Sports Dietitian Article - "Making Weight"

[AskKimSportsRD]

I agree wiith everyone when I say it was agreat article and was well written for the sport. My only concern (and I would love to hear what adjustments that can be made) is that many high school kids are still growing and does the loss of weight (unhealthy weight that is, not body fat that should be lost) affect their growth in any way? I don't think it plays a huge role in the adolencent's growth if done correctly, I for one "cut" weight while in high school and college and don't think I would have been any bigger now if I had not, but kids that "cut" an extreme amount (which we have all seen) might have effects later on in life through growth and health issues later in life. The article and case studies sound like it has the athletes doing the right thing, but still ahve to question any growing kid losing weight that should not be body fat alone. There is always a right way and wrong way and I hope all coaches stress the idea to their athletes that they should never (never, never, never, never) recommend an athlete skip meals to make weight.
Thanks again for sharing-Great Article (I printed it out and shared it with my wrestlers-highlighting several graet points)

HI!
This is a great point and I'm glad you brought it up. Hopefully, in the article, it came across to show that we do not recommend large weight cuts. This is unsafe and unhealthy. Rather, we focus on fat loss in the off season and then once preseason/season begins, we want our athletes to be within 5% of their competition weight. This reduces the chance that we have an athlete losing large amounts of weight from week to week. Weight cycling really does lead to reduced lean tissue and glycogen depletion (the carbohydrates stored in our muscles used during exercise), as well as decreased immune function. We've all seen guys cut weight all season just to make it to the end of the season and get sick, injured, or just can't make weight due to being stressed for too long. This indicates that it's probably not an appropriate weight class for that athlete. We also recommend that our guys get within 2-3% of their weigh-in requirement in the day before. Again, this reduces the chance for drastic weight shifts. If you can get your athlete in these ranges by the time season starts, then its all about fueling properly daily to maintain their weight and lean tissue with small water shifts for weigh-ins. I agree with you that hopefully with better education and research out there for making weight properly, coaches will be equipped with the best strategies for their athletes and we can move away from the large weight cycling of the past.
Let me know if that clarifies things.
Thank you!
Kim Tirapelle

[keck]

Great article Kim. Lots of good information and practicle applications. I just recieved my copy of copy of "Strength and Conditioning Journal" with a special section on Combat Sports. Two articles "Making Weight" and "Nutrition and Hydration Issues" were included and mirrored much of your information. I don't know how to paste link ot these articles online but I think they would be great addtional reading to go along with Kim's. Always a difficult topic and the more infomatino aout there the better.
Keck

[GRAPPLING GARY]

I can't open the article

[yucaipawrestler]

Thanks for the post tirapell!
I have been looking for some time nutritional guidance for my 13 yr old athlete without success. I even called his doc to see if a nutritionist could help us develop a plan and they didn't have anything in place.
Here's my question, how do I know where my 13 yr old 'should' be as he is growing daily? I want to make sure he's meeting his dietary needs while not overloading him.
It is particularly important when the weight class jumps from 125 to 165 and he tends to settle in the 127 spot. I do not want him to establish bad habits (like his parents .
Any insights?