Losing Weight Without Affecting Performance

Weight is an important part of your health. If you're overweight or obese, it can be very harmful to your well-being. However, being underweight for your age and height is also not good for your body. In this article, we'll look at how you can go about losing weight without affecting performance.
Losing Weight Without Affecting Performance

Last update: 09 November, 2019

Athletes and those in the fitness world often want to lose weight in order to boost their performance and appearance. However, sometimes they don’t go about this the right way. Indeed, it can be hard to lose weight without affecting performance. We’ll take a look at how you can do just that.

Losing weight can mean impacting sports performance, as well as losing and weakening muscle. That being said, it’s important to first determine what your weight should be. Losing weight left and right isn’t a good thing.

You should go about it in a way that will lead to healthy weight loss. So, if you want to lose weight by losing fat, keep in mind that muscle weighs more than fat. As such, you’ll have to calculate your body fat percentage and work accordingly.

The issue with losing weight is that most people do what they think will help them do so. In other words, they’re not doing what will really help them with losing weight without affecting performance, among other aspects. Following strict diets where the amount of food is cut, or not eating foods your body needs can be very harmful. Following a strict and little-known diet will only make things worse.

Two images woman at gym and on scale

Losing weight without affecting performance

Losing weight often involves dieting or cutting out certain foods. On the one hand, it’s true you should avoid eating sugary products and follow a balanced diet. On the other hand, there’s more to shedding weight than not eating. For athletes, modifying food habits the wrong way can harm fitness performance.

Wanting to lose weight is quite normal, so if you’re looking to do so, do it well. For your weight loss to be effective and not harm your fitness level, try to:

  • Visit a dietician: your best bet is to always seek an expert opinion. A dietician can tell you what habits to take up and what foods to eat. Also, they’ll take your physical activity level into account.
  • Don’t eat too little: starting to cut portions abruptly will make your body store more fat. This is because your body is used to eating a certain amount of food. Changing that one day to the next makes your brain think that you’re starving your body.
  • Don’t follow strange diets; in other words, don’t go on a diet that throws the balance of micronutrients you should be taking in. Further, it’s not a great idea to follow a diet that your dietician or health professional wouldn’t recommend.

Sports performance and weight loss

Reckless and irresponsible weight loss can affect your sports performance in a negative way. Firstly, losing weight using a diet that isn’t made for athletes only makes things worse. And we’ll tell you why:

  • You burn muscle. When losing weight through poor diet and exercise, a complex process takes place in your muscles. Your body reacts to low glucose levels by breaking down the protein from your muscle mass.
  • Fatigue and dizziness. Indeed, not eating well destabilizes your vitamin and nutrient levels your body needs to maintain itself. Training this way may make you feel tired and dizzy; even worse, it could make you faint.
  • Lack of concentration. If you let your body stay hungry while following a strict diet, then you’ll remain uncomfortable and unable to concentrate during your training.
Losing weight without affecting performance

Logically, all of these factors affect the way you progress athletically. Indeed, being tired, distracted, and weak isn’t worth it, no matter how much you weigh. Rather, your performance is what matters. As such, visit a dietician and don’t risk your health. Also, ask them how you can go about losing weight without affecting performance. It’s better to do things well in order to lose weight and enjoy your workout without any issues.


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This text is provided for informational purposes only and does not replace consultation with a professional. If in doubt, consult your specialist.