Hello, and welcome to today's podcast of Rev Up Health. Today we're going to talk about fueling for performance and why we seem to run out of energy in midlife and beyond. We'll break that down a bit — what happens, why, and what we can do to counteract it.
The second piece is recovery, which plays a big part in fueling, feeling energetic, and preparing for the next event, activity, or day. This is for people doing endurance events and races — which we do — but also for anyone just looking to feel better and have more energy.
You can get into the weeds with a lot of details and find studies to support whatever you need, but we're going to keep it general. No matter where you're at in your exercise or daily habits, this information should help you redirect where you may need some work.
The Energy Equation in Midlife
It seems like we have less energy as we age, and there are lots of reasons. Hormonal changes shift our energy levels — testosterone, estrogen, growth hormone, and thyroid. When those aren't in balance or optimized, we have issues. We start declining in our 30s, so it takes knowledge to know what's happening and what you can do to get through the midlife years.
All of those declining hormones in turn decline our metabolic rate, and our mitochondrial function isn't as good. Mitochondria create the energy we need, and whether it's at the cellular, receptor, hormone, or environmental level, a lot of things deplete both mitochondrial efficiency and the number of mitochondria. We want good mitochondria producing the best amount of energy.
Our overall exposure to environmental toxins also depletes energy — alcohol, smoking, and general environmental exposures. And our recovery time and inflammatory response start to increase, so it takes a little longer. You've heard that the older you get, the harder it is to heal from something — it's true.
Signs of Poor Fueling or Recovery
Signs of poor energy fueling or recovery include fatigue, poor sleep, and weight-loss plateaus. If you're working hard to change your body composition, doing well, and then suddenly not seeing change despite the same effort, that could be a factor. There's also decreased exercise tolerance — maybe you're still putting in the hours but not getting the response you'd expect in the gym, on the track, or on the road. We start noticing these things as we get older.
This is where we need to talk about listening to our bodies when they send these signals, honoring what they say, and making a conscious effort not to just push through like we always did. With experience, you learn — "I better not run out of the gates too hard on this event." From personal experience, when I run a marathon too hard and fast, I have problems absorbing liquids and fuel, so I have to slow down. You may think you've got the right hydration, electrolytes, or carbs, but you have to listen to what your body is telling you.
That's true even for your daily workout. Master the technique of listening to your body: start the first bit of exercise, and if it doesn't feel like a good day, make it a recovery day. We always say give it 10 minutes and see how you feel — if it feels good, go for it; if not, it's a recovery day.
Fueling: Protein, Carbs, and Fats
Looking at fueling for performance, protein is really big. We all have muscle wasting that starts in our 30s, so we have to do what we can to maintain and build. You can build muscle at any age — just because you didn't start lifting weights young doesn't mean it won't be effective. Protein gives your body a chance to synthesize muscle. We shoot for about one gram per pound of *ideal* body weight — ideal body weight is the key — which is a lot of protein and tough to get. Muscle is important not only for performance but for bone health.
Carbs are not the enemy. There's a place for carbs, especially around your workout, to help fuel. A lot of people avoid carbs because they want to lose weight, but you need carbohydrates for adequate performance, and the longer your event, the more important they become. A good target is 6 to 8 grams of carbs per pound of ideal body weight per day — that's a lot, and it's for people with a moderate amount of activity. If you're sedentary, it's probably half that. Carbs are how your muscle replenishes its glycogen stores, and they should be good carbs — vegetables and some grain sources, not refined grains and sugars. The catch with vegetable sources is fiber: we all need about 35 grams of fiber a day, but if you get the majority of your carbs from high-fiber foods, you'll spend some time in the bathroom — not ideal on a long run.
Healthy fats are important not only for fuel but to help you feel satiated, and they're vital for hormone support and optimization. They're a good source of long-term energy too.
Meal Timing and Hydration
There are a lot of schools of thought on how to fuel around a workout or race, and while there are good guidelines, you have to see what works for you — there's no prescription that helps everyone all the time. Your ability to tolerate certain fuels changes as you get older, sometimes just because of texture. For me, texture is the biggest issue during exercise — I know what I ideally need but sometimes can't tolerate it, so you have to look at alternate sources.
The post-workout recovery window is more important for women than men — men have a bigger window to replenish carbs, while women have a narrower one — so try to replenish carbs and protein within about an hour for glycogen and muscle repair.
Hydration is a piece a lot of people overlook, myself included — it's very hard for me to get enough. The average recommendation is half your body weight in ounces of water per day, which is an easy rule of thumb but a substantial amount. If you don't like water, put something in it you can tolerate, or add electrolytes — especially if you're sweating. Sodium, potassium, and magnesium are important for energy and cellular health, and they help you absorb hydration better. Hot climates require even more attention to electrolyte replenishment.
Learning From Race-Day Mistakes
We both have examples of realizing mid-event that we hadn't fueled or hydrated properly. For me, the biggest recently was our race in Bhutan, where around mile 8 to 10 I noticed I hadn't fueled properly — and it starts the day before. There weren't a lot of refueling stops on that race, which makes you more aware.
The way I look at refueling, electrolytes, and hydration: I start off great but fall behind instantly and can't keep up, so you have to hydrate and get your electrolytes up as much as you can. On the flip side, people who try to "hydrate up" 30 minutes to an hour before a race are the ones who can't find a close-enough porta-potty, because they're spilling out the electrolytes and fluids they over-consumed. You want to be hydrated with a full tank, but focus on replacing what you're losing, because it goes quicker than you think. My worst experience was the Great Wall Marathon — I hit the wall and literally had to sit down on the wall. When you run out of electrolytes and glucose, it's a real thing. Maintaining hydration is key.
Nutrition and Supplements for Recovery
To support recovery — especially in midlife — anti-inflammatories help, and we're not talking about ibuprofen or Advil, but omega-3s, turmeric, magnesium, tart cherry juice, and glutathione. These can reduce the inflammatory response before and during recovery.
For muscle recovery support: creatine, protein supplementation, and branched-chain amino acids (leucine, isoleucine, valine) are important for muscle synthesis to reconstruct what you just worked to adapt. And a plug for Timeline — Mitopure (urolithin A). We really noticed when we started taking it regularly that our energy, strength, and recovery improved. It's naturally produced in the gut, but most of us don't have that ability, so supplementing it works well — about a 10 to 15% improvement.
Gut health matters for recovery — make sure your gut is moving the way it should with fiber, probiotics, prebiotics, and fermented foods. And in midlife, nutrient absorption changes, so calcium, vitamin D, and B vitamins become more of an issue. If you're not supplementing vitamin D, you're probably low — we're just indoor bodies these days.
Why Recovery Matters More as We Age
Recovery gets more important with age because of slower muscle repair, more inflammation, and reduced sleep quality. Sleep is when we recover — sleep hygiene is very important, and getting 6 to 8 hours is how your body repairs and regenerates, both for central-nervous-system neuroplastic events and muscle repair. It's often overlooked.
Then there's active recovery — sometimes that's rest, and sometimes it's a walk, just staying active but slower than usual. There are also the techy options: red light therapy, saunas, cold plunge, massage guns, and compression boots. And hormone evaluation — better hormone balance means better recovery, energy, and muscle synthesis.
Structuring Your Week
Rather than a sample day, look at a whole week, because it's important to get in your strength training and your VO2 max/cardio training and still have time for recovery. I like to vary my activities — a cardiopulmonary day, then the next day arms, core, and so on — so I can give a body part a rest. I'm also in the school of thought (supported by some research) of not training to failure with heavy lifting or cardiopulmonary endurance. Not exhausting the same part every time makes it easier to recover faster and get a good-quality workout the next time.
My favorite recovery is heat — a sauna or hot tub. Sauna and cold plunge both have a lot of research behind them. I'm much better with heat; the cold plunge is still out for me — I like the idea of it but am still playing around with it.
Common Mistakes
Some common mistakes: skipping meals and under-eating protein — you really have to keep that going. Personally, I don't skip meals much; I need the calorie intake. But this is a perfect example of how everyone is different — I can pretty easily have two meals a day plus a supplemental protein shake, and that works for me right now, though it may not later. It's true that men need more calories — men are blessed with a higher basal metabolic rate than women. You can use the Harris-Benedict equation to see your basal metabolic rate — what it takes just to sit still, breathe, and digest — and it's a couple hundred calories' difference for men versus women of the same age group.
Overtraining is another common mistake. If you're overtraining, you're getting yourself fatigued, and you can't exercise your way out of a bad night's sleep. If you're thinking you need to run extra miles or do more in the gym — maybe you don't. Sometimes it's best to rest, recover, eat well, and come back the next day more effective. We've seen people in our practice who overtrain, and they develop hormone imbalances and feel it.
Changing the Mindset
Before we finish, I want to talk about changing the mindset, because we're transitioning from diet culture. Fueling your body isn't a diet — it's an investment in your energy, function, and longevity. Switch from "I need to eat less to stay lean" to "I need to eat better and enough to power my muscles, my brain, and my recovery."
Reframe recovery as strategic rather than a weakness — it's how you grow stronger. Change "no pain, no gain" to "if I don't recover, I can't grow stronger." Recovery isn't laziness; it's part of training and active repair, and it has to be incorporated. Honestly, most people don't build in enough off days.
Another reframe: health isn't just for today, it's for life. Go from "I just want to fix this now" to "how do I want to feel, move, and live 20 years from now?" If you plan to keep entering events, hiking, and doing things with family and friends into older age, you have to keep that in mind.
Stop comparing yourself to the past — "I used to run five miles on no sleep and two cups of coffee." Your body has different strengths now, and that's not a bad thing; embrace where you are. And instead of just aiming to "get back to normal," aim for optimal — physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. So much changes as we age, and it's important to honor the way we feel. There's a physiological, scientific reason you feel the way you do, and everyone goes through it — like menopause, if you live long enough, you'll go through it.
Key Takeaways
We hope you can take bits and pieces of what we talked about and re-evaluate your activity levels, nutrition, and mindset about where you are and where you want to be as you get older. Key takeaways: smart fueling, strategic hydration, and prioritizing recovery all support sustainable energy and performance. If you have questions, reach out to us or follow us at Revelation Health KC. Have a healthy day.