The water cut diet is a weight manipulation technique primarily employed by athletes, especially those in combat sports, to rapidly lose a significant amount of weight before weigh-ins. This allows them to compete in a lower weight class and potentially gain a competitive advantage by being larger and stronger than their opponents after rehydrating. This article delves into the methods, risks, and best practices associated with water cutting.
Understanding the Water Cut
The core principle of a water cut revolves around manipulating the body's fluid balance to induce rapid dehydration. Athletes artificially lower their weight for pre-fight weigh-ins, then show up to the actual fight heavier than their opponent. This physiological puppetry can lead to a massive competitive advantage. A bigger, stronger athlete who retains more of his strength, agility, and endurance will likely win.
However, it's crucial to understand that this is NOT an article on sustainable weight loss or healthy living. Excessive dehydration can be dangerous and even fatal. This article is for informational purposes only, and it is strongly advised not to attempt a water cut without medical supervision.
Methods of Water Cutting
Several strategies are used in combination to achieve rapid weight loss through dehydration. These include water loading and manipulation of sodium and carbohydrate intake.
Water Loading and Restriction
The primary method of water manipulation is a tried and true practice called “water loading”. The idea here is to drink way more water than you're accustomed to, to "convince" your body it's normal to pee constantly, and then cut it off. It takes a while to return to baseline excretion levels, and in that time you drop extra fluid mass.
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Water Loading: This involves consuming significantly more water than usual for several days leading up to the weight cut. The increased water intake convinces the body that it's normal to excrete large amounts of fluid. A common mistake here is to taper your water off, but this does exactly the opposite of what you're trying to achieve. By tapering water intake, your body is adjusting to lower intakes and compensating with lower excretion levels. If you taper for too long, you'll actually retain extra water, making you even heavier.
Your peak water intake should be something like 120 mL / kg.body weight. We're not going to jump straight to peak water, though. If competition day is Day-0, then 1 and 2 days out we're going to drink 100% of peak water; 3 and 4 days out we're going to drink 80% of peak water; and 5 and 6 days out we're going to drink 60% of peak water.
Water Restriction: On the last day (1 day out), cut all fluid intake 16 hours before weigh in. Once the body is accustomed to the high water intake, fluid intake is drastically reduced or completely cut off in the final 24 hours before weigh-in. This causes the body to continue expelling water at an accelerated pace, resulting in rapid weight loss.
Sodium Manipulation
Sodium pulls water into your cells, and conversely, when you excrete a lot of it, it pulls more more water out of your body to maintain osmolarity.
Sodium Loading: Similar to water loading, this involves increasing sodium intake for several days. This causes the body to retain more water. My standard sodium protocol is 1 and 2 days out - minimum possible sodium, aim for under 1000 mg. For days 3 to 6, high sodium.
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Sodium Restriction: In the final days, sodium intake is drastically reduced to encourage the body to release excess water.
Carbohydrate Manipulation
Glycogen stored in your muscles stores water. If we can deplete your glycogen stores, you pee out all the extra water, and lose weight (hint - this is also why you lose a lot of weight when you first move to a ketogenic diet.) Flip side - carbs also aid recovery, so if we're eating for performance, we want to keep our carb intake high.
- Carbohydrate Depletion: Reducing carbohydrate intake lowers glycogen stores in the muscles, which in turn reduces water retention. Eat normally until 3 days out, and then, 2 days out, switch to low-carb mode, aiming for < 10% of your normal carbohydrate intake, but maintaining calories. You also want to drop total food mass in this time (i.e. eat calorically dense foods, high in fat and protein), but this tends to be a natural consequence of dropping carbs so low.
Hyperthermia (Sweating)
We sweat a lot in hot environments. However, we sweat the most in hot, humid environments. Through the use of the sauna, a hot bath, a steam room, or whatever method you choose, you’re going to sweat enough to lose a massive amount of water weight. And then you’re not going to drink water afterwards because you have to weigh-in.
- Sauna or Hot Baths: Spending time in a sauna, steam room, or hot bath induces sweating, further accelerating water loss. The preferred method is to use a hot bath full of epsom salts, and cycle 20 minutes in the bath with 10 minutes out, fully drying yourself and reweighing yourself after every period out of the bath.
Other Techniques
- Diuretics: A diuretic is simply something that enhances the rate at which you urinate. As far as I’m concerned, the most potent natural diuretic that won’t harm your performance is caffeine. 200mg is an effective dose for this purpose. Additionally, if you’re at weigh-ins, and, god forbid, you’re overweight a bit, I’d recommend having some extremely sour candy on hand or a cinnamon product. Both will increase saliva production massively. From there, you can spit off the rest of the weight.
- Liquid Meals: Starting about 4-5 days out, make one of your meals liquid. This is very simple to do. You’re going to need a whey protein powder supplement and perhaps some milk for flavoring. That is all it takes. You can add additional carbohydrates through waxy maize, dextrose, or some other carbohydrate product if necessary.
- Laxatives: My go-to in this area has always been magnesium citrate as an oral solution. You’re going to want to take this after your last solid meal of the week before weigh-ins. This should be on the day where you have two liquid meals.
Rehydration Strategies
The most important part of a water cut / weight manipulation is the very last part - recomposition after the weigh in. Being dehydrated is stressful, bad for your health, and bad for your performance. After successfully making weight, the focus shifts to rehydration and replenishing lost electrolytes and glycogen stores. This is crucial for restoring performance and preventing health complications.
Fluid and Electrolyte Replacement
After coming off the scales, you need to regain as many of your lost fluids, electrolytes, and any lost glycogen as fast as possible. In order, you should consume an electrolyte/sugar concoction, some fast carbs (a few tablespoons of honey or maple syrup), and a moderate GI, low fibre carb (I like rice; wholemeal bread, potatoes or sweet potatoes, muesli etc are all good, but make sure to stick to foods you eat regularly).
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- Electrolyte Solutions: Consume electrolyte-rich drinks like Pedialyte, Hydralyte, or sports drinks to replace lost sodium, potassium, and other essential minerals. Mix a drink with 50% water and the 50% coming from either Gatorade, pedialyte or coconut water. Mix in ~10g of BCAAs or two scoops if you’ve been using Scivation Xtend. This will help you from overdosing the electrolytes by drinking 100% Gatorade and/or not replenishing them sufficiently by drinking all water.
- Gradual Rehydration: Avoid drinking excessive amounts of water too quickly, as this can lead to hyponatremia (low sodium levels in the blood). According to Dr. Berardi, the body can absorb only about 1 liter (2.2 pounds) of fluid - at maximum - in an hour. So he advises the fighters he works with to not to drink any more than that.
Carbohydrate Replenishment
Now’s also the time for fighters to load up on carbs and pull all the water they’re drinking back into their muscles. It also helps them feel more human and look less sickly.
- Fast-Digesting Carbohydrates: Consume easily digestible carbohydrates like white rice, potatoes, or fruit to replenish glycogen stores in the muscles.
- Balanced Meal: Dr. Berardi has his fighters eat a big meal directly after they weigh in. He doesn’t restrict calories - his athletes can eat as much as they want in that meal as long as it’s healthy food like lean meats, sweet potatoes, rice, and vegetables.
Rehydration Beverage
Drink 1 liter of water mixed with 1/2 scoop of carbohydrate/protein drink for every hour you’re awake.
Risks and Safety Considerations
The most important thing that you need to understand right now is that dehydration tactics are inherently unsafe. They often involve a combination of both high temperatures and extreme dehydration. You should never attempt any dehydration method while alone. You may pass out and die. Seriously. You’re quite literally purposefully dehydrating yourself to dangerous levels in order to lose water weight. That is what is going on here.
- Dehydration: Even minor dehydration has been shown to decrease performance in some athletes by up to 10%.
- Electrolyte Imbalance: Rapidly depleting electrolytes can cause muscle cramps, cardiac arrhythmias, and even death.
- Kidney Damage: Dehydration can put a strain on the kidneys and potentially lead to long-term damage.
- Muscle Loss: When you’re dehydrated, and under eating to make weight, you’re HIGHLY susceptible to muscle loss.
Alternatives to Water Cutting
- Gradual Weight Loss: Dieting down slowly over weeks or months, and then water cutting the last few percent. Ideally, you'd be reaching 103% of your weight class about four weeks out from your meet, so you can eat at maintenance (for recovery) for your final few weeks of training.
- Move Up a Weight Class: In the last article in the nutrition series, we discussed when to move up a weight class.