10 Lessons I Learned From RED-S
(and why EVAS has me reflecting on all of them)
Being selected as a Finalist in the 2026 Enterprise Vision Awards (EVAS) has had me reflecting more than I expected.
Not just on RED-Scue.
But on everything that came before it.
And these are the 10 lessons I keep coming back to from RED-S (Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport), underfuelling, and overtraining.
1. The hardest part is reckoning with potential
The years I lost because I genuinely thought I was doing everything right.
I thought I was healthy.
I thought I was disciplined.
I thought more control would lead to better outcomes.
Instead, I was under-fuelling.
And that still stays with me.
Because it’s not just what you lose — it’s what might have been.
2. Knowledge isn’t the missing piece
Like many people, I knew the theory.
Nutrition. Recovery. Carbohydrates. Energy availability. Training load.
I had the information.
But I was still stuck.
Because information alone doesn’t fix systems.
3. RED-S is a systems problem, not an information problem
When your environment rewards doing more, eating less, and pushing harder…
underfuelling can look like discipline.
overtraining can look like dedication.
restriction can look like control.
And that’s why it’s so hard to see while you’re in it.
4. You can’t out-educate your environment
Most advice is: “eat more” or “follow this guide.”
But the real question is:
Does your environment make fuelling enough the easiest option?
If not, knowledge won’t stick.
5. Discipline can sometimes be disconnection
What I thought was discipline was often override.
Ignoring hunger.
Pushing through fatigue.
Doing more when I needed less.
At some point, discipline stops being strength — and starts becoming separation from the body.
6. Your body is not the enemy — it’s feedback
Fatigue is information.
Hunger is information.
Loss of performance is information.
Once I stopped treating my body as something to control and started listening to it, everything shifted.
7. Performance comes from permission, not punishment
I used to think progress came from restriction and effort.
But real adaptation only happened when I gave my body permission to recover.
Performance is not built through punishment — it’s built through availability.
8. Trust is the real recovery metric
RED-S doesn’t just affect the body.
It affects your relationship with yourself.
You stop trusting hunger.
You stop trusting rest.
You stop trusting your own signals.
And rebuilding that trust is often the hardest part.
9. Imposter syndrome often shows up in recovery
Not because you’re incapable.
But because you’re relearning how to listen to something you spent years overriding.
When rest used to feel like failure, recovery can feel unfamiliar — even when it’s right.
10. Recovery is not learning more — it’s changing the system
Recovery didn’t come from another article, podcast, or plan.
It came from changing everything around me:
My routines.
My training.
My food environment.
My relationships.
My definition of success.
Because RED-S is often not a motivation problem.
It’s a system problem.
And systems need changing.
Why this matters
As much as RED-S took from me, it also gave me perspective.
It forced me to question so many of the beliefs we’re taught about health, discipline, and control.
That thinner is better.
That hunger should be ignored.
That more is always better.
That health can be measured by restriction.
What I’ve learned is simple:
A body constantly under-fuelled isn’t healthier — it’s surviving.
Why I created RED-Scue
That understanding is why RED-Scue exists.
Not as another product built around restriction or control.
But as a reminder that fuelling matters.
That energy availability matters.
And that supporting your body will always take you further than fighting against it.
Being recognised by EVAS feels meaningful because it reflects this entire journey.
Not just what I built.
But what I had to unlearn to build it. 💖
