My Own Dance with the Scale: Trying a Hard Weight Cut
Alright, let’s talk about something intense I put myself through – a serious weight cut. You see these fighters, guys like Khabib, doing these insane cuts before fights, dropping crazy amounts of weight in just days. It always fascinated me, the discipline, the sheer willpower. So, partly out of curiosity, partly because I had a personal goal to hit a certain weight mark, I decided to try a structured, aggressive cut myself. Not quite Khabib level, obviously, but inspired by that kind of dedication.
First thing I did, weeks out, was clean up my diet. Seriously clean. No junk, no excuses. I started tracking everything I ate. Lots of lean protein, veggies, cutting down carbs significantly. It wasn’t fun, especially in the evenings. You start feeling that constant low-level hunger.
Then came the water manipulation part. This is where it gets weird. For a few days, I drank a ridiculous amount of water. Like, gallons. You feel bloated, constantly running to the bathroom. The idea is to trick your body into flushing out water and sodium efficiently. After those few days of loading up, I cut the water intake drastically. Almost down to nothing for the last day or two before my target ‘weigh-in’ day. This is when you really start feeling dry. Your mouth gets sticky, you feel lethargic.
The final push, the last 24-48 hours, that’s when the real grind started. It was all about sweating out the remaining water weight.
- Hot Baths: I spent time soaking in baths as hot as I could stand. You get out feeling drained.
- Sauna Sessions: Short bursts in the sauna. Couldn’t stay too long, felt too weak. Sweat just pours off you.
- Sweat Suit: Put on one of those plastic-like suits and did some very light movement, like slow biking or just walking around. It traps the heat and makes you sweat buckets.
Man, that was rough. Honestly, during those last hours, you feel awful. Just completely depleted. Thirsty doesn’t even begin to describe it. Your energy is zero, you feel dizzy sometimes. It becomes a mental game more than anything. You just have to keep telling yourself why you’re doing it and push through.
Finally, the moment of truth – stepping on the scale. When I saw I’d hit my target number, the relief was huge. Instantly felt like all that misery was worth it for a second.
But the job wasn’t done. Then came the rehydration and refueling. You can’t just gulp down water and eat a huge meal immediately. I had to slowly sip electrolyte drinks and water, gradually introduce easy-to-digest foods. That first proper drink of water after being so deprived? Unbelievably good. You feel your body slowly coming back to life.
Looking back, it was an intense experience. It showed me what the body can endure, but also how taxing it is. Doing that repeatedly like pro fighters? It’s brutal. It definitely gave me a whole new level of respect for the discipline they have, but it’s not something I’d recommend doing often or without a very clear purpose. It’s tough, really tough.
