A few extra pounds can slow you down on court. We show you how to drop 10 of them by Memorial Day.
Want to improve your court coverage? Shed a few pounds and you might be surprised by what you can do. “If you can get to your optimal body weight, you should also improve endurance and speed on the court,” says Suzanne Farrell, M.S., R.D., a Denver-based dietician who specializes in sports nutrition.
Assuming you already have a decent exercise regimen and don’t overdo it with your diet too much, losing 10 pounds in 10 weeks—just in time for a Memorial Day weekend tournament—won’t require anything drastic.
“Trim 500 calories a day and you’ll lose a pound each week,” says Farrell, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. That might sound like a lot to cut, but consider that a Grande Coffee Frappuccino at Starbucks packs a whopping 260 calories, and 16 ounces of Gatorade contain 100, and you see that it will take just a few sacrifi ces to get to the magic number. “Tweaking your diet a little bit and adding two 10- minute walks each day might be all it takes,” Farrell says. Here are fi ve minor changes that add up to roughly 500 calories a day.
1. EAT WHOLE GRAINS FOR BREAKFAST
“People who eat breakfast, especially whole-grain cereals, are less likely to be overweight than those who skip it,” Farrell says. Why? The mechanism isn’t known yet, she says, but studies suggest that the high fi ber may make you feel more full. And yes, there are plenty of whole-grain cereals that don’t taste like cardboard. “Just choose one that has at least 5 grams of fi ber and is low in sugar,” she says.
STARTING TODAY: Begin your day with a one-cup serving of Kellogg’s Raisin Bran with half a cup of skim milk. At 230 calories (and 7 grams of fi ber), it’s much better than an Einstein Bros plain bagel, which contains about 300 calories without butter or cream cheese. You’ll be ahead before you even leave the house.
NET LOSS: 70 calories.
2. SAVE SPORTS DRINKS FOR HEAVY EXERCISE
Unless you’re exercising for more than one hour, stick with water. A 32-ounce Gatorade contains 200 calories, and 12 ounces of Accelerade will cost you 120 calories. “After an hour of exertion, you need to replenish some carbohydrates, but calories from sports beverages, not to mention juice and soda, add up quickly,” Farrell says.
STARTING TODAY: Opt for 8 ounces of water instead of a sports drink.
NET LOSS: 50–80 calories.
3. ADD TWO 10-MINUTE WALKS TO YOUR DAY
“It’s consistency more than intensity” that does the trick with walking, Farrell says. In addition to burning calories, walking aids digestion, and it will also reduce the amount of fatproducing insulin that’s released into your body.
STARTING TODAY: Walk for 10 minutes after two meals each day.
NET LOSS: 100 to 130 calories (a 170- pound person burns approximately 65 calories per 10 minutes of walking at 4 m.p.h.; a 130-pound person burns about 50).
4. PAY ATTENTION TO PORTIONS
“You might be eating all the right foods, just too much of them,” Farrell says. She recommends measuring your foods, at least for a couple of weeks, so you can learn what one cup of cereal or pasta, or a 4- to 6-ounce serving of beef, looks like. She also suggests using smaller plates and bowls: At Cornell University last year, a marketing expert and two colleagues hosted an ice cream social for 85 nutrition experts. Some were given big bowls, others got small ones; some were given big spoons, others got smaller ones. Those who used the smaller bowls or spoons served themselves 15–30 percent less ice cream. In the end, everyone who participated thought they served themselves the same amount.
STARTING TODAY: Look at the recommended serving sizes for various meals and measure your servings accordingly. For example, a dietician-recommended serving of pasta is one cup—add half a cup of tomato sauce and you have a 185-calorie dish. A typical serving is two cups of pasta (restaurant portions can be even bigger) plus one cup of sauce, which totals 370 calories.
NET LOSS: 185 calories.
5. SLOW DOWN WHEN YOU SIT DOWN
A University of Rhode Island study found that people who were told to eat quickly ate an average of 67 more calories than people who were told to take their time. “Get into the habit of putting your fork down between bites and chewing and swallowing each bite before you pick the fork up for the next bite,” Farrell says.
STARTING TODAY: Take at least 20 minutes to eat each meal and wait 10 minutes before reaching for seconds.
NET LOSS: 130 calories a day, if you can slow down for two meals.
What’s my BMI?
To determine if you’re at a healthy weight, you should find out your Body Mass Index, which is based on your weight and height. Go to mayoclinic.com and click “Health Tools,” then “BMI calculator.” Once you determine if you’re at an optimal weight, you can find out how many calories you need daily to maintain that weight using the “Calorie calculator” on the same site. If you’re overweight and want to shed some pounds, cut 500 calories a day from that number.