Managing body composition goals around playing rugby
Fat loss tips whilst still performing at your bestBy Sammy Cooper, Marchon Nutrition
1) Don’t go too low-calorie
The only way to lose weight is to be in a calorie deficit. Restricting your calories means restricting your energy, which is of course integral to playing rugby.
So taking your calories too low means you have limited energy available to perform well. Opting for a small deficit may take longer, but will have less of an impact on your performance and injury risk.
2) Keep protein high
Aim for 1.6-1.8g of protein per kg of bodyweight. This will:
Aid muscle growth and repair
Maintain lean muscle mass (so you don’t lose muscle with the fat)
Keep you feeling fuller for longer - protein is the most satiating macronutrient
Have a higher thermic effect than carbs and fats - you burn more calories just digesting it. The difference isn’t massive but every little helps!
3) Periodise your carb intake around your training
Carbs are often what people reduce when they’re trying to lose weight, however, they are our body’s preferred source of fuel when it comes to training.
So cutting them out altogether isn’t wise! However, periodising them around your training makes sense, to ensure you go into your session ready to go, particularly if there is going to be some conditioning or running involved.
If it’s more of a skills session, then there’s less importance on carbs.
So, if you’re training in the evening, opt for some carbs at lunchtime. If it’s an early morning conditioning session, have a high-carb snack like a Squares bar or toast and jam before you train. If you can’t stomach much that early, have some carbs with your dinner the night before. Liquid carbs can also be an option - fruit juice, a sports drink or carb gel.
4) Periodise your fat loss
If you do have body composition goals, be it for aesthetics or performance, the off-season is the best time to action them.
Pre-season may seem like a good time to work on your body composition goals, however, it will likely mean you can’t get the most out of your pre-season training, which kind of defeats the whole point of it!
So ideally, the off-season is the best time to go for it.
If that’s not an option, you could opt to manage your calorie deficit around match day, eating at ‘maintenance’ on game-day and the day before. This will allow you to take on more nutrients needed to prepare and recover from your match.
Alternatively, it could be helpful to break up the fat loss phase into small periods of time, with a time at maintenance in between. For example, it could be 2-4 weeks of fat loss, with a few days/weeks at maintenance. This will lessen the effect of being in a deficit on your performance, and allow a bit of a re-feed to replenish glycogen stores (through carbs).
It can also provide a psychological break from being in an energy deficit, but try not to see it as a ‘cheat day/week’. Yes, it is an opportunity to be a bit more flexible as you have more calories to play with, but the extra calories should ideally come from mostly carbohydrates, and it can have a damaging effect on your relationship with food. With that mentality, it is also then more likely to go full-on f*ck it mode, and end up going well beyond maintenance calories and into a surplus.
Doing it this way will obviously prolong the outcome, but will have less of an impact on your rugby.
5) Don’t go too low fat for too long
Fat often gets a bad rap, but it’s simply because it is more energy-dense than protein or carbs. 1g of carbs or protein is 4kcal, whereas it’s 9kcal for fat. This is why people often opt for low-fat foods when in a dieting phase. Which can indeed be a useful method at reducing overall calorie intake. However, over a chronic period of time, it can start to impact recovery and general health.
Fat is important for hormone production (including recovery hormones as well as sex hormones), vitamin absorption, and immune support. So having a low-fat diet for an extended period of time can start the impact your general health, which can then affect performance.
6) Be clear on your intent
There is nothing wrong with wanting to lose fat, but ultimately it can hinder your performance. Of course, you may be choosing to lose fat for a performance reason. But being clear on the reason you’re looking to manipulate your body composition, can be helpful.
What will you gain from losing fat? What will it enable you to do? Is it a confidence thing? Is it in order to feel better about yourself?
Know that if the intent is to feel better about yourself or gain confidence, you can achieve those things without losing weight, and it won’t affect your rugby. But you have to put in the work to challenge your current beliefs and perceptions. This is why fat loss is often the go-to rather than addressing current beliefs because it is more uncomfortable than a calorie deficit!
Need extra help on your nutrition goals?
Get in touch with Sammy at sammy@marchon.co.uk
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