT fell (-20.9%), reaching clinically low values (7.2 nmol/L-1). These results offer insight into the dynamics of T3 and TT following a short-term period of modest energy repletion and further information on indicators of low EA during chronic energy restriction.

    Keywords: natural bodybuilding1, relative energy deficiency in sport2, endocrine function3, IOC REDs CAT24, Case report5, total testosterone6, free triiodothyronine7

    Received: 15 Jul 2024; Accepted: 14 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Ritson, McDonald, Agu and Bannock. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Laurent Bannock, Institute of Performance Nutrition (IOPN), London, United Kingdom

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.