Strategies for Weight Loss

Why is weight management important?

Proper diet and a good conditioning program play a vital role in athletic performance. Athletes who are not at their ideal playing weight will not perform as well as they might.

What about fad diets and crash diets?

Fad diets are popular because they promise rapid weight loss. However, fad diets and crash diets actually result in a loss of lean muscle mass, water, and stored energy, not a loss of excess body fat. As a result, most athletes on such diets become tired early in the day or game and have a hard time finding the energy they need.

How does weight loss occur?

How many calories you need depends on your age, sex, weight, and activity level. To maintain your weight, you have to take in the same number of calories you burn. It takes about 3,000 calories a day for the average 165-pound man who is 19 to 24 years old to maintain his weight. From ages 25 through 49, the daily calorie requirement for maintenance drops to 2,700. An average 127-pound woman, 19 through 24 years old, will have to consume 2,100 calories daily for weight maintenance. From ages 25 through 49, it takes 1,900 calories per day. Your body weight will change when there is a difference between calories in and calories out.

How can I lose weight?

To lose weight you must eat less, exercise more, or both. Combining diet with exercise is a healthier, more balanced, and more successful way of losing weight than by dieting alone.

One pound of body weight is equal to 3,500 calories. Eating 500 fewer calories per day will result in a weight loss of 1 pound per week. Eating 250 fewer calories per day combined with a 250-calorie deficit from exercise will also result in a weight loss of 1 pound per week. Athletes should lose no more than 2 to 3 pounds per week.

Exercise

You should exercise 3 to 6 times per week for 30 to 60 minutes at 60% to 80% maximum heart rate. The goal is to expend at least 300 calories per exercise session. This would be about a 3-mile jog, 12-mile bicycle ride, or a 1-mile swim. See the chart below for more examples of calories burned during different types of exercise.

You may also burn off calories simply by being more active during the day:

• Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
• Park farther away from the store and walk briskly through the parking lot.
• Do your errands on foot or on a bicycle instead of driving.

Diet

To lose weight safely, it is important to eat a wide variety of foods. You should eat enough carbohydrates to fuel your body for exercise. You should reduce your fat intake to reduce calories, rather than follow a very low calorie diet.

Because everyone is different, there are no general guidelines as to how much or how little you should eat or exercise. Use the charts below to help guide you in your food choices.

 
        Calories Burned per Minute of Activity
---------------------------------------------------------
120-lb   160-lb    200-lb
person   person    person    Activity 
---------------------------------------------------------
2.5        3.4       4.6      Walking 2 miles an hour 
                              Bicycling 5 miles an hour 

3.3        4.4       5.9      Walking 3 miles an hour 
                              Bicycling 6 miles an hour 
                              Badminton 

5.1        6.8       9.0      Walking 4 miles an hour 
                              Dancing 
                              Calisthenics 
                              Bicycling 10 miles an hour 
                              Roller skating 

6          8         10.6     Tennis (singles) 
                              Water skiing 
                              Basketball (recreational) 
                              Swimming (35 yards/minute) 

6.5        8.7       11.6     Walking briskly 5 miles an hour 

7.3        9.7       12.9     Jogging 5 miles an hour 
                              Bicycling 12 miles an hour 

7.8        10.5      14.1     Downhill skiing 
                              Basketball (vigorous competition) 
                              Mountain climbing 

9.2        12.3      16.4     Jogging 7 miles an hour 
                              Cross-country skiing 
                              Squash and handball 

12.9       17.3      23.2     Running 9 miles per hour 
------------------------------------------------------------
From "The Ultimate Sports Nutrition Handbook" by Ellen Coleman 
and Suzanne Nelson Steen, Bull Publishing, 1996, Palo Alto, CA.



          Good High-Carbohydrate Foods to Eat 
------------------------------------------------------------
Food                   Calories     Carbohydrates (grams) 
------------------------------------------------------------
Potato                   220             50 
Bagel                    165             31 
Biscuit                  103             13 
White bread, 1 slice      61             12 
Cereal, 1 cup            110             24 
Oatmeal, 1/2 cup          66             12 
Graham crackers, 2        60             11 
Rice, 1 cup              223             50 
Noodles, 1 cup           159             34 
Pizza, cheese, 1 slice   290             39 
Pretzels, 1 oz           106             21 
------------------------------------------------------------


                 Making Proper Food Choices 

Food Type                Choose                   Decrease 
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Meats       Fish, poultry without skin,      Fatty cuts of beef, 
            lean cuts of beef, lamb,         lamb, pork; spare ribs, 
            pork, shellfish                  organ meats, regular 
                                             cold cuts, sausage, 
                                             hot dogs, bacon 

Dairy       Skim or 1% milk, buttermilk      Whole or 2% milk, 
                                             whipped toppings, 
                                             cream 

            Nonfat or low-fat yogurt         Whole-milk yogurt or 
            or cottage cheese                cottage cheese 

            Low-fat cheeses, farmer          All natural cheeses 
            or pot cheeses (no more          (blue, cheddar, 
            than 2 to 6 grams of fat         Swiss, Roquefort) 
            per ounce) 

            Sherbet, sorbet                  Ice cream 


Eggs        Egg whites (2 whites =           Egg yolks 
            1 whole egg in recipes) 


Fruits      Fresh, frozen, canned, dried     Vegetables prepared 
Vegetables                                   in butter, cream, or 
                                             other sauces 

Breads      Homemade baked goods using       Commercial baked 
Cereals     unsaturated oils sparingly,      goods: pies, cakes, 
            angel food cake, low-fat         doughnuts, croissants, 
            crackers, low-fat cookies        muffins, biscuits, 
                                             high-fat crackers, 
                                             high-fat cookies 
-----------------------------------------------------------------
From "The Ultimate Sports Nutrition Handbook" by Ellen Coleman 
and Suzanne Nelson Steen, Bull Publishing, 1996, Palo Alto, CA.