Losing Fat: The Athlete’s Way
Athletes cannot escape the laws of thermodynamics. Therefore they need to consume fewer calories than they expend to achieve fat loss. Unlike a sedentary individual the athlete is mindful of the need to be able to train effectively and retain muscle mass – and so their approach is significantly different.
Nutrient roles:
Protein: this is the building block of muscle, enzymes, hormones and body tissue in general. Fortunately most athletes already consume enough protein to supply what they need for effective performance and recovery.
Fats: most athletes usually consume very little fat. In fact many will be consuming too little fat for optimum health. Fat is an essential component of cell walls, and playing an important metabolic role in recovery, nerve function and general health. People are increasingly aware of the importance of the omega fatty acids, (which are important for the athlete too); however, the important role of saturated fat is usually neglected. A small amount of saturated fat is essential for optimum hormone function, especially testosterone.
Carbohydrate: the athletes’ energy source. Athletes have long been aware of the importance of carbohydrates as a fuel, and the need to replenish glycogen. Less emphasised have been carbohydrate sources and the timing of carbohydrate consumption. When eating for fat loss, these two factors are the key components of dietary manipulation.
Should carbohydrate be eliminated from the diet?
The key to cutting is to keep carbohydrate intake low but not to eliminate carbs totally from the diet. Try to keep the carbohydrate from good sources such as basmati or brown rice, wholemeal pasta, sweet potato, fruit and vegetables. Some bodybuilders may feel that the sugar in fruit and some vegetables may hinder fat loss. However, while there is natural sugar present in fruit and vegetables, the overall energy density is low and the small amount of sugar consumed is more than offset by the presence of vitamins and minerals. Starchy vegetables, like carrots, potatoes and sweet potatoes can still be eaten but in smaller portions.
Reserve medium to large portions of starchy carbohydrate for pre- and post workout and keep the portion sizes small at the remaining meals. This allows hard workouts to be adequately fuelled while still allowing for relatively lower levels of carbohydrate to be consumed overall. Not only does this allow for effective fat loss, it also provides a diet that is easier to stick to than a very low carbohydrate diet.
At the same time, protein intake should remain high, to help maintain muscle mass during the period of calorie restriction. Fats should be included in the diet but it is best to focus on healthy fats from sources such as flax and olive oils, avocado, oily fish, nuts and seeds rather than saturated fats in processed foods.
Cutting is person specific.
The response of the body to diet and training will depend on a number of factors, such as body weight and body composition. Some of these factors may be genetic and some may depend upon the lifestyle of the individual. As a result the cutting diet, its composition, meal timings and portion sizes will be person specific. Therefore, the diet shown below can only be treated as a guideline. It is important to monitor the process of cutting and adjust the intake and training accordingly to ensure optimal weight loss.
The duration of the cut will depend upon the amount of weight loss desired, the success of the diet and the dedication of the individual on what can be an increasingly restrictive diet. It is important to include treats in the diet, both to improve mental attitude and to prevent metabolic rate from dropping too far, thus hindering weight loss. Many people will have a weekly ‘carb up’, for example, a pizza at the weekend. The importance of a treat meal should not be underestimated. However, it should be kept to a maximum of 1-2 treat meals a week. As the cut progresses, slowly reduce the portion sizes to avoid the weight loss plateauing.
The fat-loss diet plan is a guideline for a non-competing bodybuilder cutting to achieve fat loss with minimal loss of muscle mass. Those bodybuilders who are competing may start off in the same way but closer to a competition will require much more sophisticated dietary manipulation.
Exercise is indicated (cardio in the morning, unfuelled, and weights in the evening) with pre- and post workout meals as directed. If exercise is performed at different times of the day, then meals will need to be rescheduled, to ensure that the weights workout is sufficiently fuelled and the post workout nutrition accounted for.
How much do we need?
It is tempting to use calorie restriction as the basis of fat loss; a common recommendation is 500 calories less than maintenance intake, with a diet composing of 50% carbohydrate, 20% fat and 30% protein. Although, there is no agreement on the levels of protein, fat and carbohydrate an athlete needs, and ratios can be hotly debated.
However, a more productive approach is to look at foods and meals. The guiding principle of an athlete’s fat loss diet is to provide the fuel for performance training from carbohydrate, and then utilise fat for as much of their non athletic energy requirement as possible.
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