Saturday Oct 26, 2013 (foodconsumer.org) -- A case study published most recently in British Journal of Sports Medicine may give readers some idea as to how a person achieves quick weight loss and fat loss while maintaining lean mass without any side effect.

Authors M. Keil and colleagues from English Institute of Sport and British Gymnastics reported that an elite artistic male gymnast suffered repeated injury which inhibited his performance and he needed to lose weight and fat to reduce the burden on the knee, ankle joints and body mass tissue.

As part of the training program, nutritional interventions which were designed for maximal weight loss and fat loss and maximal retention of lean mass and muscle growth include the following:

1) Protein intake aimed at 2 grams per kg body mass.  The gymnast had initial body weight of 71.4 kg, so he had intake of 142.8 grams of protein per day.  The total protein was split into regular high protein snacks (15 grams each) or 25-30 grams per meal. 

2) Calcium intake of 1000 mg or 1 gram per day came from low-fat dairy foods. 

3) Omega 3 fats came from a supplement and 30 g portions of mixed seeds per day. 

4) Carbohydrates came from foods with a low-moderate glycaemic index at all meal times. 

5) On days when he did not do training, his evening meal did not contain carbohydrates.  Caffeine was used prior to each specific training session.  Each day, five grams of creatine and five grams of a branched chain amino acids (valine, leucine and isoleucine) supplement was used to maintain lean mass.

6) Foods with high antioxidants were used throughout the day to have polyphenol intake.

Weight and body composition were measured or assessed before and after the 6-week nutritional intervention.  Body fat was also measured.

At the end of the 6-week nutritional intervention, the gymnast experienced a loss of 5 kg body weight and also a significant loss of body fat.

On the other hand, lean mass slightly increased from 56.6 kg to 57.1 kg while bone mineral content and density remained unchanged before and after the dietary intervention and training.  Additionally, body fat decreased significantly.

The authors concluded "A well-controlled nutritional plan combining energy restrictions with training modifications was successful in reducing BM (body mass) and BF (body fat). LM (lean mass) increased during this period."

The dietary program did not affect the gymnast's immune status and he did not experience any symptoms of illness or infections, according to the report.  (David Liu)