WEIGHT LOSS AND

SPORTS
Ms Bahisht Rizwan
Senior Lecturer
UIDNS UOL
 Objectives of a Weight Loss Program
• Rapid weight loss can have serious health
consequences leading to a marked reduction in
performance.
The objectives of a healthy diet and exercise programme
are to:
• achieve a modest negative energy (calorie) balance
• maintain (or even increase) lean tissue
• gradually reduce body fat percentage
• avoid a significant reduction in your resting metabolic
rate
• achieve an optimal intake of vitamins and minerals.
 Dieting Effects Health
• Unfortunately, many athletes use rapid weight
loss methods that have an adverse effect on
their performance and their health. The two
most common are crash dieting and
dehydration.
• Rapid weight loss results in a diminished
aerobic capacity.
 Cont…
• A drop of up to 5% has been measured in
athletes who had lost just 2–3% of body
weight through dehydration. A loss of 10% can
occur in those who lose weight through strict
dieting.
• Anaerobic performance, strength and
muscular endurance are also decreased,
although researchers have found that strength
(expressed against body weight) can actually
improve after gradual weight loss.
 Prolonged Dieting
• Prolonged dieting can have more serious
health consequences. In female athletes, low
body weight and body fat have been linked
with menstrual irregularities, amenorrhoea
and stress fractures; in male athletes, with
reduced testosterone production.
 Consequences
• De hydration results in a reduced cardiac
output, reduced plasma volume, slower
nutrient exchange and slower waste removal,
all of which have an impact on health and
performance.
 Cont….
• In moderate-intensity exercise lasting more
than 30 seconds, even dehydration of less
than 5% body weight will diminish strength or
performance, although it does not appear to
affect exercise lasting less than 30 seconds. So,
for athletes relying on pure strength (e.g.
weight lifting), rapid weight loss may not be as
detrimental.
 Yo Yo dieting
• Repeated weight fluctuations, or yo-yo dieting, have
been linked with an increased risk of heart disease,
secondary diabetes, gall bladder disease and
premature death. However, researchers are divided as
to the exact reason.
• One explanation is that fat tends to be re-deposited
intra abdominally, closer to the liver, rather than in the
peripheral regions of the body, such as the hips, thighs
and arms, and thus poses a greater heart disease risk.
Another explanation is that repeated severe dieting
can lead to a loss of lean tissue (including organ tissue)
and nutritional deficiencies that can damage heart
muscle.
 Training hard and losing weight
• The problem with most weight-loss diets is
they do not provide enough calories or
carbohydrate to support intense training.
• They can leave you with depleted muscle
glycogen stores, which results in lethargy,
fatigue and poor performance. However, you
can continue training hard provided you
reduce your calorie intake by approximately
10–20%.
 Cont…
• A study shows that adequate carbohydrate intake
(50–60% of energy) is critical for preserving
muscular strength, endurance, and both aerobic
and anaerobic capacity.
• A lower intake can result in glycogen depletion
and increased protein oxidation (muscle loss).
Retaining lean mass is also vital for losing fat. The
less muscle you have the lower your resting
metabolic rate and the harder it is to lose fat.
 Carbs and fat
• Studies have shown that eating carbohydrates
increases your metabolic rate: about 10–15% of the
carbohydrate calories are expended as heat.
• A rapid rise in blood glucose produced by high GI carbo
hydrates can lead to fat storage. This is because it
provokes a rapid release of insulin. The more insulin
that is present in the bloodstream in response to high
GI carbohydrates, the more likely that this insulin will
turn excess carbo -hydrates into fat and deposit it in
your fat cells.
• The key to keeping insulin levels low is to eat low GI
meals. Taking a balanced diet is beneficial.
 Protein and fatness
• When protein is overeaten, the amino part of the
molecule is excreted and the remainder of the
molecule provides an energy substrate.
• Researchers believe that protein is the most
effective nutrient for switching off hunger signals,
so it helps you to stop overeating. The most likely
explanation is that we have no capacity to store
excess protein so the brain readily detects when
you have eaten enough and switches off hunger
signals.
 Fat makes you fat
• The hypothesis that fat is more fattening, calorie for
calorie, than carbohydrate, is supported by a number
of studies. In one study, men were fed 150% of their
calorie requirements for two 14-day periods. In one
period, the excess calories came from fat; in the
other, from carbohydrate.
• Overfeeding fat caused much greater deposition of
body fat than overfeeding carbohydrate. Other
researchers believe that it is unimportant whether
the excess calories come from carbohydrate or fat.
The best way to avoid obesity is to limit your total
calories, not just the fat calories.
 Fats and over eating
• Fat Is much easier to overconsume as it is less satiating
for two reasons. Firstly, carbohydrate and protein
produce a rise in blood glucose, which reduces the
appetite. Fat, on the other hand, is digested and
absorbed less rapidly, and often actually depresses
blood glucose, thereby failing to satisfy the appetite as
efficiently.
• Secondly, fatty foods usually have a high- calorie
density and low bulk, again making them less
satisfying, even in the short term, and easier to
overeat. Mostly omega 3 and 6 fatty acids should be
taken.
 Ration of protein fat and carbs to be
consumed
• The key to successful body fat loss is to cut your
dietary fat to 20–25% of total calories and to
reduce carbohydrates by 15%, proportional to
your drop in calories.
• Ideally, you should aim to consume 4–7 g/kg
body weight daily if you want to maintain your
usual training volume and intensity. If you
consume too little carbohydrate (less than 4 g/ kg
BW/day), your glycogen stores become depleted,
and not only does fat oxidation increase but
protein oxidation also increases.
 High protein
• A higher protein intake can offset some of the
lean tissue loss. Most researchers recommend
around 1.6 g/kg body weight/ day on a fat-loss
programme, which is consistent with the range
recommended generally for athletes (1.2–1.7 g).
• For example, a 75 kg athlete would need to
consume 120 g protein/day. In other words, you
should maintain or slightly increase your protein
intake and cut calories from carbohydrate and fat.
 How to calculate calorie intake
• Aim to reduce your usual calorie intake by 10–
20%. This relatively modest reduction in calories
will avoid the metabolic slowdown that is
associated with more severe calorie reduction
• Reducing calorie intake by approximately 15% (or
10–20%) will lead to fat loss without slowing the
metabolism. It may not allow you to lose 0.5 kg of
fat/week – it may be 0.5 kg/10 days – but at least
it will be fat, not muscle
 BMR and RMR
• Metabolism is the term given to all processes by
which your body converts food into energy. The
metabolic rate is the rate at which your body
burns calories. Your basal metabolic rate (BMR) is
the rate at which you burn calories on essential
body functions, such as breathing and blood
circulation during sleep.
• In practice, the resting metabolic rate (RMR) is
used, and is measured while you are awake and
in a non-fasting state. It accounts for 60–75% of
the calories you burn daily.
 Factors that make RMR high or low
• The most important factor that determines your
• RMR is the amount of fat-free mass you have
• (muscle, bone and vital organs). This is calorie
burning tissue so the more fat-free mass you
• have the higher your RMR will be.
• Your total body weight also affects your RMR.
• The more you weigh the higher your RMR,
• because the larger your body the more calories it
• needs for basic maintenance.
 Cont…..
• Numerous studies have shown a linear
• Relationship between total weight and
metabolic rate, i.e. the RMR increases with
increasing body weight.
• Genetics undoubtedly play a role in some
people are simply born with a more‘revved-
up’ metabolism than others.
To calculate RMR
Calories expended during sports
• This is based on the recommended
requirement of 1.6 g/kg body weight/day.
Multiply your weight in kg ×1.6 to give you
your daily protein intake in grams.
• For example, if you weigh 65 kg:
Protein intake = 65 × 1.6 = 104 g
 Age and BMR
• Unless you exercise regularly, you’ll lose
around 0.25 kg ( 1⁄2 lb) of muscle every year
after your late twenties. And as you lose
muscle, your BMR drops about 2% every
decade, so your body burns fewer calories.
You can combat age-related muscle loss with
twice weekly weight training.
 Dieting and Resting Metabolic Rate
• Strict dieting will sabotage long-term efforts at weight
control because it sends the body into ‘famine’ mode.
When you restrict your calories, your RMR slows down
as your body becomes more energy efficient. You need
fewer calories just to maintain your weight. The more
severe the calorie drop the greater the decrease in
your RMR.
• Generally the decrease is between 10–30%. However,
the effect is not permanent as the RMR returns to its
original level once normal eating is resumed.
 Cont….
• Avoid a big drop in your RMR by cutting your
calories as modestly as possible (15% is
recommended) and always consume more
calories than your RMR. For example, if your
maintenance calorie intake is 2500 kcal, you
should reduce this to 2125 kcal.
 Cont…
• Keep a food diary for a week, writing down the weight
of everything you normally eat and drink. This helps
you become aware of your true eating pattern.
• Do not skip meals or starve yourself during the day.
• Plan regular meals and snacks throughout the day,
thereby eliminating excessive hunger, satisfying
appetite, facilitating efficient glycogen refueling, and
improving energy levels and health.
• Set yourself a realistic weight goal that is right
• for your body type.
 Cont…
• Avoid weekday dieting and weekend splurging.
• Aim to eat about the same amount of food each
day and don’t worry if you occasionally overdo it.
• Remember, there are no banned foods; all foods
are allowed.
• Do not set yourself rigid eating and exercising
rules. Be flexible and never feel guilty if you
overindulge or miss an exercise session.
• Examine your feelings and emotions when you
eat. Food should not be used as a shield for
emotional problems. Solve these with the help of
a trained counsellor or eating disorder specialist.
 How to increase BMR
• Exercise-During the hour or two after vigorous
exercise, the athlete continues to burn calories
faster than normal as his body pays off the
oxygen debt, replenishes its energy reserves (PC
and ATP) and repairs muscle tissue.
• The longer and more intense the workout, the
greater this ‘after-burn’ will be. This post-exercise
increase in RMR is called the excess post-exercise
oxygen consumption or ‘after- burn’ and comes
chiefly from the body’s fat stores.
 Add muscle
• To increase the metabolic rate in the long
term the athlete has to add muscle.
• Studies have shown that regular weight
training will raise the athletes RMR in as little
as three months.
• Add enough protein.
 Eat small meals through the day
• Small regular meals increase the metabolic
rate for a short while after eating.
• Plan three meals and two or three snacks a
day, spacing them at 2–3-hour intervals.
• The metabolism is boosted by about ten per
cent for two to three hours after the athlete
eats.
 Eat a good break fast
• Breakfast kick-starts your metabolism and
allows the athlete a whole day to burn up
those calories.
• A combination of carbohydrate and protein
(say, porridge made with milk) will give the
athlete sustained energy.
 Go for a walk after a meal
• Moderate exercise, such as walking, after eating
• may turn more of the calories you have just
• eaten into heat and make your body burn more
• calories. Similarly, eating in the hour after
• vigorous exercise encourages it to be turned into
• energy rather than being stored as fat, as the
• metabolic rate is speeded up during this time.
 Low carb diet
• People lose weight more effectively when insulin levels
are kept as low as possible.
• Choices become limited, fewer calories are consumed.
It’s a simple negative energy balance explanation.
• In a study in University of Pennsylvania, obese people
on the Atkins diet lost 10 lbs more after 6 months than
volunteers on a conventional diet. But by the end of
the year, the differences between the two groups were
not significant, suggesting the Atkins diet is no better
at helping overweight people shed weight than
traditional diets.
 What is thermogenesis?

• Thermogenesis means heat production. Every

time you consume food your metabolic rate
(MR) increases and your body temperature
rises a little.
• If you can get your body to produce more heat
by eating the right ratio of fuels, then more of
the calories you consume will be burned off as
heat.
 Cont…
• Some nutrients have a higher thermic effect than
others.
• Protein exerts the strongest thermic effect, carbo
hydrates exerts a milder effect, but fat exerts only a
tiny thermic effect.
• When you eat 100 kcal fat only 3 kcal will be burned
off as heat. When you eat 100 kcal carbohydrate, 12–
15 kcal are ‘wasted’ as heat. When you eat protein,
approximately 20 kcal are wasted. So eating protein
and carbohydrate increases the MR, where as fat
causes very little increase in MR and most of the
calories will be converted into body fat.
• That’s a good reason to keep your fat intake low.