This article is written by, Amy Goblirsch, better known as The Running Dietitian, an endurance runner, mom of two, and registered dietitian who blends her professional expertise with real-life experience.
Amy understands the unique challenges female runners face when balancing training, nutrition, and life outside of running. She focuses on helping runners fuel with confidence, break free from underfueling, and reach their goals on and off the run.
Why Female Runners Have Unique Nutrition Needs
“Women are not small men,” as Stacy Sims, Ph.D., famously says. Hormonal fluctuations, nutrition needs, and training demands all look different for women, which means simply scaling down a plan made for men won’t work.
Female runners encounter unique nutrition challenges throughout their lifespan, largely shaped by shifting hormones. From adolescence through pregnancy, postpartum, and into menopause, each stage brings distinct hurdles and even opportunities for fueling. By recognizing these differences, women can adjust their nutrition strategies to support performance, protect their health, and continue thriving as runners at every age.
Body Composition and Metabolic Differences
Women’s bodies differ from men’s in both body composition and metabolism, and these differences influence fueling strategies for training and recovery. From puberty onward, women naturally maintain a higher percentage of body fat than men, a pattern influenced by hormones like estrogen. This body fat is not only normal but functional, supporting reproductive health and serving as an energy reserve.
During exercise, women tend to rely more on fat as a fuel source while conserving carbohydrate stores, though carbohydrates remain essential for supporting running performance. Despite burning a higher proportion of fat during activity, women may lose fat more slowly in a calorie deficit due to their body’s efficiency in storing fat during non-exercising periods.
Because of these physiological differences, female runners must be intentional about how they fuel. A balanced intake of carbohydrates, protein, and fats is critical, with needs shifting based on training load. For general fitness, here's a recommendation on what food groups calories should come from:
45-55% calories from carbohydrates
15-20% calories from protein
25-35% from fat
But female athletes training at higher volumes require more: typically 5-8 g of carbohydrate per kg of body weight per day to replenish glycogen, and 1.2-2.2 g per kg of body weight daily to maintain muscle mass and support recovery.
Understanding these metabolic and hormonal differences allows women to fuel in ways that optimize energy, performance, and long-term health.
Nutrition Throughout the Menstrual Cycle
Cycle syncing has become a hot topic in the running world, but it’s not realistic, or necessary, to plan every workout around your cycle, especially since you can’t predict exactly what phase you’ll be in on race day.
Instead of strict cycle syncing, focus on observing how you feel at different times of your cycle and adjust your nutrition, hydration, and recovery strategies to better support your body. Keep reading to learn about the different phases of your cycle and nutrition tips to help guide you through performing well at every phase.
Menstruation
During menstruation, energy levels can dip as estrogen and progesterone reach their lowest point, often leaving you feeling more fatigued:
Physical symptoms like cramps, bloating, headaches, mood changes, and digestive discomfort can make training or racing challenging, even though this phase can be an optimal time for performance.
Iron needs are particularly important during menstruation, since blood loss increases the risk of low iron and can impact energy, recovery, and overall performance.
Nutrition Tip for Menstruation: Include iron-rich foods such as beans, lentils, leafy greens, and red meat to help replenish levels. To maximize absorption, pair these with vitamin C–rich foods like citrus fruits, berries, red peppers, or broccoli.
Follicular Phase
The follicular phase begins on the first day of menstruation and lasts until ovulation, typically around two weeks. Hormones are at their lowest at the start of this phase, which actually creates a performance advantage:
As estrogen begins to rise in the second half of the follicular phase, training benefits continue to build.
Estrogen supports endurance by shifting fuel usage toward fat metabolism, helping runners feel less fatigued during longer efforts.
Glycogen stores remain readily available for quick energy, while lower body temperature helps keep you cooler during runs.
Nutrition Tip: Focusing on fueling both during and after workouts to maximize training adaptations, while a slightly higher carb intake may be beneficial if you’re racing or training at higher intensities.
Ovulation Phase
The ovulation phase is marked by high estrogen and low progesterone:
This phase brings a slight increase in core body temperature, so training in cooler environments or adjusting hydration strategies may help you perform more comfortably, especially on hot days.
At the same time, the body may experience elevated oxidative stress and inflammation, and some women notice discomfort from ovulation itself, while others feel little to no symptoms.
High estrogen can also impair the body’s ability to store carbohydrates, which makes fueling especially important during this window.
Nutrition Tip: For workouts or endurance events lasting longer than 75–90 minutes, prioritizing carbohydrates during the run not only supports performance, but also aids recovery.
Luteal Phase
The luteal phase spans from ovulation until the onset of menstruation. In the final week before your period, these hormonal shifts can make training feel more challenging:
Core body temperature is higher, heart rate rises even at moderate efforts, and hydration becomes more difficult to manage due to fluid retention.
Carbohydrate metabolism is less efficient, meaning glycogen storage and usage are reduced, while energy demands increase.
Nutrition Tip: If you’re racing or training hard during this time, increasing carbohydrate intake is crucial, both during and after exercise. Staying on top of hydration by adding sodium to foods and even hyperhydrating before workouts can also help offset heat intolerance and fluid shifts.
Supporting Better Nutrition Habits For Female Runners
Supporting better nutrition habits for female runners means more than just meeting calorie or macronutrient goals, it also means supporting long-term health by fueling adequately and avoiding underfueling, overtraining, and nutrient deficiencies.
When calorie intake doesn’t match energy demands, runners risk developing low energy availability (LEA), which is at the core of the female athlete triad: disordered eating, menstrual dysfunction, and decreased bone density. Exercise-induced amenorrhea, or the loss of a period due to inadequate fueling and training stress, is not a normal response and can increase the risk of osteoporosis, infertility, and cardiovascular disease. Prioritizing consistent fueling before and after runs, honoring hunger cues, and adjusting nutrition for training volume are critical steps to staying healthy while improving performance.
It’s important to note that while eating disorders and disordered eating can be a cause of LEA, they aren’t the only reasons it occurs. LEA can also result from simply not understanding how calorie needs change with training or from a natural decrease in appetite that often accompanies running.
Iron is another essential focus, since female runners lose iron through menstruation, sweat, and foot-strike haemolysis. Inadequate iron can lead to anemia, which reduces oxygen delivery to working muscles and makes training feel harder than it should. Alongside iron, bone health must also be protected through adequate intake of calcium and vitamin D.
Nutrition Tips For Female Runners at All Life Stages
Fueling well as a female runner isn’t about restriction, it’s about supporting your body so you can feel good, stay healthy, and perform your best. Here are some simple, practical nutrition tips to keep in mind.
Listen to Your Body and Apply Practical Fueling
Pay attention to your hunger, energy levels, and how your body responds to different foods and timing. There will be times when running suppresses your appetite, but it’s important to eat enough to support training and recovery, even if you don’t feel hungry. Learning to fuel consistently, rather than only when hunger strikes.
Prioritize Iron-Rich Foods
Female runners are at higher risk for low iron, especially if you’re menstruating. Low iron can zap energy and make running feel harder. Aim to include iron-rich foods like lean red meat, chicken, beans, lentils, spinach, or fortified cereals, and pair plant-based sources with vitamin C–rich foods to boost absorption.
Support Bone Health with Calcium
Running puts stress on your bones, so getting enough calcium (and vitamin D) is key for bone strength and long-term health. Include foods like dairy, fortified plant milks, yogurt, cheese, leafy greens, or tofu regularly.
Don’t Skimp on Carbs
Carbohydrates are your body’s preferred fuel for running. Instead of cutting back, focus on high-quality carb sources like whole grains, fruit, starchy vegetables, and legumes. They’ll not only fuel your workouts but also help with recovery.
Nutrition Advice for Running While Pregnant
During pregnancy, fueling well becomes even more critical as your body supports both your training and your growing baby. Protein needs rise by about 40% compared to pre-pregnancy, and pregnant runners require even more than the average population. Aim to spread protein across the day with high-quality sources at each meal, which helps support muscle repair, blood volume expansion, and your baby’s growth. Complex carbohydrates are also key as they provide the steady energy needed for training.
Hydration is another major priority since your body works harder to cool both you and your baby. Pregnant runners tend to sweat sooner and lose fluids faster, which increases the risk of dehydration. A simple guideline is to drink about half your body weight in ounces daily, so around 80 ounces for a 160-pound runner. Beyond water, electrolytes are worth including, especially on longer runs or hot days. Finally, don’t overlook key nutrients like vitamin D and calcium to support bone health for both mom and baby, and vitamin C for its role in immune function and iron absorption.
Nutrition During Menopause
During menopause, nutrition becomes especially important for maintaining muscle mass, bone density, and overall energy. Protein needs rise beyond the standard 0.8 g per kg of body weight, with research supporting closer to 1.2 g per kg or more. Research also found that pairing the increased protein with resistance training and anaerobic exercise to be especially beneficial in increasing lean body mass. Complex carbohydrates should also be a staple, as they provide steady energy, support recovery, and help regulate blood sugar levels during a time when hormonal changes can impact metabolism.
Calcium and vitamin D are essential for bone health, with calcium needs increasing to 1,200 mg per day after age 50. Because the body’s ability to make vitamin D from sunlight declines with age, supplementing or being mindful of vitamin D-rich foods can be necessary to improve calcium absorption and protect bone density. Vitamin C also plays a supportive role by aiding in collagen formation, which supports joints and connective tissue, while also enhancing iron absorption. For runners navigating menopause, a balanced approach that emphasizes protein, complex carbs, calcium, vitamin D, and vitamin C can help offset hormonal shifts and sustain performance.
Conclusion
Understanding how hormones and life stages affect your nutrition and performance can help you make more informed choices about fueling, recovery, and training. Being aware of your body’s unique needs allows you to optimize performance, support health, and enjoy running at every stage of life. Remember, every runner is different – what works for one person may not work for another.
This article is intended for general educational purposes and is not a substitute for personalized nutrition advice from a registered dietitian or healthcare professional.