Daily Caloric Requirements
The formula to determine how many calories you need to eat each day differs depending on a number of factors including gender, age, body weight, type of exercise, exercise intensity and exercise duration. A rough estimation can be used to calculate your daily caloric needs or "maintenance number" at your present body weight.
- Males: (Body Weight x 15) + what you burn while exercising
- Females: (Body Weight x 13) + what you burn while exercising
Note: An athlete that has difficulty maintaining and/or gaining weight due to heavy training and/or high metabolism (genetics) may want to multiply their body weight by 18 rather than 15 or 13.
Caloric expenditure in athletes 
Detailed caloric expenditure & dietary guidelines worksheet
Weight Gain
The athlete must commit to resistance training (weight training) 3 to 5 times per week. The resistance training should be progressive and include all major muscle groups. Realistically, you can gain about ½ to 1 pound of muscle each week if you commit to a purposeful resistance training program and a sound nutritional plan. In addition to your resistance training, attempt to increase your caloric intake by about 500 calories per day. The majority of these extra calories should come from nutrient dense CHO. The athlete can get these calories by adding snacks to the diet or by simply increasing the number of portions eaten and the size.
Adding roughly 14 grams of Pro to your diet each day will help promote a one pound gain in muscle mass. This can be done by adding:
- 2 ounces of beef/poultry/pork/fish
- A piece of beef, poultry, fish, or pork the size of a deck of playing cards (3.5 ounces) contains about 25-28 grams of Pro
- 2 cups of milk or 2 large eggs
Maintaining Weight While Staying Competitive
Weight Loss
Being overweight does not necessarily mean that you are over-fat, unhealthy, and out-of-shape. Throw away the scale! Scales measure one thing, your total body weight. It does not tell you how much muscle mass, body fat, water, and mineral content you have. You want to measure your % of lean body mass vs. % of body fat.
Accept the fact that during periods of intense training and conditioning, it is possible to gain body weight while losing body fat. Generally exercise will increase lean body mass (muscle mass), which adds to total body weight. This weight should be viewed as "productive weight." Increasing muscle mass can aid athletic performance in strength, power, and endurance sports. Also, the more muscle mass you have the more metabolically active your body is at rest. A higher metabolism results in more calories being "burned" each day.
For safe and effective weight loss, combine continuous exercise that elevates your heart rate, resistance training, lifestyle changes, and sound nutrition practices.
- Metabolic training: your cardiovascular system should be challenged at least 3 days per week. The best type of training is high intensity interval training which will increase your metabolic rate post-exercise and allow you to burn calories throughout the course of the day
- Resistance training: Add at least two to three, 30 to 45 minute weight lifting sessions to your entire weight loss program. This will increase your strength, power, speed, endurance, and metabolism. For weight training to aid in weight loss, you do not need to lift heavy weights. Rather, a program of low to moderate weight with 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 12 repetitions will work fine
- Lifestyle changes: Be aware of the four W's:
- WHAT you eat. Select nutrient dense high CHO, low-fat foods instead of "empty calorie" and high fat foods
- WHEN you eat. Eat 5+ small meals throughout the day and ALWAYS eat breakfast
- Avoid eating "junk foods" before bedtime
- It is okay for an athlete that is participating in an athletic program to eat at night. It is not a matter of if you should eat before bedtime, but rather what you eat and how much you eat. A bowl of cereal and a piece of fruit one hour before bedtime is okay, while a large greasy burger and order of fries is not okay. Limit your bedtime snack to no more than 500 nutrient dense calories (more CHO and Pro, less fat)
- WHERE you eat. Eat in a stress fee and relaxed environment. This will allow a person to eat slowly and enjoy the meal
- WHY you eat. Eat because you are hungry, not because you are bored, stressed, or lonely
- Sound Nutrition Practices: DO NOT DIET! Diets deprive the athlete of needed calories and essential nutrients. These calories and nutrients (vitamins and minerals) fuel the brain and muscles during exercise
- Diets may provide short-term weight loss, however, research will support that most diets rarely provide long-term weight loss. The athlete should never consume less than 1200 to 1500 calories per day. A lack of caloric intake (energy) may result in poor athletic performance. Starving the body of calories will only have a negative long-term effect on weight management and overall health.
- Set realistic and attainable long-term weight management goals. Weight loss should be gradual and should not exceed 1 to 2 pounds per week. A slow weight loss will result in permanent weight loss
- Don't be quick to buy in to fad diets and miraculous products that promise to produce miraculous results. Typically, the consumer is more likely to lose money than pounds
- An athlete should scrutinize all weight loss products and dietary supplements because they may contain substances banned by their governing bodies (NCAA, IOC, USOC, etc.). Reference the NCAA website for full details
- BE PATIENT! Do not expect overnight results. The time for an athlete to lose weight is during the "off season." An athlete should show up at pre-season camp at their ideal body weight. Dieting or restricting calories during periods of intense training may have a negative effect on recovery and athletic performance. Too few CHO and Pro calories may reduce stamina and endurance and impair the building and repair of muscle tissue. Also, poor dietary habits during the season may increase your risk of injury
- Fat loss comes down to managing your calories. You need to balance the calories going in with the calories being "burned" off:
- For weight loss, your caloric expenditure must exceed your caloric intake
- For weight gain, your caloric intake must exceed your caloric expenditure
- For weight management, your caloric intake must equal your caloric expenditure