Sports Nutrition 101 - Weight Loss Basics
9/26/2008 12:00:00 AM
Sept. 26, 2008
Weight Loss
Starving yourself and skipping meals is NOT the way to lose weight! Without proper nutrition - you will not be able to train at your optimal potential and are at a greater risk for injury, illness and fatigue. The reality is that when your body does not have adequate nutrition - it relies on lean muscle mass for fuel before it relies on fat mass.
As an athlete - you cannot compare yourself or your weight to the average person because you have more lean muscle mass; muscle is denser than fat mass, takes up less space, and thus "weighs more".
Thus - an athlete could weigh much more than a sedentary individual and not look any different or heavier. Also remember that muscle burns fat; the more lean muscle mass you have, the more calories you burn at rest. So - the goal when losing "weight" is to actually reduce body fat and change your body's composition.
Weight loss should be done in the off-season and carefully planned with a registered sports dietitian to confirm adequate energy intake for living and training. As a rule - in order to lose weight you have to negate 3,500 calories over the course of a week to lose one pound. This can be accomplished by negating 500 calories a day from diet and exercise.
Losing 1-2 pounds a week is recommended; any more and you are likely losing water weight. Though you are trying to lose weight - you still want to consume small, nutrient-dense meals often to maintain energy levels.
Tips:
- Yogurt w/ fruit & nuts
- Energy bar
- Peanut butter crackers
- String cheese & wheat crackers
- Apple & peanut butter
- Trail mix with cereal, nuts, dried fruit
- Fruit and string cheese
- Granola bar and nuts
