Nutrition

Weighing the Pros and Cons

For some athletes the new weight classes will have minimal impact, but for others the decision to either go up a class or down a class will have major implications to their training, especially when it comes to nutrition.

Take Mattie Rogers for example. She has been vocal about her journey from 69kg to 71 kg, eventually entering the 76 kg Olympic category. She stated, “gaining weight is very difficult for my body, so I am embracing this challenge.” She also reported a body fat percentage of 10-12% and that dropping to 64kg is not an option for her. Mattie is faced with making some major adjustments to her nutrition. In contrast, athletes such as Alyssa Ritchey previously lifting at 48 kg and having to make sizeable cuts to get there, will now be moving into the 49kg category with ease.

For some athletes, body weight manipulations come easy. They gain weight just looking at food and drop weight just as easily.

In theory, losing and gaining weight is an energy equation. When we have a surplus of calories our bodies will store it, and when we are in a deficit, our bodies will burn it. But, the equation gets more complicated when we factor in things like metabolism, digestion, hormones, genetics, and environmental factors.

Along with this, anytime we make a change to our nutrition, there is a large behavioral component that is often ignored. When we make changes to our diet, our routine, habits, performance, and even emotions will be impacted.

Nutrition is all about consistency, so if you are choosing to make changes that you can’t see yourself consistently doing, you may be wasting your time. Can you consistently eat more food and continue to do so for weeks and months on end? How about less food? Can you battle hunger and continue to perform at your best?

Which weight class is best for you? The answer will vary for each athlete. Use these questions to guide you through the decision.

Questions to ask yourself and/or your athletes:

1. How do I feel when I train under or over fueled?

Can you still perform well with less food? Would more food leave you feeling overstuffed? How does this impact your training sessions?

2. How does hunger/fullness affect my performance and mood?

“Hangry” anyone? Hunger affects each person differently. If hunger greatly impacts your mood, energy and performance, a cut may be more difficult than anticipated and the same goes for being overstuffed. Does feeling full leave you sluggish and unmotivated?

3. “How would cutting/gaining weight affect me mentally, especially during competition?”

More often than not, those who have to cut a significant amount of weight, for instance, total less in competition than what they do in training. Though there are some physiological effects to cutting weight, much of the difference is mental. Knowing you haven’t eaten plays a big role in your energy levels, strength, and recovery.

4. Will a change to my nutrition effect how I recover?

Depending on your current calorie and macro goals there may be room to trim down and still recover between training sessions. If you are already running lean on food consumption, decreasing more may impact your ability to recover and perform well the next day. This can increase your risk for injury and compromise intensity.

5. How easily do I gain or lose weight?

What does your body naturally do? Gain, lose, maintain? Any time we fight our natural equilibrium, it is work. Is it impossible? No, just work. With proper guidance we can achieve a lot, but the less we fight your internal cues the easier it is to achieve.

6. What is my current body fat %?

Can I afford to lose body fat? Body fat % is affected by many factors, but if you are on the high or low end, pushing further in that direction may compromise performance and health.

Choosing to go up or down a weight class is a highly individualized decision. You are the expert of your own body and the more you are working with your body, not against it, the better the results will be.

P&G Nutrition Team
Anna
Christina
Jourdan

Number 1: Find an accountability partner. Studies show you are much more likely to reach your goals when
you have a specific person you hold yourself accountable to. A spouse, friend, or even coworker.

Number 2: Seek reputable advice and Ignore nutrition pseudo-science. You know what I am talking about.
Self-proclaimed experts touting the latest and greatest diets and using fancy words to disguise the truth. Get
back to the basics. Eat real food, balance, and moderation are key. Fuel your body.

Number 3: Eat your Fruits and Veggies. Fruits and vegetables should make up half of the volume of food you
eat daily.

Number 4: Eat your Fruits and Veggies. (Wait, did I already say that? yeah, because it’s that important!)

Number 5: Give yourself some flexibility. Rigid diet plans or self-restriction fail in the long run. Enjoy some of
your favorite foods in moderation. In the wise words of Michael Pollan, “Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.”

Recipe adapted from skinnytaste.com, you can find the original recipe here. Trader Joe’s everything bagel seasoning is our favorite, so we added that (and eliminated the salt since this seasoning already has salt). Whole wheat flour worked great! They were a hit!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup non-fat Greek yogurt
• 1 egg white
• Trader Joe’s Everything bagel sesame seasoning (you can also find this on Amazon)

DIRECTIONS:
OVEN METHOD:

1. Preheat oven to 375° F
2. In mixing bowl combine dry ingredients and mix well. Add yogurt and mix until combined.
3. Knead dough on floured surface adding flour as needed to eliminate stickiness.
4. Divide into 4 dough balls and poke hole in center for bagel.
5. Brush with egg white and top with everything bagel seasoning. Place on baking sheet with parchment paper and bake for 25 minutes on top rack.

Macros for one bagel: Carbohydrates 26 grams, Fat 1 gram, Protein 10 grams

 

 

Why buy store bought, when you can make your own?

INGREDIENTS

2 cups old fashioned rolled oats

1 cup unsweetened coconut

1 cup pecans

¼ cup pure maple syrup (you can also use honey)

¼ cup melted coconut oil

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

Bake at 425 for 20 minutes

Serving Size:  1/3 cup

Macros: Carbs 25 grams, Fat 7 grams, Protein 5 grams

 

 

 

Okay, time to talk about being gluten-free by choice. People commonly associate ‘gluten-free’ as being more healthful. In fact, it’s a popular fad diet that is presumed to aid in weight loss and improve performance. But, here’s a little secret…gluten-free does not mean healthy. It does not mean sugar-free or fat-free or additive-free or preservative-free. It simply means free from gluten and only gluten. Just because a cupcake or even a cookie is gluten-free, does not mean it doesn’t have calories. And those gluten free pretzels? They are probably loaded with additives and extra fat. Ever compare gluten free pizza crust to regular pizza crust? Often, the gluten free version contains twice the calories and fat grams.

To sum it up: gluten-free does NOT necessarily mean healthy.

Although, going gluten-free by choice may have its benefits. In fact, most people lose weight in the first couple weeks after adopting a gluten-free lifestyle. Unfortunately, most people struggle sticking to their gluten-free lifestyle long-term.

So why do people usually lose weight when they go gluten free?

• First, if they were eating a lot of processed food, junk food, fast food or restaurant food, so much of what they are eating gets eliminated that weight loss is almost a given.
• Second, research shows that by just paying attention to what you eat, which happens when you start scouring every label for even a trace of gluten, you start to make better choices and weight loss follows.
• Finally, if avoiding gluten means going low carb, the initial few weeks of weight loss are likely related to less water retention as carbs as are stored as glycogen which holds with it, water.

So, if you’ve been debating going gluten-free to lose weight or improve performance, simply eliminating gluten will NOT get you there. But eating REAL food, focused on quality and quantity will provide actual health BENEFITS. That said, if you’ve been experiencing a lot of GI issues, talk to your doctor and see if a gluten-free diet might help you.

Rachel
Power & Grace Nutrition