Recently I’ve come across an article that talks about 9 science-based ways for athletes to lose weight. When you think about it, it’s always more difficult to lose weight when you’re always training, always eating clean. Humans need a certain amount of bodyfat to maintain basic functions. Too much bodyfat – however – can negatively affect an athlete’s performance. So what can athletes do to ‘step up’ their weight loss to be in prime condition and shape?

1.  The first point this article suggests is to lose weight off season. We are talking about b athletes in general. It does make sense to try and lose the excess bodyfat offseason because it’s very difficult to reach peak fitness while dieting. When you’re not eating enough calories, your athletic perfomance will suffer. Losing weight offseason will give you more time to lose the excess bodyfat as well, so that you don’t have to rush the fat loss and can stick to the healthy pace of 0.5 kg / week – minimising the muscle loss.

2. Avoid crash diets. I think we don’t really need to prove this point, athletes know that they need a certain amount of calories to be able to perform at the training sessions. Also drastically reducing your caloric intake will affect your metabolism and hormonal balance. Athletes should only cut their calories by no more than 300-500 kcal a day.

3. Eat less sugar and more fibre. Low carb diets are proven to be the best for fat loss. However restricting the carb intake too much will affect your athletic performance. To reduce the carb intake cut out added sugars, and avoid cane juice, dextrin, maltodextrin, barley malt, caramel, fruit juice concentrate, fruit juice crystals and any type of syrup. Instead increase your intake of vegetables high in fibre.

4. Increase your protein intake. Protein promotes fat loss in several ways: high protein diets increase feelings of fullness and the number of calories burnt through digestion. High protein diets also prevent muscle loss during periods of weight loss. Therefore athletes restricting their calories to lose weight should eat between 1.7 – 2.8 gr protein / kg of bodyweight / day.

5. Spread protein intake throughout the day. 20-30 gr protein per meal is sufficient to stimulate muscles to produce protein for the following 2-3 hrs. Eating a snack containing 40 gr protein before bed can increase muscle protein synthesis during night. This may help prevent some of the muscle loss expected during sleep.

6. Refuel well after training. Eating the right foods after competing or training is very important for the athletes, especially when trying to lose bodyfat. Proper refuelling is very important especially on days when you have more than 1 events with less than 8 hours recovery time. Carbs with protein can speed up recovery time and promote protein production in your muscles.

7. Strength training can also help holding on to the muscle when trying to lose bodyfat. Research shows that both protein intake and strength training stimulate muscle protein synthesis and combining the two can produce an even better effect.

8. After your diet, increase your calories gradually. It may be tempting to start eating normally again after you’ve reached your desired body fat percentage, but that would lead you to gain bodyfat back. Gradually increasing your caloric intake can help restore your hormone levels and metabolism better, minimizing the weight gain.

9. Here are some other ways you can achieve weight loss:

• measuring your portions and keeping track of what you eat is scientifically proven to help you get better results.
• drinking before consuming a meal can help you consume 22% less calories
• eat slowly, aim to take at least 20 mins for a meal
• avoid alcohol
• get enough sleep, not enough sleep can increase hunger and appetite by 24%. Not getting enough sleep will also affect your athletic performance.
• reduce your stress. Having high stress levels will increase cortisol levels which promotes food cravings and drive to eat. Mental and physical stress can also prevent proper recovery.