Make weight wisely

Weight classes are used to make competitions as fair as possible. Athletes try to take advantage of the time between weigh-in and competition. If they lose weight before the weigh-in, they get a lighter opponent. After the weigh-in, they eat and drink to gain back weight. Then they can throw more weight into the battle. This temporary weight loss is called ‘weight cutting’.

You can lose weight in a healthy way. Set realistic goals, take your time and make healthy choices. Unfortunately, many athletes do not do this. Many athletes try to lose weight in too short a time. For example, by drying out their bodies. Or they use even more extreme methods. Tricks they know from their trainer or other athletes. Understanding of (medical) matters is often lacking. It can lead to serious health damage. People even die.

Poor planning and execution also increases the chance that your match gets cancelled. Then you harm your opponent and the promoter, you disappoint your audience and you give your gym a bad name.

We want to help athletes and their coaches to make healthy choices. Based on know-how.

Many athletes dehydrate themselves completely during the weight cut. They hardly drink anything for days and try to sweat and urinate a lot. This is dangerous. It is at the expense of fitness and strength. It’s also illogical. You train for weeks to get in top condition, but in the last days you eat and drink badly. You weaken yourself.

The dangers of weight cutting
Losing weight quickly is bad for you. It makes you fight worse, scientists have determined. You can suffer from it longer than you think. Unhealthy weight loss can lead to:

• Injuries
• Fatigue
• Growth impairments
• Eating disorders
• Depression

Some athletes really go too far. They take pills that make you poop and pee a lot. They sweat for hours in the sauna, and then get on the exercise bike. Martial artists have literally died because they wanted to lose weight in an unwise way. Others ended up in the hospital because their kidneys failed.

If you manage your weight in a healthy way, you have a better chance of a long, healthy and successful sports career. Moreover, you will enjoy your sport for longer. Extreme weight loss is not fun at all.

In young athletes, a lot of attention to weight can cause them to think badly about themselves. That makes them unhappy.

If sports continue to be fun, one is more likely to continue working out. It is therefore good for the motivation of young athletes if their supervisors do not make weight too important.

A healthy approach to weight also has benefits outside of sports. You get sick less often. You can concentrate better at school or at work. You feel better about yourself.

A lot of weight loss in a short time is unhealthy. You can suffer from it both physically and mentally. You have less energy left for the fight. Your body and brain get less fuel. You can’t make up for that by refueling just before the race. A human body doesn’t work like a car. Your body and brain need more time to recover if you have eaten and drunk poorly for several days. You feel better quickly, but you don’t reach your top anymore. Your brain can also take a blow much worse due to extreme weight cutting. The chance of a knockout is much higher.

Consequences for your body
Dizziness, headache, nausea, nosebleeds, increased heart rate, tiredness, muscle cramps and fever. They are consequences of dehydration and a lack of energy or certain nutrients. A dehydrated body is more likely to be injured. Muscles are more likely to tear, bones are more likely to break.

If the fluid loss increases, the dangers also increase. Your body temperature is regulated, among other things, by sweating. If you don’t have enough fluids to sweat, it can lead to heat cramps, heat exhaustion, or even a heat stroke. Then the body temperature can rise above 40 degrees. You can die from that.

Some athletes opt for a low-salt diet. This can disrupt your body. You may experience muscle cramps, muscle weakness and coordination disorders. But it can also cause a nerve disorder or heart rhythm disturbances. Dangerous!

Hormones
Hormones are substances that regulate a lot of processes in your body. Research shows that martial artists who need to lose weight have too much of the substance cortisol the day before the competition. This can lead to a weakened resistance and breakdown of muscle protein. You run a higher risk of getting sick.

The muscles you have built up for weeks are broken down again. If you want to lose weight in too short a time, you will have an energy shortage.

If a woman often cuts weight, this can lead to menstrual disorders and reduced fertility. In young girls, it can delay puberty and inhibit growth.

In male athletes, energy restriction, intensive training, and a low body weight and fat percentage can lead to a reduction in testosterone levels. It is uncertain what influence weight cuts have on the fertility of male athletes.

Research shows that going up and down in weight (weight fluctuations) can disrupt metabolism. Then it becomes more difficult to lose weight every time. It increases the chance that an athlete will become fat later on.

Nutrition
Fighters who are very concerned with their weight often have trouble eating enough. They often don’t get enough carbohydrates. But also insufficient iron, zinc, vitamin A, vitamin E, vitamin B6 and B12. This can weaken your immune system, making you more likely to get sick or injured. It is also bad for your performance. You are tired sooner and recover more slowly. It also often leads to a loss of muscle mass.

Mentale gevolgen
Athletes who lose a lot of weight in a short time are more likely to suffer from stress, fatigue, anger, confusion and anxiety. That is annoying for them, but also for their environment. It can lead to fights and that is bad for their relationships. Losing weight seems to be more stressful for women than for men.

Athletes who lose weight more often suffer from fatigue, anger, fear and feelings of loneliness more often. Short-term memory also seems to decrease after rapid weight loss. That is bad for learning performance at school.

Eating disorders
Men and women who do sports in weight classes have eating problems much more often than other athletes. About one in three women and nearly one in five men in weight-class sports have an eating disorder. Among non-athletes, this is one in ten women and only one in 200 men.

In weight class sports, bulimia nervosa and eating disorder NOS (collective name for Anorexia, Bulimia and Binge Eating Disorder) are especially common. Also, prolonged and repeated long-term weight loss can potentially lead to obesity. An obsession with food, loss of control during eating and binge eating are also common. Athletes who do not meet the criteria for an eating disorder can often exhibit severely disturbed eating behavior. This is obviously unhealthy. People with an eating disorder are usually not happy.

In martial arts you need strength, explosiveness and stamina. The ability to recover is also important. Scientific research shows that extreme weight loss is bad for endurance. It also leads to less arm strength and less grip strength.

A low-salt diet can lead to impaired coordination. Then your balance is less good, and you therefore stand less firmly on your legs. In addition, your defense becomes less good. You can then dodge less well and are more likely to be hit by your opponent.

After a weight cut, an athlete usually drinks a lot after the weigh-in to give the body enough fluids again. However, the brain, which is also dehydrated, needs more recovery time. It will take a few days before they are sufficiently hydrated again.

Fighters start the match after a weight cut with relatively dry brains. This increases the risk of a concussion. If someone is knocked out, it causes more damage after a weight cut than without a weight cut.

A fluid loss of 2% of body weight is usually used as a limit for normal performance. Losing more fluids means more risk and less performance.

Many martial artists know that losing weight in a short time is not good for health and performance. Still, they do it. Often they want to take more time for it, but it doesn’t work out well. There are several reasons for this.

“It’s just part of the game”
Many martial artists believe that weight cutting is ‘just part of the job’. The ‘making weight’ is often also part of their mental preparation for a competition. The attitude towards losing weight is largely determined by the knowledge that an athlete has. Martial artists get their knowledge mainly from coaches and other martial artists. Dieticians and doctors are much less likely to come into the picture. Research shows that many coaches have insufficient knowledge. They often give wrong advice about nutrition and weight.

Influence environment
The environment of the athlete can also influence the way of losing weight. If everyone around you loses a lot of weight just before the competition, you will be more inclined to do so. Parents and coaches also play a role in the choice of the athlete to lose weight. Athletes often copy the behavior of other athletes.

Control over own weight
Many martial artists want to lose weight in a responsible way. In practice, things sometimes go less quickly than planned. Then a lot of weight has to be dropped at the last moment. Sometimes it’s so mentally tough that athletes don’t stick to their diet. When they think they can no longer lose weight responsibly, they resort to more extreme methods.

Of course many other things also play a role, but usually it has to do with the matters mentioned above. Because unhealthy habits and a lack of knowledge play such a major role, we have to develop as a martial art. We must encourage athletes and coaches to look more closely at current scientific knowledge about what is healthy and what is unhealthy, what works and what doesn’t. We base this on the guidelines drawn up by international sports organizations.

Coming up to competition weight responsibly is quite possible. Guidelines have been drawn up by various national and international sports (medical) organisations, including the IOC and NOC*NSF. These guidelines are for both the athlete and the coaches and supervisors. The whole team must feel co-responsible. Then the athletes receive a clear message and they feel supported by their environment.

If young athletes who still live at home have to lose weight in order to reach a weight class, it is wise to also involve the parents. Athletes up to the age of 18 are not advised to seriously lose weight before competitions. Growing children are more sensitive to the side effects. Their focus should be 100% on fun.

We emphasize: these are guidelines. But every body is different and has different needs. A schedule for an 18-year-old is different from that for a 40-year-old. Heavyweights and lightweights are as different as night and day. The differences between women and men are also large. Every athlete needs customization.

Responsible weight loss
Most guidelines advise a maximum of 3 to 4% above competition weight outside the competition season. To reach the competition weight you have to start making weight well before the competition. The goal is to lose as much fat mass as possible, while retaining as much muscle mass as possible. Dehydration should be avoided.

Lose no more than half a kilogram per week. This can be done by burning between 500 and 1000 kcal more per day than you eat and drink. This can be done by eating and drinking less and/or exercising more. If you do, you don’t have to rely on dehydration. This prevents loss of fitness or strength.

During weight loss, your body uses muscle proteins as an energy source. That is why it is wise to eat more proteins. If you eat 2.3 grams per kilogram of body weight, you lose as little muscle mass as possible.

Extra strength training can also help to maintain muscle mass. You can use multivitamins as a supplement.

The last kilos
Do not lose more than 1-2% of your body weight shortly before the competition. Do not train for fluid loss. Preferably reach the competition weight a week in advance.

The following applies to amateurs: if you notice a week in advance that you are no longer going to reach the weight in a healthy way, then discuss with the matchmaker whether you can fight a weight class higher. If you don’t make it and have to cancel at the last minute, you’ll harn the opponent and the organizer of the match. Plus, it’s bad for your gym’s reputation.

The gastrointestinal contents
By using a low-fiber diet in the last 12-24 hours before the weigh-in, a weight loss of 300-400 grams can be achieved due to a decrease in the gastrointestinal contents. The use of laxative foods is not recommended because you do not always know how your intestines react to them. It can lead to gastrointestinal complaints (gas formation, constipation) and disturbance of the electrolyte balance. This is at the expense of your form.

Less salt
Salt retains water in the body. By limiting salt in the diet, the body can lose up to 1-2 liters of fluid. If you try this, it is important to keep drinking enough. Otherwise the kidneys will work less well. Start salt restriction no earlier than two days before the competition. If you start earlier, the body gets used to a low salt intake. Restricting salt then has no effect on weight.

Recover after weighing
It is important to make up for deficiencies in fluids and carbohydrates after the weighing. The best way to do this depends on the time between the weigh-in and the competition, and the personal preference of the athlete. Replenishing fluid seems to be more important for performance than replenishing carbohydrates.

If you have lost more than 2% of your body weight, you can quickly work it back in after weighing, but that does not immediately lead to recovery of the condition. The fluid is in the stomach and intestines, but not yet in the muscles that have to deliver the performance. It takes at least six hours for the torso and limbs to fully recover from a 2% fluid loss. If more fluid is lost, it may take 24 to 48 hours to fully recover. The more fluid loss, the longer the recovery takes.

Isotonic (4-8% carbohydrates) or hypotonic drinks are absorbed faster than hypertonic drinks. Adding salt (25-85mmol/l or 400-1100mg/l sodium) can also speed up the absorption of fluids. To better absorb the carbohydrates from the liquid, a minimal amount of protein can be added.

The maximum absorption of fluid from the gastrointestinal tract is around 1200 ml per hour. Drink one liter immediately after weighing, and then about half a liter every 20 minutes, until the weight of fluid loss is restored.

The only question is whether weight class athletes who have lost a lot of weight can actually use that much.

Guidelines for children?
Most guidelines for responsible weight make special attention to growing children. Due to the risk of growth impairments and/or disruption of pubertal development, trainers and coaches are advised to discourage martial artists under the age of 18 from seriously committing to weight loss.

There is an increased risk of long-term injuries and weight problems if athletes start losing weight at a young age. Even if the weight remains stable, energy intake may be too low and care must be taken that they eat enough.

The advice is to let children reach a maximum of 1.5% above their competition weight, preferably above or slightly below, and to carefully guide younger athletes if they do need to lose weight.

We advise trainers and coaches to motivate pupils up to the age of 18 to move up to a higher weight class instead of losing weight to get into a lower category.

Point of interest: menstruation
Athletes who menstruate can suffer from weight fluctuations due to their cycle. Sometimes the weight can increase by 1-2 kg in the days before menstruation, which makes losing weight more difficult.

If necessary, menstruation can be regulated with the contraceptive pill. It should be noted that the pill can cause weight gain in some athletes.

If you eat and drink too little in combination with intensive training, you may miss your period. It is therefore recommended to consume at least 30-45 kcal per kg of fat-free mass per day and to lose a maximum of half a kilogram per week.

If athletes use the pill, menstruation cannot be used to monitor whether energy intake is sufficient.

Guidance and advice
It is often recommended that the weight class athlete be supervised by a sports dietician or nutritionist. It is important that this person has some knowledge of weight class sports and knows the culture within the martial arts to some extent.

Together with the coach, athlete and sports doctor, the sports dietician can determine which weight class is feasible for the athlete. This involves looking at the body composition of the athlete.

As a guideline, the fat percentage for men should certainly not be lower than 5% and for women not lower than 12%, but it must be emphasized that customization is in order. Subsequently, an individual feeding schedule can be drawn up.

Measuring body composition
There are several ways to measure body composition. In practice, the fat percentage is usually calculated using a skinfold measurement.

It is important to always use the same method. Also have the measurement carried out by the same person. This gives the greatest reliability.

Monitoring
A number of guidelines recommend monitoring weight, body composition and fluid balance at predetermined times.

The disadvantage of regular measurements is that the emphasis can be very much on the body and body weight. This can lead to an obsession with appearance and weight. It is also known that athletes adjust their behavior based on the measurements, so that no realistic picture is created.

Measurements must take place discreetly and in an enclosed space. This keeps the social pressure as low as possible.

Questions?
If you have questions, don’t sit there with them, but start the conversation. Within your team, with your general practitioner or with a sports dietician or nutritionist. Making weight in a healthy way is a team effort!

Those who gain weight in a healthy way, get the best out of themselves!