Maintaining, Losing, and Gaining Weight

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Maintaining, Losing, and Gaining Weight

Losing Weight

Let's just say that this is Joe's 24 hour food record that accompanies his 24 hour activity record. We know that he burned 3,534 kcals during that 24 hour period (refer to BMR page if necessary). We now need to look at the first column of this worksheet to see how much Joe consumed. It appears that Joe only consumed 2,490 kcals. This does not equal the amount of energy that he burned during his 24 hour activity record. If Joe were to continue eating like this, he would eventually begin to lose weight. This diet is not sufficient for the activity that Joe was performing on that particular day. He is more than 1,000 kcals below the amount needed to maintain body weight. The proper way to lose weight is to alter your diet and exercise more kcals off than you consume. Joe needed 3,534 kcals for that day so Joe might want to eat more CHO, less fats, and cut his total caloric intake a little. He might only want to consume 3,000-3,200 kcals per day, but he should also continue exercising. Exercise and eating right is the healthy way to lose weight. Joe should stick to the recommended amounts for CHO (60-70%), Proteins (12-15%), and Fats (10-30%). He would probably want to be at the lower end of the fat range if trying to lose weight. Fats offer the most calories per serving.

The concept that one must understand is that you want to create a caloric deficit. You want to be burning off more than you consume. An athlete must adjust their diet accordingly to attempt to lose weight. They have to sacrifice in some areas in order for the pounds to come off. You would definitely want to avoid the sweets and fats. These offer the most calories per serving. If you are going to be exercising, you want to eat a high CHO diet, especially if you will be performing for longer than 60-90 minutes. This will help with providing the extra energy you will need to exercise that long. We also know that exercising increases the body's utilization of fats and spares CHO for later use. If your body can adapt over a period of time, you will begin to use fats as the source for exercise. This kind of adaptation to exercise might take weeks to occur, but eventually you should see the pounds beginning to drop. You must be patient with losing weight. It is not going to happen overnight. You have to allow the body to adapt to these physiological changes. You do not want to try any of those fad diets or try to take pills to lose weight. Most of them don't work, and if they do, you will most likely gain the weight back. You never want to lose more than 1-2 pounds per week. It is unhealthy and unsafe to be losing more than that. Just stick to your healthy diet and continue to exercise and you should see your body composition change and begin to lose weight. You might not lose weight at first. You might be turning fat into muscle, and since muscle weighs more, you might see an initial increase in body weight. Do not be discouraged. This is a good thing and continue what you are doing.

Maintaining Body Weight

To maintain body weight, Joe must create an energy balance. Before he wanted to have an energy deficit, but now he wants to burn off just as much as he consumes. This means he must consume around 3,534 kcals everyday to maintain his body weight. If he were to alter his activity record in any way, he would have to recalculate the amount of energy he is burning. Then he would have to adjust his food record so it equaled his activity record. Joe must maintain that energy balance or he will either begin to gain or lose weight over the long run. The amount of loss/gain will depend on how much he goes over or under the required 3,534 kcals.

Gaining Weight

To gain weight, Joe must now consume more than the 3,534 kcals. He can do this by adding another meal to his day, snack once or twice a day, or may try taking a supplement for more calories. He should still eat healthy foods, but he might want to increase his fat intake just a little. Fats offer the most energy per serving. If he had a diet of 10% fats, he might want to jump to 15%. His snacks should also be healthy and full of CHO for added energy. I would say that Joe should do a little research before trying a supplement. He should find out which product is most effective for the gains he is trying to make. Joe just needs to consume more calories, but he must also continue to exercise. He might also begin some kind of weight training program. This will help build muscle and since muscle weighs more than fat, he will put on the weight he wants. If he does not exercise or train, the added energy might get stored away as fat. Yes, he might gain weight, but it could all be fat. I don't believe that any of us want to put on added fat.

Pros and Cons of Joe's Diet

Pros:

1. Joe does meet the RDA for B1, B2, and niacin.

2. Joe has a very high CHO diet, which is good for performance. However, it may be just a little too high. He might consume at least 10% of his calories from fat.

3. Joe's protein intake is right around the RDA. If he is to run or exercise more, he might want to slightly increase his intake.

4. Joe is slightly above his iron requirement; there is nothing wrong with that. Anemia, or the lack of iron in the diet, may actually hinder performance.

Cons:

1. Joe does not meet the energy requirement for his 24 day activity record. He is more than 1,000 kcals short of his goal. He will begin to lose weight over a period of time if he continues to eat like this.

2. Joe does not consume enough fat in his diet. He should be consuming at least 10% of this total caloric intake from fats.

3. Since Joe's diet is low in fat, he is also low in cholesterol. The body can produce its own cholesterol, but by increasing his fat intake, he will also be increasing his dietary cholesterol.

4. Joe is low in vitamin A. He needs to consume more vegetables that contain beta-carotene. He can snack on some carrot sticks and this would be enough to meet the RDA.

5. Joe is not meeting his calcium needs. He should add a glass of milk or some yogurt to his diet. He may even want to add a piece of cheese to his bagel in the morning. This would increase the calcium and fat in his diet.

6. Joe is consuming more than 10 times the RDA for vitamin C. The RDA is 60 mg and he is consuming 655 mg. This is called a megadose. It is unnecessary to be consuming this much vitamin C and megadosing can actually be toxic with some vitamins. The body can only utilize so much vitamin C, the rest will be excreted in the urine.

7. Joe is consuming about 2 liters of fluid. This is the minimum amount of fluid required for one day, if there is no exercise. The minimum is 8 cups a day, but with exercise, you need to consume more fluids. Joe just needs to drink more water.

These diet analyzer programs can be extremely helpful in showing you just how healthy your diet really is. They show your total caloric consumption, the grams of protein, fat, and CHO that you consumed, and also show you if you are meeting the needs for some of the essential vitamins and minerals. It would be extremely beneficial for you to consult a nutritionist when beginning an exercise program or during heavy training. They may be able to modify your diet and show you where you are going wrong and what you are doing right. Your diet can definitely have an impact on your performance so shouldn't you find out if your diet is meeting the requirements for achieving your goals.