A WEEK OF CUTTING WEIGHT
Hale Robinson
Monday, November 7 (5-days out from weigh-in)
I step on the scale at 6:45 am and am currently down 14 pounds from what I weighed over the summer. I compete at 125lbs as a member of Davidson College’s Division 1 wrestling team. My body fat is around 10% (still considered a healthy value) and I am standing within 5% of my projected weight class. I finish a lift with my team and eat a low-calorie meal consisting of 2 slices of keto-bread, egg whites, and low-fat cheese. I rehydrate with 32 oz of water before going about my day. Later, I eat lunch comprised of chicken and rice and another 32 oz of water. At this point I check my weight again: the scale reads 131 lbs. I go to my second practice of the day and lose around 3.5-4 lbs. Again, I step on the scale before eating dinner. My dinner is composed of some beef, turkey, quinoa, and another 32 oz of water. I step on the scale before sleeping and end with a low-calorie protein shake before bed.
Wednesday, November 9 (3-days out from weigh-in)
I woke up and ate a low-calorie egg sandwich to provide me with some energy before going to work out with one of my teammates. We wrestle hard and I lose around 2 lbs. After practice I step on the scale: 129.6 lbs. I rehydrate and eat lunch a little while later. Again, I return for a 4:30 pm practice in all hoodie and sweatpants where I am able to drop my weight to 128 lbs. I eat a dinner consisting of a turkey burger patty, rice, and some shredded chicken. I check my weight before sleeping once again.
Friday, November 11 (Day of weigh ins)
I wake up around 128 lbs. This is a pretty good weight for me to wake up at when I compete at 125 lbs. I am definitely dehydrated and hungry. I eat a light breakfast of some eggs, a piece of toast, and turkey sausage. I drink a bottle of water throughout the day and show up to our pre-match practice at 128 lbs. We workout hard and I get down to the 125 lb weight allowance. I step on the scale and breathe a sigh of relief. I quickly rehydrate with Pedialyte, Gatorade, water and fuel up with bagels, honey, fruits, and more. My weight returns to normal, and I prepare to make the weight again the following week.
Notes:
Despite what my body-mass index would imply, this lifestyle is not healthy. I have become skilled at losing a large amount of weight at a time while causing minimal harm to my body. However, this process is immensely difficult mentally and physically. It’s no surprise that a large majority of wrestlers obtain eating disorders throughout the season. Weight cutting when taken to the extremes can be fatal. There definitely is an issue with weight classes and wrestling. I do not understand why everyone cannot wrestle their each other at their natural weights. Regardless, losing weight whether it be through dieting for athletic purposes or aesthetic purposes can lead to severe eating disorders, body dysmorphia, and harmful physical effects.
The idea of cutting weight to enhance performance always puzzled me. Growing up, I figure skated. By the nature of the sport, speed and strength are key. However, coaches often unfortunately connect these to weight. I distinctly remember my coach having me and the other girls carry around 5lb bags of flour while we skated. After around 10 minutes, she said “see how much easier it would be without those 5lbs?” Of course, this was just a way to encourage us to lose weight. Looking back on it, her statement made no sense, and many of the girls who went on to lose weight from their already small frames underperformed.
I had a good friend in high school who was a wrestler, and he would tell me about all the crazy things his coach would tell them to do to get them down to their weight class. I understand why it is an advantage to weigh just under the cutoff for your weight class for wrestling, but this way of structuring the sport seems so harmful to wrestlers to have to be so meticulous about what they eat and drink and for their weight to fluctuate so much. My friend would routinely skip meals and go without water before weigh-ins because he didn’t want the “water weight.”