Ready for some math?
Yesterday morning I weighed 190.2 pounds. At 8:00 PM I weighed 193.2 pounds.
Today is Monday morning and I weigh 187.2. By Friday at 5:00 PM — 4 days from now — I will have to weigh 170 pounds or less.
That means I need to lose at least 17.2 pounds in roughly 96 hours.
That thought alone is crazy to me. It also seems crazy to my mom who I spoke with earlier.
You better stop this stupid shit before you hurt yourself, she said. It’s a dumb experiment.
She’s right. It is dumb. But it’s also kind of cool.
And if we forget about the last 28 days of weight gain, what I’m doing now — while crazy — is something hundreds, maybe thousands of fighters, wrestlers, and even horse jockeys do every year.
They cut weight.
Of course there are a bunch of dumb ways to do it. (Riding a bike in a sauna while wearing a trash bag comes to mind.) And unfortunately, most guys who try to cut weight try all the dumb and dangerous ways and end up either hurting themselves or losing too much muscle, power, and endurance come fight night.
But with JB as my guide — and the specific cutting protocol used by Georges St. Pierre himself — I know I’m in good hands.
Which doesn’t mean it’ll be easy, of course. It may even be a little challenging.
But so far not much has happened. I don’t feel very different. In fact, this doesn’t seem that hard at all.
Sure, I’m not eating nearly as much. And I can’t have fruit, sugar, or salt.
But that’s OK. I’m already looking leaner in the mirror.
I think JB and Martin were just trying to scare me with the whole, “Let’s see what you’re made of” kind of talk.
This is gonna be a breeze.
Other highlights from Day 29
- Having a ton of free time to get my work done. With only three easy meals to eat, I’m not spending a lot of time cooking or eating, which is awesome.
- Going to the bathroom 13 times to pee. (Yep, I counted.) That’s what happens when you drink a gallon of water.
Knowledge Bomb!
The Weight Cutting Plan Explained
MMA fighters and wrestlers have to cut weight before every fight. The goal is to drop down to a lower weight-class, say 170 pounds, weigh in the night before the fight, then super-hydrate back up to their real weight of, say, 185 pounds.
Sneaky, right?
Well, when it comes to cutting weight you can either do it two ways: the smart way or the stupid way.
The stupid way is to starve yourself, take a lot of diuretics, not drink any water, and wear trash bags while exercising, sometimes in a sauna. This leads to fast weight loss, sure. It also leads to fast muscle loss, decreased energy and power, and one bad temper. Most guys underperform when they cut weight this way. Some guys have even died doing this.
The smart way involves carbohydrate, water, and sodium manipulation that can help you shed excess water weight, maintain most of your muscle, and ensure you can re-hydrate back up. With this strategy you get to eat plenty of food throughout the cut. Instead of increasing exercise, you taper off so that you’re fully recovered for fight time.
I decided to pick the smart way.
(Go download the dehydration/rehydration plan and follow along.)
Carbs below 50 grams and no fruit or starch
This helps deplete muscle glycogen levels and flush water. One gram of carbohydrate pulls 2.7 grams of water into the muscle, which is why we minimize them.
Unlimited protein and fat in three meals
Because I gotta eat something.
This is the perfect opportunity to load up on the protein and fat (like lean and fatty meats) and also leafy vegetables (like spinach) and cruciferous vegetables (like broccoli and cauliflower).
Deliberately cycling the amount of water I drink
You don’t lose weight by not drinking water, at least not at first. Instead, you have to put your body into flushing mode by drinking lots of water (which will down-regulate aldosterone, a hormone that acts to conserve sodium and secrete potassium), which makes you pee like crazy.
Then, when you cut water intake suddenly at the end, you pee out a lot more than you’re taking in. Voila, rapid weight loss.
That’s why I started with 2 gallons of water per day and will continue to taper down until I’m barely drinking anything. (Sounds like fun, huh?)
No salt
Since the body likes to hold on to sodium (which will hold on to water), dropping salt will help my body flush water.
Diuretics
This step isn’t always necessary, but it can help when you’re getting down to the wire and still need to lose water. We opt for a natural diuretic like H20Lean or dandelion root, if necessary.
Exercise
Now that I’m purposefully dehydrating myself, I’m in no position to gain muscle or get any stronger or more powerful. Plus I’ve gotta be recovered for my post-testing, just like MMA athletes have to be recovered for their fights. That’s why I’m gonna do some easy bodyweight workouts and other light exercises in the gym. If I go at all.
Hot water immersion
We sweat a lot in hot environments. However, we sweat the most in hot, humid environments. Since hot water offers both heat, and 100% humidity, you can lose water quickly.
Sauna
The “finishing touch” to flush the last few pounds of water.