Calories In VS. Calories Out (Athlete Style)
Losing weight is probably the most commonly set New Years’ Resolution of all, but rarely do people ever actually achieve the weight loss goal that they set (much less maintain it).
As athletes, weight loss goals tend to be related less to aesthetics and geared instead toward making us leaner and stronger, meaning that we need to maintain as much muscle mass as possible while having the smallest amount of fat that allows us to perform at our best. Our focus should be on optimizing body fat percentage instead of the number on the scale.
The optimal body fat percentage needed varies by sport, and then you have some individual variance on top of that to keep us feeling our best. The other consideration is that, to perform at your best, you do not want to be in a calorie deficit in peak season, so timing is extremely important.
If you have an off season or a conditioning period, that is the prime time for making weight adjustments. That way, when it matters the most, your body always has the nutrition that it needs to allow you to make the progress in training and competition that you need.
WHEN IT COMES TO LOSING WEIGHT, IT’S REALLY PRETTY SIMPLE.
You want to make sure you burn more calories than you take in, and you want to make sure to keep your protein intake high enough so that you don’t lose much muscle in the process (the general recommendation is around 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight).
The most foolproof method for this is to track your calorie and macro intake, calculate how much you need to maintain your weight, and then lower your calories by 20-25%. You can still lose some fat while gaining muscle without going into a deficit (called body recomposition), but this happens much more slowly. However, it can be an effective way to transform your body into the machine that you need for it to be without hurting your performance.
As an athlete, no matter what, your focus should ALWAYS be on making sure that your performance does not suffer long-term while you change body composition.
If you want more guidance on how to improve your athletic performance and reduce your chance of injury, or need help with a nagging injury, feel free to contact us at Peak Performance so that we can figure out how we can best help you achieve your goals!
