Healthy Ways to Cut Weight
START EARLY
If you’ve ever trained for another sport, or put off studying for a test until the night before, you should be familiar with this notion: don’t wait! If you want to hydrate before tryouts, don’t wait until the night before. If you want to ace a test, guess what? Don’t wait! Please, don’t wait to start cutting weight until a few days before an important match. You are, whether you realize it or not, setting yourself up for failure.
Frankly, the human body is simply not designed to lose weight so suddenly and quickly. Healthy weight loss must be gradual. Start your weight loss plan a week in advance, so that you don’t find yourself having to make extreme reductions in food intake at the last minute. Weight that is lost gradually and healthily will be mostly fat, whereas weight that is lost quickly will likely include muscle -- an absolute essential for a winning wrestler.
DRINK WATER
One of the most common methods for cutting weight, especially among high school wrestlers, is cutting down on fluid intake. While this does lead to weight loss, the resulting dehydration is not only unsafe, but also detrimental to a wrestler’s physical strength, mental clarity, and aerobic ability. Safe weight loss can be achieved by cutting down on other fluids such as sodas, juices, and sports drinks, which contain additional calories.
ELIMINATE FATTY FOODS
By sticking to healthy, low-fat foods, you can lose weight and improve your overall health and nutrition. Fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are all terrific choices. Try buying a huge jar of peanut butter and have a few big scoops before every meal. Not only is it tasty and full of healthy proteins, but it will curb your hungry stomach as well. For restricted diets, it’s a smart idea to incorporate vitamin supplements to ensure you're getting enough vitamins and minerals.
FREQUENT BUT SMALLER MEALS
Rather than eat three full, sit-down meals in the days before a big meet, try eating a higher number of smaller meals. This will help with hunger pains, improve metabolism, and decrease overeating. It will help your body deal with the physical and mental strains of eating less. Additionally, athletes tend to overeat during those most common big meals of the day. So, snacking in a healthy and effective way is a far better way to eat less in a perfectly reliable way.