PFATS Articles

Losing Fat Without Losing Performance

Craig Horswill, PhD
Senior Research Fellow
Gatorade Sports Science Institute

Every athlete seeks a competitive edge and in some sports that edge can be found by altering body weight. Body weight is one of the few physical characteristics that an athlete can change in a relatively short period of time in hopes of gaining a performance edge.

Weight Loss Motives

Reasons for weight reduction include: esthetics in sports such as gymnastics and diving; perceived performance enhancement in weight-bearing sports like running, gymnastics, and cycling; meeting the restrictions of a certain weight class in wrestling, youth football, or rowing; or to meet arbitrary weight goals established by the coach or even by the athlete.

All too often, the focus becomes losing as much weight as possible. The misconception is that athletic success is directly proportional to the amount of weight loss. For competition in many sports, athletes believe they can get by with inappropriate weight reduction—exercise-induced dehydration or fasting—because the duration of the sporting event is short enough to avoid adverse consequences. Unfortunately for the athlete, rapid weight loss increases the risks of heat illness and limits the athlete’s ability to develop strength, endurance and sport-specific skills.

Optimizing Body Composition for Peak Performance

The goal of effective weight loss is to optimize body composition for peak performance, not shoot for the lowest weight possible. Minimizing body fat without compromising muscle mass or fuel stores is the overarching goal. There is no more effective way to accomplish that goal than to increase energy expenditure while moderately decreasing energy intake. That combination will maximize fat loss and minimize lean tissue (muscle) loss while protecting carbohydrate stores. The basic guidelines are these:

• Encourage athletes to create a 500-to-1000 calorie deficit per day to generate weight reduction of 1-to-2 pounds of fat per week.
• Teach athletes that effective weight loss that protects performance takes weeks and requires discipline and planning.

Losing the Fat

To lose fat and protect or even increase lean mass, athletes should consume a diet that provides:

• A minimum of five servings of fruits and vegetables per day. Most of these arenaturally low in calories and high in nutrient content. Preparation without sauces, butter, or sugar is key to keep the calorie content low.
• A minimum of six servings of grain products, preferable whole grains so that fiber content is high. Again, avoiding butter, margarine and other sources of calories will help.
• Two-to-three servings of lean meat and three servings of lean dairy per day.
• Minimize or eliminate desserts, extra food oils, and alcohol.

For additional information on appropriate serving sizes, see the GSSI Roundtable Youth in Sport: Nutritional Needs found at www.gssiweb.org. To create a diet plan that protects performance while accelerating fat loss, athletes should work with a registered dietitian (RD) who specializes in sports nutrition. Once the athlete has achieved his or her weight goal, the amount of calories can actually be increased somewhat to maintain the new weight.

Keeping Performance

Even with a sound diet and training program, athletes may be tempted to dehydrate quickly to achieve the desired weight. This tempting short-cut does not protect performance. In fact, it does just the opposite—it impairs performance. Hydration must be maintained by replacing the majority of sweat lost during training because this will help maintain power efforts during workouts. Research shows that a sports drink consumed during training helped physical performance more so than when a water placebo was consumed. Selecting a beverage that contains carbohydrate, sodium, and other electrolytes will enhance hydration, especially after the weigh-in when the athlete may be partially dehydrated.

Final Word

An effective weight-loss plan places the emphasis on body fat reduction while protecting or even increasing lean mass. Minimizing dehydration as a way to reach the desired body weight should be strongly encouraged to prevent undue fatigue and to control the risk of heat illness. In addition to trying to lose weight, athletes must also develop endurance, strength and power, technique, strategy and mental preparation. These improvements occur best when the athlete is well hydrated, well nourished, and therefore able to focus mentally and perform physically while the body weight drops with fat reduction.

For more information, please visit www.gssiweb.org.

Additional Reading

1. American College of Sports Medicine. Position Stand: Weight loss in wrestlers. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 28: ix-xii, 1996.
2. Bar-Or, O., Barr, S., Bergeron, M., et al. Youth in sport: nutritional needs. GSSI Roundtable #30 8(4):1-4, 1997.
3. Fogelholm M. Effects of bodyweight reduction on sports performance. Sports Medicine 18: 249-267, 1994.
4. Fritzsche RG, Switzer TW, Hodgkinson BJ, Lee SH, Martin JC and Coyle EF. Water and carbohydrate ingestion during prolonged exercise increase maximal neuromuscular power. Journal of Applied Physiology 88: 730-737, 2000.
5. Gonzalez-Alonso J, Heaps CL and Coyle EF. Rehydration after exercise with common beverages and water. International Journal of Sports Medicine 13: 399-406, 1992.
6. Walberg-Rankin J, Ocel JV and Craft LL. Effect of weight loss and refeeding diet composition on anaerobic performance in wrestlers. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 28: 1292-1299, 1996.