Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat was disqualified on the morning of her 50 kg gold medal bout on Wednesday, weighing in nearly 100 grams over the limit. This was despite the overnighter she pulled — jogging, skipping and cycling to sweat out the extra weight and meet the criteria. She, in fact, had to be taken to the medical centre because she was feeling dizzy due to dehydration. Most sportspersons find maintaining the weigh-in period challenging as they have to tailor their water and fluid intake to ensure peak performances while ensuring that calories and bulk resulting from them do not affect their weigh-ins. How can players lose the water weight ahead of the weigh in? Usually water and fluids make up the last few kilograms that sportspersons need to lose to enter a weight criteria. “At the last minute, you cannot lose any muscle mass. What you lose is essentially water weight and some glycogen stored in the liver from the food that you eat. Therefore, to rapidly drop weight, a player needs to do aerobic activities such as running and cycling. They usually do this in suits that do not permit air flow or with vaseline on their body to ensure that they sweat more. They also stop eating the day before so that the stored glycogen can be used up by the body,” said Dr Mukul Mittal, sports medicine expert at Delhi’s BLK-Max Hospital. Sometimes discrepancies happen because while competing for a particular weight category, athletes either train at the weight limit or a little less. But many also train a couple of kilograms over the limit and rapidly lose this excess weight just before the weigh-in. “This gives them a slight advantage because they build up more muscles during the months leading up to the event,” he said. Are rapid weight fluctuations common among athletes? Dr PSM Chandra, the official team doctor of the wrestling contingent at the Athens Olympics and 2006 Asian Games, said, “Although a weight fluctuation of one to one-and-a-half kilos is possible within a day, this is a seasoned professional. Wrestlers always keep a margin so that they can replenish after the official weigh in. They usually fast and don’t even take water on the night before their weigh-in. Even drinking a litre of water can technically add to body weight for a short while but that clears as soon as players relieve themselves.” Also, there could be a higher retention of fluids if a person has, say, high sodium levels. What are the challenges to losing the water weight? Dr Anand Gangwal, top sports physiotherapist, however, cautioned that sometimes when trying the dehydrate and lose weight strategy, the hormonal system may give opposite signals and cause more water retention. “Hormones can significantly affect weight and can cause water retention in the body. This cannot be influenced directly by an individual. Stress also plays a vital role in hormonal regulation,” he said. How does the deprivation of food and water impact their performance? This, however, comes at a cost because the players need the fluids and food for energy to compete. “Players would usually consume a carbohydrate heavy diet just before their bout so that they have the energy to compete. But just a little water, just a little food, or even a disturbed sleep can make or break when you are at the borderline,” said Dr Sidak Dhillon, sports physician, who currently works with football players. Dr Vinay Kumar Gautam, consultant of sports injury at Manipal Hospital, said: “There is a need to avoid stress as it can lead to hormonal imbalance, can increase insulin level, glucose level and craving for food.” What do wrestlers need to do to maintain a weight class? To stick to a weight class, especially for a sportsperson who is already likely all muscle, the training has to be different. “They have to eat fewer calories and expend more during training. They have to eat a protein- rich diet throughout except for the day of the event, when they have to consume carbohydrates to power them,” said Dr Dhillon. “Sportspersons looking to stick to a lower weight category also have to focus a lot on endurance training because it is only when your heart rate remains at 60 to 80 per cent of your capacity that you lose the weight,” he added. (With inputs from Andrew Amsan)
