Fat Loss in Sports
Do I need to lose fat?
In our society, body ideals are often promoted, but it's crucial to reconsider weight loss as it may not always align with your goals. This blog focus on losing fat mass to reach sports goals.
For health and body image concerns, refer to our info sheet on weight and body concerns.
For sports performance improvement (e.g., runners, powerlifters), the power-to-weight ratio matters more than absolute weight. Fat loss can enhance the ratio but may impair it due to insufficient energy supply. Seek guidance from a dietitian and your coach for individual evaluation.
For physique sports, maintaining a specific body composition is often essential. The nutritional focus here is on not losing lean mass, avoiding starvation mode, and maintaining basal hormonal and bodily functions.
Fat Loss Nutrition
Fat loss and weight loss, though often linked, are distinct. Weight comprises fat mass and fat-free mass, which includes organs, bones, blood, muscles, and fluids. Weight loss generally involve a reduction in fat, muscle, and fluids, while fat loss primarily targets fat. Key to both weight and fat loss is a negative energy balance, or a calorie deficit. To achieve primarily fat loss, consider a combination (ideally all) of the following:
Exercise: Remind your body of the need for muscle.
Adequate energy to support daily life, exercise, and training.
Avoid excessive energy deficits or rapid calorie reductions.
Sufficient protein intake.
Adequate basal nutrient intake.
Why is nutrition important in fat loss
A poor nutrition plan can lead to:
General weight loss (including muscle loss), not necessarily fat loss.
Suboptimal fat loss rate.
An inflexible diet approach, reduced social engagement, and overall life enjoyment.
Compromise power-to-weight ratio, which is harder to build up.
Increased risk of injury.
Hormonal imbalances and an increased risk of infertility.
A proper nutrition plan should be:
Nutritionally adequate to prevent deficiencies and health risks.
Fuelling the required work, considering daily variations.
Focused on the method, timing, and distribution of nutrition to maximize healthy fat loss while preserving lean mass.
Always prioritise health, sacrificing health for performance can often lead to suboptimal progression and time lost to diseases and injuries.
Enjoyable and flexible eating pattern to align with your lifestyle, social life, and goals.
Informed about supplements to prevent health risks, contamination, and unnecessary expenses.
Why working with a dietitian?
Dietitians are medically-trained nutrition professionals, and the only professional that is qualified to provide individual dietary consultation at the moment (Click here to read about dietitian and nutritionist). Dietitians are trained to provide medical nutrition therapy and one-to-one personalised dietary advice. We take in consideration of one’s lifestyle, dietary habits, preference and goals to tailor our nutrition strategies.
Sports dietitians are further trained in sports nutrition to provide advice to people at any level of activeness to maintain health and wellbeing while achieving their potentials and goals.
The topics dietitians might talk to you about:
Energy surplus and how to do that
Optimal protein intake and distribution
Role of carbs and fats in gaining lean mass/muscles
Nutrition for health and disease prevention
Nutrition, nutrient supplement and ergogenic aids that suits your health and goals
Safety of ergogenic aid use and common hidden risks in supplements
Practical tips to implement nutrition principles
What does working with Timeless Dietetic dietitian look like?
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You will be invited to fill in a survey before the consults, including your health history, family history, current situation, goals
For elite athletes: You might be asked to provide a training program, body composition assessment (if available) and food diary
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Discuss and understand your goals, living situation, lifestyle, potential motivators and barriers.
Perform assessment on health indicators, training schedules and goals, usual dietary intake.
Provide professional feedback on your diet, and identify areas that can be improved to help achieve your goal.
Discuss the most relevant nutrition topic that can help with the current situation and those you are interested in.
In collaboration with you, set small but impactful nutrition goals, homework and challenges.
Recommend what else you can do in the future and a recommended review timeframe if you would like to continue.
Provide you with a tailored nutrition information package to takeaway.
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Review the effectiveness and practicality of previous goals/homework/challenges.
Review and track any progress indicators.
Reassess any changes in health indicators, training and dietary intake.
Discuss the most relevant nutrition topics and those you are interested in.
In collaboration with you, adjust the previous intervention that did not work well or develop a new strategy.
In collaboration with you, develop new strategies to improve your health and progress.
Provide you with a tailored nutrition information package to takeaway.
Work with Us
Other Sports Nutrition Concerns
