If you are looking for a dietitian with expertise in sports nutrition go to Find a Sports, Cardiovascular and Wellness Nutritionist RD and click on your state on the map of the U.S. You can also find a dietitian at the American Dietetic Association. Include your zip code or city / state, the type of service you want (individual consultation) and expertise in sports nutrition.

Congrats on the weight loss. Hopefully most of what you lost was fat.

You are the type of guy I had in mind when I included body fat equations in my calculator. Do you know what percent body fat you are today? If so, include your body fat data when using the Healthy Body Calculator. If you don't know your body fat number, contact an exercise physiologist or a certified trainer for an assessment. These professionals are also the best resource to design or modify a training program for muscle gain.

There is no research available to predict what percent of weight gain is muscle and how much is fat without measuring your percent body fat now then again at 1 to 3 month intervals. Body fat percentage will change over time and can go up or down, but only by 1 or 2 percent over several months. You have to work to maintain muscle and if you don't work out, your body looses muscle and deposits more fat if you continue to eat the same amount of food (calories).

There are many factors (exercise and eating habits as well as being male) that influence muscle gain rather than fat gain. You can measure the end result by knowing your body fat number and following an exercise / eating program to maintain your muscles to lose the body fat. By knowing your body fat percent, how you exercise and what you eat, you will learn with time how your body responds best. How did you arrive at a 5 - 10 pound muscle gain goal if you don't know what percent body fat you are now? Or are you going for a change in visual results?

You could increase your muscle mass without changing your weight by burning off the same number of pounds of fat. The optimal way to gain muscle is by weight lifting and to lose fat is by aerobic exercise. So find an aerobic exercise you like to do and start today, but continue lifting. You're lucky you're a guy because testosterone supports increasing more muscle than fat. Women tend to store more fat because of progesterone and estrogen.

As to your eating habits, Philly cheese steak sandwiches are very high fat and you should rarely (once or twice a year) eat one if ever. As a linebacker, you needed weight including body fat to play your position while protecting your internal organs. Since you no longer play football, you should work to achieve a healthy weight and body fat to perform the work you do now.

Your food should follow the same healthy guidelines as non-athletes - less than 30% of calories from fat. Include more fruits, vegetables, whole grains as well as starches, milk and some meat. You chose 20% of your calories from protein to end up with 265 grams of protein which will not necessarily get you more muscle.

I would suggest you read about homocysteine, which is an amino acid that is highly associated with arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). Guess where you get homocysteine? Homocysteine is a non-essential amino acid that is an intermediary product of metabolizing methionine, which is an essential amino acid. Guess where you get methionine? Meat. Homocysteine research is getting a lot of attention recently.

I have read research that showed a shorter life span (54 years) for retired football players and a higher incidence of fatal heart attacks. So I am glad to hear that you are still exercising, but you need some dietary guidance. Read up on homocysteine and make an appointment to see a dietitian to learn how to eat healthy and live longer.

>Did you try out the Healthy Body Calculator and include your current body fat? Your Nutrition Facts report on page 3 of the calculator will give you a place to start for the amount of calories, fat, vitamins and minerals you need. On page 2, you can customize the percent of calories from fat as well as your weight or body fat goals. FYI, an average male has 19 - 21% bodyfat, so you are already in excellent shape. Most collegiate athletes would be very pleased with 10 - 11% bodyfat. Please be aware that unless you include your percent body fat, my calculator will report that your weight is unhealthy because of basic assumptions regarding fat to muscle ratios (BMI) in an average individual.

You weren't very specific with regards to your exercise routine i.e. what you do and for how long each day. Is your goal body building or wellness? Since your main objective is to reduce bodyfat and increase muscle what percent body fat is your goal? If body building is your goal, then weight lifting will be your primary exercise routine. Your exercise plan should be specific with regards to amount of weight and number of reps (repetitions) for weight lifting. If wellness is your goal, then combine moderate weight lifting with an aerobic sport you enjoy (running, biking, swimming, etc). If your knees complain, try including non-stressing exercise like swimming. Either way, I would recommend talking to an exercise physiologist for a training program.

Your available time seems currently limited, so how do you plan to exercise more unless you re-allocate the time you have available? Thirty to 60 minutes 5 times per week is good. Remember that quality of life includes activities other than exercise programs unless you are competing in a sport.

Hey guys have it better than gals with regard to laying down muscle. Your testosterone levels stay pretty level until age 70, so why do you think your ability to lay down more muscle is limited? It is only limited by your diet (healthy low fat) and weight lifting schedule.

As for supplements, as long as you eat a balanced, healthy diet based on the Food Guide Pyramid, you don't need any vitamin supplement or mineral supplements. Yes, most supplements contain substances that are not identifiable nor beneficial and their labels make claims that are not supported by current nutrition research. If you think you don't eat a balanced diet, a multi-vitamin with 100% of all vitamins and minerals wouldn't hurt. It is hard to accept, but there is no quick fix (pill or supplement) to increase muscles and decrease fat. You have to put in the exercise time.

Thanks for your supportive comments.

Carbos, carbos, carbos and a little caffeine. The drill you will be performing is anaerobic and carbohydrates will be best for 3 days prior to the test. 200 mg of caffeine (2- 6 oz cups of coffee or 2 -12 oz cokes) less than 3 1/2 hours prior to the test will spare glycogen. Also, don't exercise hard during the days prior to the test as this will deplete your glycogen stores in muscles.

There is no vitamin or mineral supplement that will help you at this late date. Since you are a male, I would assume that your iron stores are adequate as long as you aren't losing blood or a vegan. Thiamin, riboflavin and niacin would help long term, but if you eat a variety of carbohydrates, you should get enough of these 3 B vitamins.

Remember to drink water about 20 minutes prior to the test and drink water during the test whenever you can.

You are correct in that nutrients are much better absorbed from food than from pills and concentrated supplements. There are a lot of "supplements" out that that make unsubstantiated claims for "nutrients" that I have never heard of nor upon searching is there any research available for these "nutrients".

First, you need to write down everything you eat. Second, you need to nutritionally analyze the foods you eat. Lastly, you need to use this analysis to determine what nutrients you diet is lacking in and then add foods high in these "lacking nutrients" to your diet.

In writing down everything you eat, remember to include foods, beverages and any supplements you do use. Write down the food name and how much (quantity and measure) of what you ate and how the food was prepared. Also, save labels from foods that are not usually available, especially supplements.

Next you need to analyze the nutrient content of everything you consumed. Your choices are either have someone else do it or you do it yourself.

A Registered Dietitian could analyze your food records and produce a very complete report. Their reports could include graphs of what percent of your diet is fat as well as protein and carbohydrate. Dietitians analyze for water soluble and fat soluble vitamins and possibly amino acids and fatty acids. Ask the dietitian to show you the analysis of your diet with and without supplements so you can see for yourself whether or not supplements are necessary. They also could provide a chart of food sources of nutrients that you are lacking.

If you choose to analyze your diet yourself, you will need a nutritional analysis software package that includes amino acids and fatty acids if your concern is protein or amino acid supplements.

It all started with a Greek mathematician named Archimedes who while taking a bath figured out that his body mass determined how much water over flowed his tub. I would suggest you pick up an exercise physiology book by William Katch & Frank Katch or contact an exercise physiologist at your university as this is a learn by demonstration technique.

Hydrostatic weighing is considered by many to be the most accurate means for assessing body fat (fat floats) and muscle mass (muscle sinks) over skinfold caliper or electrical impedience. However bone density also will affect the results as African Americans have the densest bones, Northern Europeans (whites) average and Asian people have the least dense bones.

The water temperature (4 degrees Centigrade or 95 degrees Fahrenheit) affects water density, swimsuit (nylon), hydration and fed status of the participant are critical. In addition, the participant must practice exhaling all the air from their lungs prior to being submerged under water for 5 seconds. (Can you imagine someone telling you to force all the air out of your lungs and then dunk you under water?) This procedure may be repeated 8 to 12 times depending on the participant's ability to expel air each time. The difference between an obese and lean individual's results from hydrostatic weighting are small (0.93 and 1.10 gm / ml) so the procedure must be done accurately and repeated.

The participant's weight out of the water is determined and then their weight in the water. Air weight is divided by water weight to determine the person's specific gravity (density). The above numbers are close to butter and round steak respectively.

You did not provide the other data you entered, but if you entered your height, weight, activity, 7% current body fat and 5% body fat goal, the Healthy Body Calculator will accurately figure your calories and fat. It certainly is possible that you need over 4500 calories and 100 grams of fat, but how did you ask to have your calories distributed? The calculator fat percent default is 30% and you can change that to a lower number if you choose.

Also, critically look at how you entered your activity data. If you over estimate what you do in a day, a higher calorie and fat level will result.

I used my experience teaching sports nutrition and working with college and Olympic athletes in designing the Healthy Body Calculator to take into account athletes with low body fat and sometimes above average weight.

If you don't write down everything you eat and then analyze your food with a nutrition software program, you may be underestimating your calorie intake. Calories add up quickly.

Your assessment of your body composition shift from initially gaining 15 pounds of body fat to starting an exercise program and converting fat to muscle is probably accurate. You are fortunate to have combined the right food and exercise to accomplish this, which is preferred. You are right in that fat is dead weight to a runner, but you do need some body fat for hormone production as well as cushioning and insulating the internal organs.

Skinfold measurements (also called anthropometry) using a calibrated hand held caliper is used to estimate the amount of fat under the skin. It cannot measure the fat in and around your internal organs though. Skinfolds are taken at various areas of the body to determine fat distribution and depends on the gender of the person being measured. It takes lots of experience to become accurate and the measurements still can have a 3 to 5 percent error. To determine your accuracy in measuring skinfolds, you would need other body fat assessment methods and blood tests that determine body protein stores. I used to do hundreds of skinfolds in a hospital and had access to blood work to validate whether or not my skinfold measurements were accurate. I would highly suggest you contact your kinesiology instructor to demonstrate how to measure body fat correctly as it requires demonstration of proper technique, which I cannot provide here. Then do lots of them to perfect your technique. Typically, we measure men at the chest, abdomen and thigh. We measure women at the triceps, thigh and above the hipbone (iliac crest). Then these measurements are averaged and analyzed using tested formulas.

The most valid method for determining body fat is underwater (hydrostatic) weighing. Another method called electrical impedance has gained some popularity, but is dependent on the hydration as well as other factors of the subject being tested.

There are several issues you need to address. First you are underweight for height by at least 4 pounds. I say this relative to your immune system and overall health. Second, if you want to lose 5% body fat, I would suggest you do that and maintain your weight or possibly gain 4 pounds of additional muscle. See an exercise physiologist or a certified trainer about weight training to increase muscle, especially in your legs, while decreasing body fat. Talk to your kinesiology instructor about who to see for strength training.

Your Nutrition Facts calculated calories are probably correct depending on how you entered your activity hours. If you eat enough to maintain your weight, then the amount of food you eat is your healthy calorie intake to balance the exercise you get. Go back and put your data into the Healthy Body Calculator again as it will give you a specific calorie level and it will consider your current body fat when calculating your results. I'd be very surprised if your calorie requirements were only 1400 unless you are talking about basal energy, which is how many calories, you need at rest without any activities or exercise.

How do you know you only eat 1600 calories per day? Do you write down everything you eat and analyze it with nutrition software? If not, you may be underestimating what you eat and drink.

The issue of making weight concerns me and I know this has been a part of the sport for a long time. On one hand you have a growing teenager who unless he gets the nutrients he needs now, may stunt his genetic height potential and bone density among other things. On the other hand the weight cycling, especially starvation and vomiting to make weight, seriously compromise his strength and endurance. Loss of water or dehydration can reduce athletic performance by 30%.

I would not recommend losing weight to wrestle at a lower class. Instead, I would recommend weight training and wrestling practice to maintain his current weight and compete in the 110-lb. weight class. At 110 pounds, he should only be 5"1 1/2" tall. I would be surprised if an 18 year old male were this short, but possible. More than likely, he is underweight for height. Have you tried my Healthy Body Calculator?

I would suggest looking at the whole picture including wrestling, his weight and height and how these fit in with a healthy lifestyle. After all, isn't that why your son is involved in sports?

Have you read exercise , fluids , Food Guide Pyramid , protein & amino acids and underweight topics?

Try out the Healthy Body Calculator which could be quite helpful in telling athletes what a healthy weight is (even for those with a low body fat) and how many calories / grams of protein to eat.

Calcium may be the problem nutrient, not potassium which is usually lost due to vomiting, diarrhea or diuretic use (water or high blood pressure pills). If none of these indicators fit you and you have normal functioning kidneys, your body will get rid of excess potassium from the supplement and bananas. Have you read the potassium topic?

Do you drink 2 to 3 glasses of milk per day or consume at least 800 mg of calcium by eating dairy products? If not, would suggest you take a calcium supplement and read the calcium topic. High intakes of phosphorus (meat and carbonated beverages) can increase the loss of calcium.

Also, would suggest working with an exercise physiologist and making sure you stretch out your calf and foot muscles before AND after swimming.

Well you have checked the sources I would normally try, especially the ADA Journal December issue, which lists all the articles from the previous year by subject. Did you search Index Medicus? How about contacting Nancy Clark MS RD, (Director of Nutrition Services, Sports Medicine Brookline, Brookline MA) who published books on sports nutrition and is considered an "expert" in sports nutrition? Another person who is into writing about body image is Dayle Hayes MS RD (Nutrition Consultant, Nutrition Associates, Billings MT) and she may have some suggestions.

To gain weight, it is preferable to gain more muscle mass than fat. However, a football player needs some body fat to help cushion their internal organs from tackling injuries during a game.

You didn't say neither what your weight and height were nor how much weight you want to gain so I will respond in general. If you are maintaining your weight with your current food intake, you will need to increase your calories by 500 per day to gain 1 pound per week, by 1,000 calories per day to gain 2 pounds per week. Your diet should contain less than 30% of calories from fat (16 -33 grams fat), 10% protein (13 - 25 grams protein) and 60% carbohydrates (75 -150 grams carbohydrate). Otherwise, eat a variety of foods. There is no magic muscle builder contrary to all the protein supplement hype out there. It takes daily hard exercise.

At the same time, if you are over 15 years of age, you should start lifting weights every other day. Is there a weight training room in your school or do you live near a public gym or health club? You will need some guidance from a weight training coach so that you effectively build muscle and don't injure your muscles.

Football season is 6 months away and you can gain 24 to 48 pounds. Do it slowly with increasing your food intake and weight training so that you mostly gain muscle.

Soft drinks basically contain sugar and water. They are not considered acidic. Sugar causes an increase in plaque formation on teeth, which leads to cavities, but other foods like starch have been found to be worse than sugar.

Soft drinks are high in phosphorus, which increases calcium losses by the kidneys. Your kidneys regulate the phosphorus content of your blood and unfortunately, when phosphorus is excreted, it takes calcium along with it. Meat (which athletes sometimes eat too much of) is also high in phosphorus. Read the calcium topic for more info.

Soft drinks because they are high in sugar (12 ounces has 9 teaspoons of sugar) draw water from the blood into the gut to dilute the sugar concentration of the soft drink. This will increase the blood solids including red blood cells that transport oxygen. The net effect is dehydration, which can reduce endurance by 30%, but does not affect the red blood cells ability to carry oxygen. The oxygen content of your red blood cells is dependent on iron stores, your lung capacity and your level of training. Trained athletes take in more oxygen (measured as VO2 Max.)and carry oxygen better in their blood than persons who don't exercise (couch potatoes).

I would not agree that soft drinks negate the effects of cardiovascular training, but I would not recommend soft drinks prior to, during or immediately after training or competition. In fact, not drinking enough water during training or competition would have a similar dehydrating effect and lower endurance.

A healthy diet using recommended servings of the 6 food groups from the Food Guide Pyramid, low fat (25% of calories from fat), moderate carbohydrate (55 - 60%) and protein (15%) a variety of foods in 3 meals per day and drink an adequate amount of water. If you would like to read some good sports nutrition texts read questions below.

I used Healthy Body Calculator to determine your basal metabolic rate (resting) of 1499 calories per day using your sex, age weight and height above. Depending on what else you do during the day, you may need an additional 500 to 1500 calories per day. Some nutrition analysis software can add activity calories plus calories burned per minute for exercises depending on your weight.

For example, if you (at 140 pounds) played basketball for 1 hour you would need an additional 147 to 286 calories per hour depending on whether you play recreational or competitively.

First, I would question the results of the body fat test you had. Body fat can be assessed with calipers, electrical impedance or underwater weighing. All have inherent errors.

Accurate use of calipers takes training and many repeated tries to reach an accurate measurement. Also, several sites on the body should be tested and those body sites vary between sexes.

Electrical impedance testing uses a small electrical current passed from one electrode on your foot and the other on your hand. The accuracy of this test is dependent on hydration since muscle contains 70% water and fat contains about 15% water. So if you were dehydrated, the reading would be higher. Other factors that produce inaccurate readings are alcohol intake within 24 hours (dehydration again), menstruation, etc.

Underwater weighting measures a person's weight while under water. However, the person must be in a temperature controlled testing pool, wear a special suit and be able to exhale all the air in their lungs while underwater and sitting on a special scale. The basis of this test is that muscle sinks and fat floats.

For you to lose 10 pounds, you would have to lose more weight than would be healthy. At your height, your healthy body weight is 120 to 132 pounds. At 107, you are a bit underweight as it is. Considering your weight, exercise and lifting weights, I would say the results of your test were way off. Talk to an exercise physiologist who is educated and trained to perform all the above body fat tests.

Your diet is lacking in legumes, beans and peas. Soybeans and tofu are complete sources of protein and should be added to your meals. If you eat egg whites, be sure to cook them as avidin in the whites destroys biotin also present until cooking the egg inactivates the avidin.

One week prior to the championship, eat a higher carbohydrate diet (60% carbohydrate calories), average protein (15% protein calories) and lower fat (15% fat calories). Drink cold water (at least 8 cups per day) as dehydration will reduce your performance by 30%.

For instance, if you eat 2000 calories per day, then you should aim to eat about 300 grams of carbohydrates, 75 grams of protein and 33 grams of fat. The carbohydrate, protein and fat grams can be found on the new food label. Continue the higher carbohydrate diet for one week after the championship to replenish your glycogen (glucose) stores in your body. Then return to eating your regular training diet. A good training diet would include eating a balanced diet and a variety of foods.

Your target weight is 170 to 196 pounds. Considering your age and sport, I am not surprised that your weight is low. You may need to eat 5,000 calories per day just to maintain your weight.

A good reference for you would be a sports nutrition book by Nancy Clark who is a Registered Dietitian. She looks and lives the part of an athlete. Check out a bookstore or your local library for one of her books

The milk and eggs add high biologic value protein (complete amino acid profile in each food) to your vegetarian diet. One nutritional problem of long distance runners is increased gastrointestinal losses of iron. This loss would be greater with a diet not containing red meats and / or if you were a menstruating female. Another reason for you to regularly analyze your diet.

Quite frankly, I am unfamiliar with the over the counter products you refer to. If you would write back with the nutrient analysis on the packages and ingredient declaration on each package, I could give you feedback.

Weight training doesn't require any magic nutritional formula to increase muscle mass. Basically, muscles will increase in size when muscles are asked to do more work (more weight) alternating with more often (more lifting / reps). Remember to get adequate rest (no weight lifting) and sleep (minimum 8 hours per night) to allow muscles time to recover. Typically weight lifting should alternate every other day to be effective. Protein requirements (63 grams for males 25+ years of age, 50 grams for females 25+ years of age) don't increase. All other nutrient needs (vitamins and minerals) don't increase either, except for energy related nutrients (thiamin, vitamin B1, riboflavin, vitamin B2 and niacin, vitamin B3) as calorie needs increase. If you were to follow the recommendations of the Food Guide Pyramid and choose a variety of foods, you would probably be eating a balanced diet. If you think you need a nutritional supplement, a daily multivitamin that provided 100% of the Recommended Dietary Allowances would be sufficient.

Ensure would be a good between meal supplement, one to three times per day. Sustacal, Meritene or even Instant Breakfast would also be appropriate.

Some exercise programs can suppress appetite and long distance runners can lose blood via the gastrointestinal tract. I am concerned that you do not eat meat which is a complete source of protein and red meats contain iron. Carbohydrates and fruits are a significant source of calories and vegetables a significant source of vitamins. However, you are missing meat and milk. The Food Guide Pyramid which is a good basic healthy diet recommends 2 to 3 servings of milk, 2 to 3 servings of meat, 2 to 4 servings of fruit, 3 to 5 servings of vegetables and 6 to 11 servings of breads, rice or pasta.

You may have to approach your diet from a training program approach. Eat 3 regular meals per day with a variety of foods chosen from the Food Guide Pyramid plan.

Yes, modified carboloading is still practiced. Carboloading started with marathon runners in an attempt to store as much muscle glycogen as possible, to run longer. Originally, the diet combined periods of exhaustive exercise and a low carbohydrate diet. A few days before an athletic event, the athlete was permitted no exercise and a high carbohydrate diet. Training programs found that this depletion/repletion diet was unnecessary for the athlete to maximize glycogen storage and produced an irregular heartbeat in some athletes.

The diet has been modified to include moderately intensive exercise with a moderate carbohydrate diet (50% of calories from carbohydrates) during training. Two to three days prior to competing, an athlete is to include a high carbohydrate diet combined with no exercise. A diet with 70 percent of the calories from complex carbohydrates is the goal for the last three days before competing. Complex carbohydrates are starches like pasta, potatoes, rice and bread.

The pre-game meal should be three to four hours before a competition. Athletes should perform on an empty stomach, but not hungry. Also, remember to drink plenty of cold (40 to 50 degree) water before, during and after competing.

The National Daily Council in Rosemont, Illinois has a great booklet on sports nutrition. It has all the basic information an athlete would need about nutrition.

The healthy body weight of a female 5'6" is 130 pounds. An appropriate weight range is 10 percent above and below that or 117 to 143 pounds. You are definitely not overweight, especially not 15 pounds. Because of the daily swim practice you get, you probably have more muscle than fat. Muscle weighs more than fat.

I would suggest you talk to your coach about your weight and that you feel good at 123 pounds. Getting down below 123 pounds could probably seriously decrease your swimming performance by decreasing your muscle size. A 15-pound weight loss would also deplete your glycogen stores needed to compete.

I would like to suggest a good, basic sports nutrition book. "The Athletes Kitchen" by Nancy Clark. It contains good information as well as some recipes. Also, the National Dairy Council in Rosemont Illinois has a pamphlet "Food Power, A Coaches Guide To Improving Athletic Performance". Both are specifically geared to the athlete and performance. Buy one for your coach!