How To Lose Weight Like A Professional Cyclist With Team Sky's Head Of Nutrition

- Balanced nutrition forms an integral part
of any structured training programme.
But can the manipulation of nutrition alone
have an effective impact on your training?
Well, to answer that very question,
we're gonna speak to James Morton,
Head of Nutrition at Team Sky, here at the Giro d'Italia.
(whooshing)
So James, in your role as Head Nutritionist at Team Sky,
how do you use diet in combination with the coaches
and training so riders can actually lose weight?
'Cause it is one of the holy grails of cycling, isn't it?
Is the power to weight ratio,
so being as light as they can,
but while still maintaining that optimum power.
So, what techniques?
- Well, I think it's the $64 million question
of cycling really.
It doesn't have to be as complicated as what people think.
Ultimately it comes back to energy balance.
So if people want to lose weight,
they have to expend more energy than they actually consume.
The difficulty of it is of course is that these guys
are training for six months
for the peak event of the season.
So it has to be done at the right times,
and you can't lose weight too quickly, too soon,
otherwise you burn out.
So it's more of a gradual approach really.
We try and do it over a six month period.
We identify the types of weight loss targets
that we want in certain phases of the season.
But of course, the initial conversation
involves the coach and the rider,
and we have to plan out the correct times in the season
when we're, or the correct days in the week actually,
down to that level of where we're training hard.
Or days when the intensity isn't as high,
and you can maybe afford a calorie deficit on those days.
So I guess it's very much a meal by meal,
day by day approach.
And we do that every week.
- Yeah.
- And we're in dialogue every week
to try and make sure that we're fueling well for the days
that we need to fuel well,
and I guess you could call it deliberately under fueling
on the days that you can deliberately under fuel.
And over the course of a seven day period,
you build up a calorie deficit.
(popping)
Every month you're building up your calorie deficit,
and then slowly but surely you chip away at it
and hopefully you arrive on day one of your peak race
in the best shape of the season.
- I'm intrigued, how often will a rider weigh themselves?
I mean, at home.
I mean, I know on a grand tour
because of dehydration and stuff
riders are weighed everyday,
because it's important to maintain, obviously,
a balance especially from a hydration perspective.
Not losing too much weight.
But say you've identified a rider
arbitrarily needs to lose two kilogrammes,
would that rider be required to be weighed every day,
or would it be every couple of days?
How would you manage that side of things?
- Yeah, again, it's very individual, specific.
I mean, these guys aren't robots, you know,
they're human beings as well.
And you've gotta treat them like human beings,
they're not robots.
So it all really comes back to those intense periods
of the season when we want to do that.
And in an intense period,
which might be five, six, seven, eight weeks,
it's not uncommon for riders to weigh themselves
every morning and every night.
And in fact, we encourage that.
The more times they do it, then the more that we learn
how they're responding to the different interventions.
But more importantly, the more that they learn.
And once they learn and they take ownership
for it themselves, then that's real progress really.
- I mean, typically in terms of the actual diet itself,
I guess you're keeping,
I mean, in terms of like the proteins and carbohydrates,
do you increase proteins, decrease carbohydrates?
I mean, what kind or permutation do you use?
I mean, what's the science behind the best way
to kind of lose weight?
'Cause there's so much conjecture over this
particular subject. - Yeah.
Well, I think you've hit the nail on the head there.
We've been debating this for 20 years.
And longer, actually.
It was certainly in my career,
- Yeah. - For 20 years or so.
But, sports scientists have been debating this
for many decades.
I think the research in 2017
is pointing towards a higher protein diet.
And perhaps a carbohydrate restricted diet.
Or in fact, a carbohydrate periodized diet.
So we would say consistently high protein everyday.
- Yup. - You never compromise
on the protein. - Okay.
- But what you do manipulate is energy balance.
And the way that you manipulate energy balance
is to manipulate the carbohydrate intake.
And so what it really looks like then
is that some days you will fuel well
with high carbohydrate for those intensity type days,
and other days you will under fuel
for those perhaps longer duration, but lower intensity days.
And that's where you would restrict the carbohydrate.
But the protein always stays the same.
And I think most sports scientists nowadays
would agree the benefits of a high protein diet
on weight loss.
So, we'd use a lot of the Science in Sport,
the whey protein supplements.
The Advanced Isolate Protein, which we'll have on the bike.
The Overnight Protein, which we'll have prior to sleep.
We've got the Whey 20 product,
which is effectively almost like a protein gel.
We'd use that on the bike quite a lot.
So I guess when we look at a rider
and they might need to hit, maybe 180g of protein
per day, of course we will try and emphasise that in food.
But purely on convenience, and also quality,
because a lot of these protein products are rich
in real key amino acids. - Sure.
- Then we will top up the daily protein intake
with the SIS products.
And all of the riders buy into that,
I mean they really like those products.
And more importantly, they see the benefits from them.
- Now, farther question,
if, many of our viewers watch these videos, you know,
are trying to lose weight.
It always has been, always will be, you know,
a big topic in cycling.
Losing a little bit of weight,
getting that bit more efficient on the bike.
So what are two pieces of key advice
for somebody watching this, for them to lose weight
safely and effectively?
- I think I would aim for a slow and gradual weight loss.
So certainly no more than one kilo per week.
You can lose weight much quicker than that,
but that's usually where trouble starts to happen.
So I would say slow and gradual.
In my mind, and in my experience
of research & practice, the nutritional strategy
that facilities that is higher protein
than what the general population are used to consuming.
And certainly less carbohydrate
than what they're used to consuming.
But make sure that when you have those key training sessions
you consume the carbohydrate.
And make sure when it's race day itself,
then obviously you consume it.
And I guess the principle that really brings it all
together is this concept of fuel for the work requited.
- Okay.
- In other words, if you have a long, hard day
in the saddle, then fuel for it.
And if you don't have a long, hard day in the saddle,
then don't fuel for it.
- Okay.
James Morton, thanks very much.
Top tips there, thank you.
Well some really interesting, intriguing points there
that I know are gonna light up the comments section.
And if you wanna get involved,
leave your comments down below.
Now if you haven't already subscribed to GCN
you can do so by clicking on the globe
somewhere on the screen here.
It's absolutely free, and that way you won't miss
another GCN video.
Now, for some more nutrition videos,
how about clicking just up here
for how many calories you burn through cycling.
And click just down here
for Team Sky's secret nutrition tips.
And don't forget to like and share this video, too.

How To Lose Weight Like A Professional Cyclist With Team Sky's Head Of Nutrition

Latest Posts