This document discusses nutrition strategies for performance and weight control. It provides information on estimating energy expenditure using the revised Harris-Benedict formula. It also discusses macronutrient contributions to the diet, strategies for weight loss and gain, and practical performance nutrition recommendations regarding pre, during, and post exercise nutrition. Supplements are noted to be an unregulated industry and lifestyle nutrition strategies emphasize moderation, variety, and consistency.

1. Nutrition for
Performance and Weight Control
Adam Pennell MS, CSCS, SNS

2. Energy

3. Energy Density
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Carbohydrate Protein Fat Alcohol
kcal/g
Macronutrient

4. Estimating Energy Expenditure
• Revised Harris-Benedict Formula1
– Basal metabolic rate (BMR)
– Activity factor (AF)
– Total daily energy expenditure (TDEE)

5. Estimating Energy Expenditure
• Revised Harris-Benedict Formula1
– Men
• BMR = 88.362 + (13.397 x weight in kg) + (4.799 x
height in cm) - (5.677 x age in years)
– Women
• BMR = 447.593 + (9.247 x weight in kg) + (3.098 x
height in cm) - (4.330 x age in years)

6. Estimating Energy Expenditure
• Revised Harris-Benedict Formula1
– TDEE = BMR x AF
• Little to no exercise Daily kilocalories needed = BMR x 1.2
• Light exercise (1 – 3 days/week) Daily kilocalories needed = BMR x 1.375
• Moderate exercise (3 – 5 days/week) Daily kilocalories needed = BMR x 1.55
• Heavy exercise (6 – 7 days/week) Daily kilocalories needed = BMR x 1.725
• Very heavy exercise (twice/day, max ex) Daily kilocalories needed = BMR x 1.9
• Pregnancy Daily kilocalories needed = +300
• Lactation Daily kilocalories needed = +500

7. Energy Expenditure
• Resting metabolic rate (RMR)2
– 60 – 75% daily energy expenditure
• Thermic effect of activity (TEA)2
– 15 – 30% daily energy expenditure
• Could be even higher in extremely active individuals
• Thermic effect of feeding (TEF)2
– ~10% daily energy expenditure

8. Nutrition Strategies

9. Macronutrient Contributions
• A well balanced diet should consist of the
following macronutrient percentages
– Ranges vary for individual demands/goals
• CHO 55 – 65%
• PRO 15 – 25%
• FAT 15 – 25%
*Per day, not per meal necessarily

10. Diet Analysis
• Female, 22 years old, 120 lbs, 5’3”
– BMR = 1,352.4
– AF = 1.375 (light exercise; 1 – 3 days/week)
– TDEE = 1,352.4 x 1.375 = 1, 860 kcal
60% CHO
1,116 kcal
279 g
20% PRO
372 kcal
93 g
20% FAT
372 kcal
41 g

11. Low CHO Diet
• Glycogen
– Stored CHO
– Extremely important energy substrate
– Requires water retention
• 2 – 4 g of water/1 g CHO3-5
– Low CHO diet = ↑ water loss

12. Low CHO Diet
• Insufficient CHO intake leads to depleted
glycogen, blood glucose
– Brain, nerves, blood, are fueled by CHO
• Fat cannot be converted directly to glucose
• Glucose is then created via non-ideal
pathways
– Glycerol from triglycerides
– Muscle degraded to create CHO

13. Low CHO Diet
• Fat breakdown is dependent on CHO presence
• ↓CHO
↓ pyruvate
↓ TCA cycle intermediates
↓ TCA cycle
↓ fat catabolism
• “Fat burns in a CHO flame”

14. Low CHO Diet
• ↑ protein
↑ nitrogen
↑ deamination
↑ ammonia
↑urea
↑ water loss
Carbohydrate: C-H-O
Protein: C-H-O-N

15. Low CHO Diet
• Protein is a horrible energy source
• Only a small contribution (~2%) to total
energy production during exercise6
– May increase to 5 – 15% late in prolonged-
duration exercise

16. Low CHO Diet
• Diuretic
• Depletes glycogen
• Promotes incomplete fat mobilization
• Promotes muscle degradation
• Promotes central fatigue
• Potentially high in saturated fat, fat
• Potentially low in micronutrients, fiber
• Potentially costly

17. Low CHO Diet
High PRO7
61.2%
35.0%
3.8%
Mixed7
37.1%
59.5%
3.4%
Starvation7
60.9%
32.4%
6.7%
W:
F:
P:

18. Energy Expenditure
• Thermic effect of feeding (TEF)
– More meals = increased energy expenditure?
• False8-10
• Likely helps curb cravings, hunger though

19. Calorie Shifting
• Keep your body/metabolism guessing?
– Anecdotal and no real research, however…
• Could be used as a good base
– Don’t have to stress about calorie content of each meal
• Could promote a well-rounded diet
– Not eating the same foods
• Should not use extremes

20. Nutrition for Weight Loss

21. Underfeeding
• Caloric decrease should be modest to
maximize weight loss, minimize hunger, and
maintain physiological functioning
– ~500 kcal/day is generally suggested
• Equates to 1 lb/week
– Women should consume at least 1,200 kcal/day11
– Men should consume at least 1,800 kcal/day11

22. Exercise
• Easiest way to provide a negative energy
balance
– Cutting calories in the diet is not always an option
– Typically cardiovascular exercise
– Also weight training, interval training, etc.

23. Weight Loss
• Weight loss is a gradual process
• It takes ~4 weeks to establish the desired
pattern of fat loss for each pound of weight
loss12

24. Fat Storage
• Reference man13
– 15% body fat
• 12% storage
• 3% essential
• Reference woman13
– 27% body fat
• 15% storage
• 12% essential

25. Nutrition for Weight Gain

26. Resistance Training
• Must overload/stress the body
– Consistently
• Muscle growth is gradual and highly
individual14-16
• 12 weeks (+/-) for untrained individual
• Chronic resistance training typically leads to 0 – 1
kg/month increase in fat-free mass

27. Overfeeding
• Typically only 30 – 40% of weight gain is fat-
free mass15,17-18
• Caloric increase should be modest to
maximize muscle-to-fat gain
– 300 to 500 kcal/day19
– 55 – 60% should come from CHO19

28. Practical Performance
Recommendations

29. Pre-Exercise
• 1 – 4.5 g/kg CHO19
– 2 – 4 hours prior
– Complex CHO, low glycemic index
220 lbs = 100 kg
100 x 1= 100 g
100 x 4.5 = 450 g
100 – 450 g CHO

30. During Exercise
• 1 g/min CHO19
– Generally not necessary if <60 minutes

31. Post-Exercise
• 6 – 20 g PRO19
– Within 15 – 30 minutes
– Quality and a combination of proteins are likely
the best factors
– Protein in excess of 20 g irreversibly oxidized

32. Hydration
• 2 – 3 cups/lbs lost19
– Pre/post dry bodyweight
– Monitor urine color

33. Chocolate Milk
• Nature’s engineered recovery beverage
• Provides fluid
• Cheap
– ~$5/gallon (CA prices in 2013)
• Serving
– 1-2 cups depending on needs
– ~$0.32/cup
• CHO:PRO ratio
– 3:1 – 4:1
• For lower ratio (anaerobic) you can “cut” with plain milk or use less chocolate
• For higher ratio (aerobic) you can add chocolate
• Casein, whey protein 8-11 g/cup
• High glycemic index 25-30 g/cup
• Fat-free 0 g/cup
• Low-fat 2.5 g/cup
– Not ideal but a small amount of fat will likely not delay gastric emptying too significantly
• Vitamins/minerals
– Calcium, vitamin D, sodium, potassium, etc.

34. Supplements
• Completely unregulated industry
– Too much?
– Too little?
– Safe?
– Purity?
– Cost?
– Adverse effects?
– Spiked?
– Tainted?
– Contamination?
– No research?
– Bad research?
– Research sponsor?
– Marketing?

35. Lifestyle Nutrition

36. Basic Nutrition Strategies
• Moderation
• Variety
– “Colorful” plate
• High in fiber
• High in nutrient-dense foods
• Not stressful/restricting or overindulging
• Consistency
• Physical activity*

39. Questions/Comments
apennell@csub.edu

40. Sources
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3. Greenleaf, J., et al. (1969). Muscle glycogen and its significance for the water content of the body. Acta Physiologica
Scandinavica Supplementum.
4. Kreitzman, S., et al. (1992). Glycogen storage: Illutions of easy weight loss, excessive weight regain, and distortions in
estimations of body composition. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 56, 292S-293S.
5. Tymoczko, J., et al. (2009). Biochemistry: A short course.
6. Powers, S., et al. (2011). Exercise physiology: Theory and application to fitness and performance.
7. Yang, M. & Van Itallie, T. (1976). Composition of weight lost during short-term weight reduction. Metabolic responses of obese
subjects to starvation and low-calorie ketogenic and nonketogenic diets. The Journal of Clinical Investigation, 58(3), 722-730.
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Metabolism, 31(2), 88-97.
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11. American College of Sports Medicine. (2005). Resource Manual for Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription.
12. McArdle, W., et al. (2010). Exercise physiology: Nutrition, energy, and human performance.
13. Behnke, A., & Wilmore, J. (1974). Evaluation and regulation of body build and composition.
14. Kraemer WJ. General adaptations to resistance and endurance training. In: Baechle T, editor. Essentials of strength training and
conditioning. Champaign (IL): Human Kinetics, 1994: 127-50
15. Forbes, G. (1991). Exercise and body composition. Journal of Applied Physiology, 70, 994-997.
16. Wilmore, J. (1974. Alterations in strength, body composition, and anthropometric measurements consequent to a 10 week
weight training program. Medicine and Science in Sport and Exercise, 6, 133-138.
17. Welle, S., et al. (1989). Stimulation of protein turnover by carbohydrate overfeeding in men. American Journal of
Physiology, 257, E413-E417.
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Journal of Nutrition, 56, 1-9.
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