GLOSSARY

Very-Low-Calorie Diet (VLCD) provides a very low energy intake and generally belongs within a structured, clinically supervised intervention rather than routine athlete dieting.

Weight management includes prevention of unwanted change, intentional change and maintenance. The appropriate goal follows health, function, training and the person's priorities rather than a scale target alone. Energy balance is dynamic, and the same intake change will not produce a fixed linear trajectory indefinitely. Use trends under comparable measurement conditions and assess well-being and performance. A plan should be revised when it produces persistent fatigue, deteriorating training or escalating preoccupation with food and weight.

Over a defined interval, a difference between metabolizable energy intake and energy expenditure changes stored body energy. This principle does not imply that daily scale weight directly reveals energy balance. Water, glycogen and gut contents also contribute to body mass. Intake and expenditure influence each other through behavior and physiology, so projecting the same daily deficit indefinitely creates unrealistic predictions. Interpret the energy equation together with its timescale and the composition of the tissues changing.

Loss of body mass is not equivalent to loss of fat. An overly aggressive deficit can also reduce lean tissue and impair training or recovery. Adequate protein, resistance exercise and sufficient overall nutrition help support lean-tissue preservation, but outcomes vary. Interpret body-composition measurements with their uncertainty and hydration dependence. In sport, prioritize useful function and health rather than promising that any diet can remove only fat while preserving every aspect of performance.