Hi everyone!

How is it going? My family and I just got back from celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday with our family at the ranch and I always feel so refreshed and ready for the Christmas season (and more mentally equipped for the Dallas holiday hustle & bustle) when I return. As my children are getting older it has become such a source of joy to see the holidays and the celebration of family traditions through their eyes. This time is a mix of fun and excitement and I do my best to prevent it from creeping over into overwhelming.

Coming back from the Thanksgiving break, I wanted to make this week’s topic about a scenario I have been working with more often this past year. My post today will speak to a narrower audience, but I think that even if this isn’t 100% you / your athlete, you will still find it informative, helpful and maybe get your mind thinking. I have seen young male athletes (typically between ages 12 and 17 years old) with this request numerous times over the course of this past year. They have been in all different sports, which has been interesting and a fun challenge for me to work with, some have sustained an injury and are working through their recovery and others are healthy and well but going about changes in not the best way. However, despite these differences, they have one thing in common and that is the main reason they have come to see me is because they want to increase or maintain muscle but decrease body fat.

I’ve talked about weight gain a bunch on the blog, male athletes wanting to gain weight and build lots of bulk for their sport. Today I’m going to share information and my thoughts on something slightly different though. These young male athletes that I’m talking about today specifically want to build or just maintain muscle and lose fat or at least not increase their body fat percent. We have to remember, however, that young athletes are not just little adults. With this specific scenario there is a lot to consider and, I think, a lot to unpack so I want to outline that for you today. Todays’ post is not a how-to on getting a young male athlete to achieve body composition goals, but more of a “what to think about first” to (1) determine if he is ready for this goal and (2) to set him up for long-term success. Here are my thoughts when it comes to body composition change goals in young male athletes.

What To Consider for the Preadolescent Male Athlete Wanting to Build Muscle and Alter Body Fat

First, how old is this athlete AND what stage of development is the athlete in? Remember that boys can begin puberty at different ages. It is not the exact same for each athlete.
Second, is this an appropriate goal for this athlete? Does this athlete already show signs or have risk factors for disordered eating or an eating disorder?

I ask this because making weight changes, going on any type of restrictive diet and being focused on one’s physique can be triggering for some individuals and turn into more serious underfueling and, if not monitored and confronted, can develop into a very serious clinical eating disorder.
The above could sound extreme, but I know and have seen the damage and hurt and pain that eating disorders cause, not only on the athlete, but also on the family, the friends and all involved. We want to avoid these AT ALL COSTS. To me, this means even if it looks like changes take longer or the athlete competes in a different weight class than he may like.

Third, let’s talk about the developing male adolescent body…

We know from the scientific literature that as males go through puberty their hormone shifts involve an increase in the production of testosterone (I am, of course, wildly oversimplifying their hormonal cycles here but this is the main thing I want to point out today). As they go through puberty and reach adulthood, their bodies start to naturally build more muscle and their body fat decreases (different from females whose hormonal shifts wire their bodies to store more fat).
We also know through recent research on the Male Athlete Triad and Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) that underfueling, ie not providing the body enough daily calories (and therefore under consuming micro and macronutrients, like carbs and fats), can set a young male athlete up for many complications including, but not limited to: compromised bone health, illness, GI complications, altered cardiovascular functioning, and endocrine dysfunction, including altered hormone production.
That said, as a young male athlete, you really want to be careful with any extreme body composition change attempts. Puberty could actually work in your favor if you let it. In general (there are always exceptions and everyone is unique), children will have phases of childhood where they may have more fat on their bodies and that is ok! Their bodies need everything to allow them to have their growth spurts and to start puberty. If you get nervous about body fat at a young age and start to take measures to decrease that, there is a chance that you could mess with hormones, delaying puberty and delaying those hormonal changes that could actually help you reach your goals.

So then, if a young male athlete has body composition goals for his sport, what are some good nutrition guidelines?

Make sure lean protein is a fixture in each meal and snack (although likely doesn’t need more than about 20 or so grams per meal for muscle maintenance)

Make sure the protein in the meals and snacks are complemented by quality carbohydrates like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains
Include fat as an accompaniment to the meals and to snacks, as desired
Remember in past blog posts and in my new Getting Started Guide, we talk about how children actually tend to be more efficient at using fat as fuel and that it’s not until they get through puberty that they start to utilize carbs for fuel like adults do. This doesn’t mean we need to load their plates up with high fat foods, but it does give an extra point to why our children need fat (ideally making a majority of it the healthier fats as they will let us) and balance in their meals each day.

Ok, I hope this information I provided today has been helpful for any young male athletes already wanting to make body composition changes for sport. Don’t rush it. Be patient and work with your body as you get older. The best results that can support best performance for the long-run do not happen overnight. It takes time, patience, dedication and accurate information and understanding.

If you feel like this is you / your athlete and you would like to work together to figure out the best fueling strategy for your athlete, remember you can reach out to me here to chat more and see if working together would be a good next step. I am taking new clients in the new year and would love to make a spot for you if we feel it’s the right thing for your athlete.

Wishing you much love and a well-fueled athlete!

Taylor