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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2. Poehlman, E. (1989). A review: Exercise and its influence on resting energy metabolism in man. Medicine and Science in Sports
and Exercise, 21(5), 515-525.
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.
8. Hill, J., et al. (1988). Effects of meal frequency on energy utilization in rats. American Journal of Physiology, 255, R616-R621.
9. Wolfram, G., et al. (1987). Thermogenesis in humans after varying meal time frequency. Annals of Nutrition and
Metabolism, 31(2), 88-97.
10. Bellisle, F., et al. (1997). Meal frequency and energy balance. British Journal of Nutrition, 77, S57-S70.
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.
18. Forbes, G., et al. (1986). Deliberate overfeeding in women and men: Energy cost and composition of weight gain. British
Journal of Nutrition, 56, 1-9.
19. Fink, H., et al. (2009). Practical Applications in Sports Nutrition.