Losing Weight

Courtesy of University Sports Medicine
www.ubsportsmed.buffalo.edu

WHY IS WEIGHT MANAGEMENT IMPORTANT?

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

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 that you burn. It takes about 3,000 calories a day for the average 165-pound man who is 19-24 years old to maintain his weight. From ages 25-49, the daily calorie requirement drops to 2,700. An average 127-pound woman, 19-24 years old, will have to consume 2,100 calories daily for weight maintenance. From ages 25-49, this figure drops to 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 one 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 one 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% of your 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. Calories may also be burned off during the day by:

- taking the stairs instead of using elevators
- park farther away from the store and walk briskly through the parking lot
- do your errands on foot or on bicycle instead of driving