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3. The plan should offer a balanced assortment of vitamins and minerals by including a variety of foods from all food groups. 4. No unproven or spurious weight-loss aids should accompany any sound eating plan. Meaningful changes in body fat take time — at least 4 weeks. A sound diet should not promise dramatic, rapid weight loss, but rather encourage permanent, realistic lifestyle changes that will decrease body fat gradually. To lose fat, about 1 pound per week should be the goal for permanent fat loss. 5. "Diets" to avoid, include: • Low carbohydrate diets • High protein diets • Low protein diets • Low fat diets • Starvation diets In a sense, you will not be "dieting," just making healthy eating choices. We need to keep in mind the importance of strength training. Don't get caught up in the misperception that aerobic exercise is the only method for controlling fat. Strength training will lead to improvements in muscle mass. Muscle is the furnace that burns fat, even during rest. Extreme weight loss measures, on the other hand, actually cause a decrease in muscle mass. Remember, adding muscle will increase resting metabolic rate, which will make fat loss much easier and more effi cient than endless aerobic exercise sessions. For weight gain in the form of muscle mass, a combination of diet and strength training is key; however, genetic predisposition, somatotype, and compliance will determine your progress. Extra calories usually must be consumed for muscle growth to occur, and about 2,500 total extra calories need to be consumed to facilitate a 1 pound increase in muscle tissue. Thus, 350 to 700 kcal above daily requirements would supply the calories needed to support a 1 – 2 pound weekly gain in lean tissue as well as the energy requirements of the training. More than 1 – 2 pound weekly gains will probably be accompanied by signifi cant increases in fat. If the weight gain is less than about 2 pounds per week and is the result of a well-planned strength training program, then it will probably be in the form of muscle tissue. A sound plan for weight gain includes: 1. Increased portion sizes. 2. Increased eating frequency by adding mid morning, mid afternoon, and nighttime snacks. 3. The extra calories should be from healthy, nutritional sources. 4. Strength Training! Follow the guidelines in previous articles. Some practical examples: Men Bob's total body weight was 180 pounds, and his body composition was calculated to be 20% body fat through skin-fold measurements. • TBF 36 = 180 x 20/100 • FFBW 144 = 180 – 36 • IF (for 15% body fat) .85 = (100 – 15)/100 • IBW 169.4 = 144 / .85 • Pounds to lose = 10.4 BMI (kg/m2) Underweight Less than 18.5 Normal 18.5-24.9 Overweight 25.0-29.9 Obese Above 30.0 ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription Following the U.S.D.A. Food Guide Pyramid is an excellent way to ensure that you are taking in calories that provide nutrients that every industrial athlete needs. We also recommend a multi-vitamin and mineral supplement. Notice that most of your calories should be coming from breads, cereals, rice and pasta, fruits and vegetables. We recommend nutritional, natural and/or whole grain products. For example, eat seven grain cereal instead of Captain Crunch, multigrain oatmeal instead of Honey Combs, an apple instead of apple pie. This doesn't mean you can't enjoy a brownie, a piece of pie, a juicy steak, or whatever. You can, you just can't be a glutton about it. Energy balance is a term used to describe energy intake or the calories consumed in the diet, and energy expenditure or the calories burned in the course of daily activities. If energy intake exceeds energy expenditure, the excess will be stored as fat. Weight loss occurs whenever energy expenditure exceeds energy intake. One pound of fat has about 3,500 calories, so if you expend 500 cal/day below your caloric needs (i.e. a 500 calorie "defi cit"), it will take 7 days to lose one pound of fat. You can create a caloric defi cit by reducing your caloric intake, increasing your energy expenditure through additional exercise, or through a combination of the two. Proper weight loss should always combine reductions in caloric intake and exercise. If weight loss occurs at a rate greater than two pounds per week, it's likely that some of this weight reduction will be the result of lost muscle tissue and/or water, which is undesirable. So, be patient and be smart about how you choose to lose weight. There are some subtleties that must be addressed before you decide to eat less and exercise more. A sound plan for fat loss includes the following recommendations: 1. EAT! Consuming a reasonable number of calories by following the Food Guide Pyramid will ensure a balanced assortment of vitamins and minerals by including foods from all food groups. You should only reduce energy intake by about 250 cal below daily energy expenditure. This is equivalent to about one slice of pizza. More drastic reductions in caloric intake may cause negative consequences such as metabolizing muscle instead of fat (which you DO NOT want), and severely lowering resting metabolic rate – the chief source of caloric expenditure at rest. Eat a healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner, with healthy snacks in between to reduce the chance that you'll binge. 2. EXERCISE! Available evidence indicates that excess weight gain often parallels reduced physical activity rather than from increased caloric intake. Strength training is an important aspect of weight control since muscle mass has a direct effect on resting metabolic rate. This is one good reason why you should not drastically reduce caloric intake; it will impede your body's ability to effectively recover from your strength workouts. www.arborage.com Arbor Age / January/February 2014 15

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