Weight cutting

DWx · Black Belt

I'll preface this post by saying that extreme or fast weight cutting should only be attempted under the supervision and guidance of trained medical professionals and that none of the advice in this thread constitutes medical advice...

With that said, anyone who has competed in sports with weight classes such as combat sports or bodybuilding or events where it is advantageous to be light (e.g equestrian events) will be familiar with the challenges faced with losing weight.

A long steady weight loss is much better for the athlete and for overall health however often it can be necessary to also dehydrate prior to weigh in. Though I've not had to do it myself, as a competitor and now coach, I have overseen and assisted teammates to lose weight to make the weigh ins.

Some of the methods we use include:
- sauna / sauna suit
- hot baths
- Caffeine
- diuretics (extreme caution needed with this one)
- water loading (hydration to suppress vasopressin, then dehydration 24 hrs before)

After weigh in and dehydration, it's important to rehydrate and refuel correctly. I always have Dioralyte or a similar antidiarrhea drinks on hand. Barring that an isotonic sports drink to sip, not gulp, can help to replace lost salts. Liquid or easily digestible carbs are recommended over proteins, fats and fibre and nowadays its easy to get hold of glucose tablets or gels either specifically for sports use or for diabetics.

So had anyone else done this before? What methods did you use?
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Alan Armstrong · Black Belt

A Muay Thai kick boxer showed me his method of loosing wight, some 40 years ago. He wasn't anorexic skinny he was however totally toned. He was a gymnast also.

Should rephrase a bit about the last sentence (not so much loosing weight but more like getting toned) He had the tightest skin (totally fat free) around his mid section that I had ever seem. His method or secret was to work out wearing garbage bags, like a T-Shirt.

I use this similar method if I want to loose weight. I will wear ten T-Shirts with garbage bags on top. Cutting out a space in the bag for my head and arms to fit through. Also I add a few waist sweatbands (around my waist) adding to the desired effect.

I wear this large amout of T-Shirts as a gauge, to see how many layers that I can soak through while exercising. It is also a motivating method of losing weight, because I try harder to soak as many T-Shirts as possible.

I have lost many kilos with this method. It is said that all that sweating will be instantly replaced once a person drinks water. This is not my case. Cutting down on my junk food intake is a contributing factor. As well as combining the "after effect" exercising theory has helped me also to lose unwanted weight.

There are sports shirts that are supposed to do what I do but I don't bother with them. Also more professional methods than what I do, but my method is very cost effective.

el-peligroso · Yellow Belt

Drastic weight cuts are dumb in my opinion.

I never did them when I was competing in kickboxing and muay thai. I would just fight at the weight I was comfortable at and back then I was fighting at around 140-150lbs.
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Alan Armstrong · Black Belt

Have seen a few athletes traing in my neighborhood that have become anorexic. Shame really to witness it. They train very hard towards a direction of malnutrition and ill health.

Dehydration is a serious health issue. Fighters dropping unrealistic body weights to pass lighter weight class requirements is very dangerous, that can cause death in some circumstances.

Possibly I might over hydrate sometimes, nothing a trip to the WC can't fix. The reason I try to over hydrate is to keep my muscles more flexible while stretching them out for kicking.

DWx · Black Belt

All valid points. Sometimes I wonder if those teens who did a sport which focused on weight classes like combat sports or wrestling ever grow out of that watching their weight mindset...
Personally I don't like to see kids focus too much on meeting certain weight classes. They ought to just compete where they fall.

Adults on the other hand should find it easy enough to drop up to 2 kg or 5 lb and then rehydrate to just nip in the lower weight division. It can end up making a big difference to how your competition goes whether you are in the correct weight class.
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mazzybear · Brown Belt

It's not a thing I've had to do and, I'm thankful for that. I've watched a couple programs where folk are trying to cut and it's brutal. The first one was a child fighter in Thailand, he was the family's only source of income, so, if he didn't fight, they didn't eat. The boy couldn't have been any older than 12, so he wasn't even fully developed within his own body, he was running miles a day in a sweat suit in the searing heat without taking any water on board. When that wasn't working fast enough, he was put in what can only be described as a sweat box, a small hole in the ground with steam pumped in, again, wearing a sweat suit. When they took him out he could barely stand, it was awful to watch. In the end he only just made the cut, he had to do this every fight and apparently it's common practice among child fighters in Thailand. In my opinion it's dangerous for adults, so for children it must be even riskier.

The second program was a YouTube video of Christine "Cyborg" Santos in which she was trying to cut to 140lbs for her UFC fight. Watching the mental torture of her lying wrapped in towels with space heaters surrounding her then into saunas and only dropping 1/4lb at a time was horrendous. Again by the end of it she was barely able to stand. The mental and physical strain on the body for this practice can't be good, it's certainly not good to watch.

Mo.
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TJ-Jitsu · Blue Belt

Well, I used to have a very crude way of making weight- just be within 10 pounds for a fight. Take a laxative and dont eat the day before to clean out your bowels. Then sauna suit (or I prefer sauna/ hot tub) to sweat the rest out. I wasnt a wrestler by trade, so I didnt really have a good recipe for it.

For my last fight though I did hire a nutritionist who himself was also a professional fighter. That was probably the most intelligent thing I've done.

In regards to "fighting wherever your weight is" you have to realize that when you're cutting weight thats exactly what you're doing... because everyone cuts weight. When you watch people in the UFC that are fighting at 155, rest assured they're not less than 175 when they step in that cage, and they typically walk around at about 185-190lbs. The size that fighters can carry is insane. Sure, you could just wing it and fight whatever you weigh, but you're not going to go very far in the professional world doing that.

tallgeese · Black Belt

I've been both dumb and smart about this over the years. I've competed mainly in the 160 range, although the lowest I cut for a bout was 148. I used to do the serious last minute dehydration route, but radially under performed each time.

Far better was managing nutrition 2- 3 months out. This made the final couple of pounds way easier.

For this last little bit I was always a sauna suit and jog kind of guy after a sauna the night before. Perhaps the morning of weigh in if needed. Those seemed to be the easiest on my body.

Of course, just dropping the last couple of pounds of water weight using this method was way easier if I had done the smart management and eating on the way to fight/ tournament week.
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rafiksandro · White Belt

There is most methods to losing weight for example must The work of sports on a daily basis also must reduce fast food such as hamburgers, you will get good results after a few months !!!!

Alan Armstrong · Black Belt

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