Sports Nutrition 101 - Weight Loss Basics
1/6/2010 12:00:00 AM
Jan. 6, 2010
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
