Calorie needs for improving body composition

There are favorable body weights/body fat percentages that allow for optimal performance in sport. Athletes attempting to reduce body weight should: 1) reduce weight in a healthy and efficient manner that can be maintained over time and 2) maximize strength-to-weight ratio. This chapter will: 1) discuss how to determine body weight for a desired body fat percentage, 2) discuss how to determine caloric consumption including the calculation of resting metabolic rate (RMR) and daily energy expenditure (DEE), 3) provide dietary suggestions to promote healthy weight loss that can be maintained over time, 4) provide athletes with tests to assess their strength-to-weight ratio, and 5) provide athletes with practical take-home messages that can be applied to training table diets.