For tennis players, it can be difficult to loose weight especially if their season is rather long. They need enough energy to compete and train yet they need to decrease fat mass to become more athletic and hence move better on the court. Unfortunately, many athletes and coaches have unrealistic goals when it comes to weight loss because they rely on inadequate information. How much body fat one deposits or withdraws from fat cells depends on the energy balance each day – the amount of energy (kcal) consumed vs. energy expended.

1lb of body fat represents ~3,500 kcal because adipose tissue (fat cells) are composed of fat, protein, and water. The fat content of 1lb body fat is ~87% and 1lb equals 454g. Therefore, 395g out of 454g is pure fat (454g x 0.87 = 395g) and hence yields 3,555 kcal (395g x 9kcal/g = 3,555 kcal).

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) guideline states that loosing 1-2 lbs of body fat per week is attainable. Really? No, it is NOT!

For most people losing 1-2 lbs of body fat per week is a ridiculous goal because it is unrealistic. Loosing 1-2 lbs of body fat translates to loosing 3,500 – 7,000 kcal per week. The average person burns ~100 kcal for every 1mile they travel on foot, either running or walking. Why only 100 kcal? It equals 100 kcal in both cases because the total work (force x distance) is the same; kcal (heat energy) can be converted into kJ (work energy).

• Example

It might take you 15 – 20 minutes to walk a mile but only ~ 6 – 8 minutes to run a mile. Even though the time increases, the amount of work remains the same. So, if I’m thinking in the terms of work then I need to add 35 – 70 miles (100 kcal per 1 mile) of activity per week onto my regular everyday activity in order to realize a caloric deficit of 3,500 – 7,000 kcal (loosing 1 – 2 lbs/week).

In other words, you would have to run an extra 35 miles per week (5 miles/day) to loose 1lb of body fat or 70 miles per week (10 miles/day) to loose 2lbs of body fat. At the same time you wouldn’t be able to eat any additional food! So, you have to run at least 5 miles a day but you can’t eat more food. How realistic does loosing 2 lbs of body fat/week sound to you?

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