Because of weight classes, wrestling below ideal body weight can give an athlete a competitive advantage. Though there are many crash diets available that could help a wrestler "make weight", wrestling coach Andy Brick notes that the easiest way to lose weight is to approach weight loss in four distinct stages. The Mayo Clinic warns of a correlation between teens cutting weight for sports and adult eating disorders. Even without developing long term disorders, the extreme dehydration of extreme weight cutting can impair growth, cause organ damage and lead to death.
Maintenance
Throughout the wrestling season, Brick notes, a wrestler must maintain a diet that provides enough calories for training while helping keep the weight off. Though calorie counting can help with this goal, the type of calories a wrestler takes in will make a big difference. In "Eat, Drink and Be Healthy", Harvard-based nutritionist Walter Willett supports the claims of diet plans like Atkins and South Beach, which claim that a diet rich in protein and essential fats but low in carbohydrates is ideal for maintaining energy while losing weight.
Cutting Weight
For many wrestlers, the final days before a match may find the athlete a few pounds too heavy. At this point, the easiest way to shed the last weight is dehydration. Losing water weight is false weight loss, and never to be used outside the context of immediate weight loss for competitive or professional reasons. The concept is simple: shed water through sweating, urination and spitting without taking the same amount of water in. A common technique is to run in a warm room while wearing several layers of sweat clothes, thus sweating off several pounds of water. Athletes should only attempt this under adult supervision and be very careful of becoming medically dehydrated.
Recovery
Wrestlers usually have several hours to a full day between weigh in and the match. During this time, coach Brick says, the first goal is to rehydrate. Sipping, not gulping, fluids is the answer, especially fluids designed to replace salts and electrolytes. The wrestler also should take in a light meal heavy in carbohydrates and proteins. As Dr. Walter Willett points out in "Eat, Drink and Be Healthy", the carbs will give an immediate burst of energy while the proteins will prolong the energy boost into the match.
Resetting
It's tempting for many wrestlers, especially high school wrestlers who have yet to develop adult discipline, to gorge themselves on the days immediately after a match. Returning to normal eating patterns is healthy, but it's best to avoid a serious eating binge. Diet advisor Bill Philips recommends allowing one "cheat day" when the wrestler can eat whatever he likes within reason, then immediately returning to the maintenance stage of the diet plan.
References
- Riverside Health: Cutting Weight
- Andy Brick, Wrestling Coach, Hillsboro, OR
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