Coach and competition diet basics
A coach can be a big help or a big risk when you are building competition shape. If the advice sounds like “under 900 kcal”, “fat to zero” or “don’t drink water”, it’s worth hitting the brakes for a moment and thinking about what is really happening to your body.
This applies especially to bikini athletes and other competitors who need to sharpen their condition. Honestly, competition shape doesn’t have to be a path of suffering if the plan is sensible.
Why a coach has to give a clear plan
Unfortunately, this isn’t science fiction but advice that athletes have really heard. I don’t believe that coaches who hold a professional qualification from the Estonian Olympic Committee (EOK) and have completed level training with the Estonian Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation (EKFL) give instructions like these. The problem more likely arises when, on the crest of the bikini boom, work goes to someone who calls themselves a coach but doesn’t know the basics of athlete nutrition.
So what can you do? “Study, study, study!” said a man with a goatee many years ago. Joking aside, the truth is simple: knowledge protects against stupidity. The book “Bodybuilding and Fitness” covers this at greater length; here, a primer on dieting is enough.
Coach and energy deficit
Mistake number 1 is too low a calorie intake. If you eat too few kcal and the deficit is too large, muscle mass disappears quickly. Performance drops, recovery drags on, you feel worse, and in the end the health risk grows.
A good starting point is to cover at least 80% of your daily energy expenditure. Take, for example, a young woman weighing 55 kilos who spends 7 hours a week in total on gym and cardio training. Basal metabolism takes 1320 kcal, because 55 x 24 gives this simple estimate. Multiply it by 1.55 and we get approx. 2050 kcal. 80% of that is approx. 1650 kcal.
So a lower calorie intake would not be sensible. A daily deficit of approx. 400 kcal like this could bring body weight down by approx. 400 g in a week. If the excess weight is 4 kg, you should allow at least 10 weeks. Keep in mind: a person is not a machine, but this line of reasoning at least gives a theoretical starting point.
If your weight isn’t dropping at the desired rate, the first answer is not starvation. It makes more sense to raise energy expenditure moderately, for example by moving or training more. You shouldn’t go below 1500 kcal.
Macros: protein, fat and carbohydrates
Mistake number 2 is breaking the balance between protein, fat and carbohydrates. Physical training load raises the need for protein, that is, for amino acids. During an energy deficit, amino acid use increases even further. For an athlete who is lowering body weight, the requirement is about 2 times higher than for someone who doesn’t train.
The amount of protein should fall in the range of 1.5 to 2 g/kg. Fat intake during weight loss should be 0.8 to 1 g/kg. For our 55 kg example, that means approx. 85 to 110g of protein and approx. 45 to 55 g of fat per day.
How many carbohydrates? As many as possible. Protein provides 349 (85g x 4.1) to 451 (110g x 4.1) kcal. Fat provides 419 (45g x 9.3) to 512 (55g x 9.3) kcal. If the target is 1650 kcal, carbohydrates are left to cover 687 kcal (= 42% of energy) up to 882 kcal (= 53% of energy). Dividing these figures by 4.1 gives approx. 170 to 215 grams.
In athletes’ nutrition, carbohydrates should cover 50 to 65% of calories. On a low calorie intake that is hard to achieve, because protein and fat take their share. You have to accept that temporarily. But the fewer carbohydrates, the poorer your training capacity and the slower your recovery.
Coach, menu and the week before the competition
Mistake number 3 is a one-sided choice of foods. If you eat only chicken breast and rice for 2 days, usually nothing bad happens. If the same goes on for 2 weeks or 2 months, it shows that the understanding of normal eating is lacking. In the longer run, problems arise especially with micronutrients.
Every day you should eat something from all five food groups: grain products, root vegetables and vegetables, fruit and berries, dairy products and meat products. Within each group, too, your choices should vary. Rice doesn’t have to be the only carbohydrate, and chicken breast doesn’t have to be the only protein source.
Your shape must be ready at least a week before the competition. In the last week you need to maintain body weight, not lower it. That means there is no calorie deficit. You need to eat more and train less. If body weight starts rising day by day, you are eating too much. Once you have lived without a deficit for 5-6 days, muscle glycogen stores are normal and no extra loading is needed on the day before the competition.
Fluid intake must also be normal in the last week. If you train for 6 hours in a hot climate and lose 6 liters of fluid, you have to drink it back. If the daily loss is two liters, it has to be replaced. Restricting fluids does not improve how you look.
FAQ: coach and competition diet
Do you have to cut fat to zero on a competition diet?
No. Even during weight loss, fat intake should stay at about 0.8 to 1 g/kg. Cutting it to zero is a bad idea.
Do you have to ban carbohydrates before the competition?
No. Carbohydrates support training capacity and recovery. On a very low calorie intake there will inevitably be fewer of them, but that doesn’t mean they are the enemy.
When should competition shape be ready?
At least a week before the competition. The last week is no longer the time for rapid weight loss, but the time for maintaining your shape.
It would be great if my 35 years of experience as an athlete and coach helped someone act sensibly. Building competition shape doesn’t have to be a path of suffering!
Author: Indrek Otsus
Come and train! ArtGym
