Weight Loss Diets for Athletes

To lose weight and maintain muscle, you want to eat foods with fewer calories that are high in protein. This way the body has all the building blocks it needs to maintain muscle, but will also be forced to burn stored fat for energy. A good diet to achieve this involves limited consumption of all carbohydrates, with refined carbohydrates banned completely.

Foods

• Eat like a caveman. Cavemen would hunt animals and then combine them in a meal with fresh fruits and veggies; they didn't bake bread or make pasta. Carbohydrates came in the forms of whole grains or root vegetables. This is what the low-carb, high-protein diet recommends. For people just starting the diet, a good dinner would be a cut of meat with some mixed greens. The diet allows for some fat, so doctoring up your veggies is easy to do. Sauteing greens, like chard or spinach, in olive oil or butter makes them more palatable for people not used to eating them. Try to keep the fat from oil or butter to a minimum, though as fat is very high calorie.

  Almost any type of protein is acceptable under these diet guidelines. However, leaner meats like chicken or fish will provide high protein but less fat. Chicken and fish are also typically lower in calories so you can eat more of them, helping you feel fuller longer than the red meats. Eggs are another good source of protein; removing the yolks and just eating the whites makes them very low in fat. Tofu is another source of protein that is lower in calorie than red meats; it can have a high fat content though, so eat in moderation to limit calories.

  Eat veggies that are high in starch, like squash, carrots and artichokes. These will give you high fiber carbohydrates. Leafy vegetables can be consumed with no limitations, as they are low in calorie and nutrient dense. Starches such as potatoes or whole grains should be consumed on a limited basis. Bread or white rice should be kept to a very strict minimum, since they offer very little except quickly metabolized sugar calories.

Eat Often

• Try to eat multiple small meals every day that include protein. This will keep you feeling fuller and your blood sugar more constant throughout the day. Eating protein at almost every meal will also keep this building block regularly available to your muscles. When calories are significantly restricted, the body can start to break down its own muscle in an effort to power itself. Eating protein can help limit this effect.