How to lose weight for a competition or fight

When it comes to losing weight, many martial artists swear by it. The idea behind this is that if I can weigh 150 pounds, then gain weight before the fight and be fighting while weighing 165 pounds, then I will have a size advantage over my opponent. This concept is most popular in western martial arts; Brazilian jiu jitsu wrestlers and fighters are so great at it, in fact, that you basically have to cut the weight down, just so you can be the same size as your opponent. I lost weight quite successfully in my tournaments and people ask me for advice on how to do it safely and easily, so I thought I’d share it with everyone. Be careful: cutting weight isn’t easy, but it’s worth it on fight night.

First of all, before your cut you must be slim. You need to prepare your body for competition. I try to hit 12 pounds of my target weight before even starting my true cut. For good healthy ways to lose weight, I recommend the Paleo diet, also known as the caveman diet. A simple Google search can give you some good free information on that. You must weigh between 8 and 12 pounds 5 days before your weigh-in. Now a common misconception is that people think they will regain the weight they lost while dieting before fighting. You won’t, you will regain 2 to 3 pounds of your maximum diet loss by the time you fight. This is important to know because if you diet 12 pounds less than your goal and then drop 12 pounds, you will only weigh 15 whole pounds more on fight night. If you diet 8 pounds less than your goal, you will probably only regain 11 pounds by the time you fight. So the more weight you cut, the harder it will be, but the more you will get out of it. In martial arts, and especially grappling, every pound counts!

Then! Now your body is lean and ready to fight. Now comes the part that will test your dedication. We will start cutting 5 days before weighing. On days 5, 4, and 3 before weighing in, you should drink 2 gallons of water each day. DO NOT DRINK DISTILLED WATER. That amount of distilled water will remove all the minerals from your body, leaving your skin flaking and your head aching. Drink regular purified water. I carry a gallon jug with me, so it is easier to remember how much I have drunk. At this point, you shouldn’t make any changes to your diet, just eat healthy and avoid the fat that you have lost from your diet. You’ll go to the bathroom like crazy! Is this what we want. What we are doing is slowly washing some of the minerals from your body (temporarily), this will help you retain less water in the later stages of cutting.

Once you have done this, for three days you can reduce your water consumption. 2 days before weigh-in, you should drink a gallon of water. However, on this day, we must eliminate all sodium from our diet. This means simple, raw, green vegetables. You can eat fruit for carbs / energy. Also, lean meats are good. Chicken or fish, but without sodium-based seasonings. This means there is no stake sauce, teriyaki sauce, or salt. I usually season my fish with lemon juice. Not the best flavor, but it’s just for today. This will help us release water, wait for the next day.

Now, you are one day away from the weigh-ins. Today is the hardest day, but don’t worry, tomorrow will be the reward. Today we don’t drink any water. Due to all the preparation we did the previous days, we do not need to go to the sauna or do ridiculous exercises. Just do your usual exercise. The amount you sweat because of our preparation will be enough. Also, during the day, and especially at night, your body will release the weight of the water on its own. In terms of food; your food will be minimal. Go to the local grocery store and buy Balance Bars or some form of energy bar that is relatively high in calories but low in actual weight. Heavy bars, such as protein bars, will be overly hydrated and put water into the body. I highly recommend the balance beams. They weigh almost nothing and give you the calories you need to exercise. He usually eats 3 of these throughout the day. Don’t eat anything else besides those 3 bars.

When you wake up in the morning, you should be 1-3 pounds of your ideal weight. You’re going to be thirsty and hungry, but you’re almost there. Take an all-natural supplement called Triphala. You should be able to find it at a health food store or on the internet. Therefore, you may need to request this in advance. Take a dose of this (don’t worry, it’s completely natural and you can’t overdose). What this will do is empty your intestines. You will lose a few pounds and should be on target at this point. Weigh as soon as possible to have the maximum recovery time.

Once you have weighed you have to start the most important stage: recovery. You should have 24 hours to recover. After weighing yourself, you will probably feel a bit drained, but food and water will never have tasted so good. Start your recovery with Pedialite, you can get it at any supermarket. The original flavor tastes terrible, but now they have good fruit flavors. You want to drink one sip at a time. Drinking fluids will get them through you and you won’t retain the nutrients. Take sip after sip and drink it all. Then switch to the water. If available to you, drink high pH water. 9.5 water if you can find it. Depending on where you live, this can be easy to find or impossible. I have a filter in my sink that allows me to get it. If you don’t have it, drink Arrowhead. When it comes to bottled water, it is the highest on the PH scale; 7.0. You may need to drink up to 2.5 gallons. I keep taking one sip at a time. Don’t depend on your thirst response to know when you’re hydrated. Drink until your urine is clear.

Some supplements that will help you recover, if you want to spend money on them, are ionic minerals and spirulina chlorella. Both can be found online. They are all natural and they REALLY help you absorb the water you drink, this way you have to spend the whole day drinking gallons of water.

SOME TIPS TO HELP YOU IF YOU COME IN BRIEF:

If you are reaching your limit and not gaining weight, there are a few things you can do to lose a pound or so. Spit help, suck on jolly ranchers, and fill up a water bottle. A bottle of water = approximately one pound.

I don’t recommend using the sauna, but if you are missing a pound and have 30 minutes to weigh, use it, but only in an emergency.

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