Dropping weight fast is all about manipulating your water and sodium levels. For a fighter who wants to cut weight quickly and safely, here’s how much water he would consume in the 5 days leading up to his weigh-in: Sunday – 2 gallons Monday – 1 gallon Tuesday – 1 gallon Wednesday – .5 gallons Thursday – .25 gallons Friday – No water till after weigh-in at 5PM. As you can see, the amount of water starts high with two gallons and decreases with each day till he’s drinking hardly any water on Thursday and Friday. This is to ensure their body gets into “flushing mode.” By drinking lots of water early on, the fighter’s body will down-regulate aldosterone, a hormone that acts to conserve sodium and secrete potassium. And when he suddenly reduces the amount of water he drinks in the middle and end of the week, his body will still be in flushing mode, meaning he’ll hit the bathroom to pee a lot even though he’s hardly drinking any water. What happens when you excrete more fluid than you take in? Bingo! Rapid weight loss. DON’T EAT MORE THAN 50 GRAMS OF CARBS PER DAY Since one gram of carbohydrate pulls 2.7 grams of water into the body, it’s important for fighters to keep their carb intake low. By doing this, they also deplete muscle glycogen (a source of energy) and keep their body in “flush mode”. DON’T EAT FRUIT, SUGAR, OR STARCHES These are carbs that should be avoided entirely while cutting. EAT MEALS THAT CONTAIN A LOT OF PROTEIN AND FAT Fighters have to eat something. Since they’re avoiding carbs, Dr. Berardi advises them to load up on high-quality protein like meats, eggs or a vegetarian sources of protein. It’s also the perfect opportunity to eat lots of leafy vegetables (like spinach) and cruciferous vegetables (like broccoli and cauliflower). Georges St Pierre normally has his meals prepared by a private chef so he doesn’t even have to think about this stuff or make decisions. Recommended reading: here’s an entire article detailing GSP’s training diet. DON’T EAT SALT Since the body likes to hold on to sodium (which will hold on to water), dropping salt helps the fighter’s body flush water out. CONSIDER A NATURAL DIURETIC This step isn’t always necessary, but it can help when you’re getting down to the wire and still need to lose water. Opt for a natural diuretic like dandelion root, but wait until the last 2 days to use it. TAKE HOT BATHS We sweat a lot in hot environments. However, we sweat the most in hot, humid environments. Since hot water offers both heat and 100% humidity, fighters lose water quickly by taking hot baths and fully submerging everything but their nose for 10 minutes at a time. SIT IN THE SAUNA This is the “finishing touch” to flush the last few pounds of water and is only used on the last few days leading up to the weigh-in. The Weight Cut Schedule So if we take all of that and break it into a weekly plan, it looks like this: SUNDAY Carbs: Less than 50 grams per day. No fruit, starches, or sugars. Protein and Fat: As much as you want in 3 meals Water: 2 gallons Salt: None MONDAY Carbs: Less than 50 grams per day. No fruit, starches, or sugars. Protein and Fat: As much as you want in 3 meals Water: 1 gallon Salt: None TUESDAY Carbs: Less than 50 grams per day. No fruit, starches, or sugars. Protein and Fat: As much as you want in 3 meals Water: 1 gallon Salt: None WEDNESDAY Carbs: Less than 50 grams per day. No fruit, starches, or sugars. Protein and Fat: As much as you want in 3 meals Water: 0.5 gallon Salt: None Sauna in afternoon THURSDAY Carbs: Less than 50 grams per day. No fruit, starches, or sugars. Protein and Fat: As much as you want in 3 meals Water: 0.25 gallon Salt: None Sauna in afternoon for 30 minutes, hot water bath at night FRIDAY (WEIGH IN AT 6PM) Carbs: Less than 50 grams per day. No fruit, starches, or sugars. Protein and Fat: Eat 2 very small meals until weigh in Water: None till weigh-in Salt: None Sauna until weight is met (Note from Tim: You can download the entire weight-manipulation plan that Nate used here: Weight Loss and Rehydration Protocol.) What It Feels Like To Cut Weight Dry as a bone and none to happy about it. So that all looks fine on paper. But what does it actually feel like to go through it? One word: Hell. I started my cut on Sunday at 190 pounds. Here’s a quick rundown of what it looked like. SUNDAY – 190 POUNDS I carry a gallon water jug with me wherever I go, which makes me feel ridiculous. But I have to make sure I get my two gallons of water in. Overall, though, I feel fine. It actually doesn’t seem that difficult. I’m not sure what the big deal is. MONDAY – 187 POUNDS I’m starting to miss the taste of salt. All of my food is bland. Now I’m drinking one gallon of water instead of two. Still not that bad. TUESDAY – 182 POUNDS I go to the bathroom 13 times in one day. A new record, I believe. And I’m still drinking a gallon of water. WEDNESDAY – 179 POUNDS Now I’m down to half gallon of water per day, which means I have to ration it out, which feels weird. I have a little with breakfast, a little with lunch, and a little with dinner. It’s definitely not enough water. My mouth is dry. I feel dehydrated. I’m drinking straight espresso instead of drip coffee because it contains too much water. In the evening, I try my first hot water bath. I generally enjoy baths, but this one’s different. My apartment’s water doesn’t get as hot as Dr. Berardi wants it to be — “hot enough to cause moderate pain but not burn your hand” — so I fill two pots and a kettle with water, put them on the stovetop until they boil, and pour them into the bath tub. I get into the bath and immediately regret the decision. 10 minutes later, I’m lying naked in the middle of my living room trying to catch my breath. My eyes are rolled back into my head. My entire body feels like a giant heartbeat. I want to drink some water, but can’t. This is starting to be less fun. THURSDAY – 175 POUNDS I am a zombie. A zombie who sits. Mostly in the sauna or on the couch. In the sauna I watch beads of sweat collect on my skin. I see my precious water run down my arms and chest and legs and know that I won’t be able to replenish any of it when I get out. I only have .25 gallons of water to last me the entire day. I’m ready for this to be over. FRIDAY – 169.7 POUNDS AT 5PM I look sick, very sick. I spend the last 30 minutes before the weigh-in in the sauna and drink four sips of water throughout the entire day… What Cutting Weight Does To Performance OK, I’ll save you the rest of the journal entries and share some performance data. While the fighters are tested in competition, no one has ever really documented how much strength or power they lose by dehydrating. (Or how much strength and power they regain after they get all their weight back.)
Posted on: Thu, 29 May 2014 05:34:19 +0000
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