Energy availability = (energy intake - exercise energy expenditure) ÷ fat-free mass, expressed as kcal/kg FFM/day. Above 45 is healthy. 30-45 is the warning range — performance, hormones, and bone start drifting. Below 30 is the threshold for clinical RED-S risk. The mistake most amateur cyclists make is thinking calorie balance is the question. It is not. EA is the question — and it is entirely possible to be in calorie balance overall while sitting at chronically low EA on training days. The pattern we see most often: fuelling for sedentary life, then riding 4 hours on Saturday without adding the calories that ride cost. The body reads that as starvation, not weight loss. Use the EA tool to screen yourself before drawing conclusions about why your training is going backwards.
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