When it comes to losing weight, many martial artists use it. The idea behind it is that if I can weigh 150 pounds, then go back up in weight before the fight and fight while at 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 wrestlers are so big at it, in fact, that you basically have to cut the weight, just so you can be EQUAL in size as your opponent. I’ve cut weight quite successfully at my tournaments and people ask me for tips on how to do it safely and easily so I thought I’d share it with everyone. Be warned: losing weight isn’t easy, but it pays off on fight night.

First of all, before your cut you must be thin. You need to prepare your body for the competition. I try to get to 12 pounds of my goal weight before I even start my real cut. For good, healthy ways to lose weight, I recommend the Paleo Diet, also known as the caveman diet. A simple Google search can provide you with some good free information on the matter. You must weigh between 8 and 12 pounds 5 days prior to your weigh-in. Now, a common misconception is that people think they will regain the weight they lost while dieting before fighting. He won’t, he’ll gain back 2-3 pounds of his maximum diet loss by the time he fights. This is important to know because if he diets 12 pounds short of his goal and then drops 12 pounds, he’ll only weigh a full 15 pounds on fight night. If he diets 8 pounds short of his goal, he’ll probably only gain 11 pounds by the time he fights. So the more weight you cut, the more difficult it will be, but you will get more out of it. In martial arts, and especially in fighting, every pound counts!

So! Now your body is lean and ready to fight. Now comes the part that will test your dedication. We will start the cut 5 days before the weigh-in. On days 5, 4, and 3 before the weigh-in, you must drink 2 gallons of water per day. DO NOT DRINK DISTILLED WATER. That amount of distilled water will remove all the minerals from your body, leaving your skin flaky and headache-like. Drink regular purified water. I carry a gallon jug with me, so it’s easier to remember how much I’ve drunk. At this point, there shouldn’t be any changes to your diet, just eat healthy and avoid the fat you’ve lost from your diet. You will go to the bathroom like crazy! Is this what we want. What we are doing is slowly removing 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 the weigh-in you want to drink a gallon of water. However, on this day, we must eliminate all sodium from our diet. This means plain, raw, green vegetables. You can eat fruit for carbs/energy. Also, lean meats are good. Chicken or fish, but no sodium-based seasonings. This means no stake sauce, no teriyaki sauce, no salt. I usually season my fish with lemon juice. It’s not the best flavor, but it’s just for today. This is going to help us release water waiting for the next day.

Now, you’re one day away from the weigh-in. Today is the hardest day, but don’t worry, tomorrow will be the reward. Today we don’t drink water at all. Because of all the preparation we did the previous days, we don’t need a sauna or ridiculous exercises. Just do your regular exercise. The amount you sweat due to our preparation will be enough. Also, throughout the day, and especially at night, your body will release the water weight on its own. As far as food goes; your food will be minimal. Go to your local grocery store and buy Balance Bars or some type of energy bar that is relatively high in calories but low in actual weight. Heavy bars, like protein bars, will be too hydrated and put water weight on your 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 between 1 and 3 pounds from 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. So you may need to order this ahead of time. Take a dose of this (don’t worry, it’s completely natural and you can’t overdose on it). What this will do is empty your bowls. You will lose a few pounds and should be on target at this point. Weigh yourself as soon as possible to give yourself maximum recovery time.

Once weighed, the most important stage must begin: recovery. You must have 24 hours to recover. After weighing yourself you’ll probably feel a bit run down, but food and water have never tasted so good. Start your recovery with Pedialite, you can get it in any supermarket. The original flavor tastes terrible, but now they have some good fruit flavors. You want to drink one sip at a time. Swallowing liquids will push them through and you won’t retain nutrients. Take sip after sip and drink it all. Then switch to water. If it is available to you, drink water with high PH. 9.5 water if you can find it. Depending on where you live, this may 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. As for bottled water, it is the highest on the PH scale; 7.0. You may need to drink up to 2.5 gallons. Still taking a sip at a time. Don’t rely on your thirst response to tell 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, so you have to spend all day drinking gallons of water.

SOME TIPS TO HELP YOU IF YOU ARRIVE SOON:

If you’re hitting the limit and not gaining weight, there are a few things you can do to lose an extra pound or so. Spit help, suck on jolly ranchers and fill up a water bottle. A bottle of water = about a pound.

I don’t recommend using the Sauna, but if you’re a pound off and 30 minutes from weighing yourself, use it, but only in an emergency.