Weight Plateau

[GoldenBrain]

Even though I don't drink regular milk anymore I have notice the price is just outrageous. It's more expensive than gasoline.

[Scott R. Brown]

That sounds delicious! I'll try this one tomorrow, minus the large glass of cow milk that is.

It is important to cook the raisins in with the oats because they absorb the water and puff up. They taste really good that way.

Oh yeah, in my younger days I would add shredded coconut at times as well!

[Scott R. Brown]

Even though I don't drink regular milk anymore I have notice the price is just outrageous. It's more expensive than gasoline.

Yeah, but I mostly live off the stuff, so I have to deal with it!

[IronFist]

Even though I don't drink regular milk anymore I have notice the price is just outrageous. It's more expensive than gasoline.

Shop at super WalMart, not the grocery chains.

Or maybe gas is just cheap where you live. It's $3.75+ in the Chicago suburbs and $4.25+ in the city.

[GoldenBrain]

Shop at super WalMart, not the grocery chains.

Or maybe gas is just cheap where you live. It's $3.75+ in the Chicago suburbs and $4.25+ in the city.

Ouch! Gas is a little cheaper here in Texas. I just filled up the tank a couple of days ago and it was $3.29 per gallon. We do shop at Walmart and I could be wrong but it seems that a gallon of milk was around $4.00. Regardless, both prices are to high. Inflation is a *****.

[JamesC]

Ouch! Gas is a little cheaper here in Texas. I just filled up the tank a couple of days ago and it was $3.29 per gallon. We do shop at Walmart and I could be wrong but it seems that a gallon of milk was around $4.00. Regardless, both prices are to high. Inflation is a *****.

I live in arkansas and work for Hiland. The price of milk is up mostly because of the draughts both of our states have had the last few years. Less grass growin means more money spent on hay.

We have a small Walmart express near my home that sells milk at a loss for the traffic it brings into the store. 2.00 a gallon. :P

[Raipizo]

I hardly ever drink milk, usually just with cereal and that's maybe about 6 oz. usually just drink water or tea. You're probably going to stay that weight, although you could still lose some weight just probably not as quickly. You've probably gained a lot of muscle weight and as you know muscle is heavier than fat.

[Shaolin]

I have been trying to drop a weight class for a while, but I am having no luck. I've been within a few pounds of 145 for about 9 months now.

When I first decided to get into fighting shape, I weighed about 165, I dropped to 145 like it was nothing and have been stuck their ever since. I'm 5'6" and most of the guys fighting at 145 go about 5'9" or 5'10" it seems like. I don't want to deal with the reach disadvantage and I'm trying to get to 135.

I'm working out about 4 hours a day, 5 days a week right now. On Saturday I do about 2 hours and I take Sunday off.

I've recently started replacing foods with lower calorie versions; i.e. changed 2% milk to 1%, white bread to a lower calorie wheat bread, replaced most of my snacks with fresh fruit...but I'm still stuck between 143 and 145. If I eat any less than I do now I'm always hungry.

Anyone got any advice on this? I really don't want to cut weight. I would like to be at my target weight or within 2 pounds. It's too stressful for me to worry about making weight when I want to focus on training. I feel like 135 isn't extreme at my height and body type, but my weight has barely moved in 9 months.

I'm assuming we are talking weight cut for an actual fight (boxing, kickboxing or MMA) not a tournament (jiu jitsu or karate)?

Weight cutting should be easy and stress free. I see so many guys following bad advises or just plain don't have the proper knowledge to make it successful.

If you're doing an 8-10 week training camp leading up to your fight, all your work is done in that 8-10 weeks. Meaning, with the amount of training you're currently getting, your metabolism should be very high by the time cut/fight week rolls around.

First, it is going to be very difficult to maintain high enough energy levels to properly train and recover from training with a low calorie diet during your fight camp. With your goals of competing at 135lbs you should be training at 155-165lbs.

Cut/fight week. Let's say you have a fight on a Saturday night, your training camp should end the previous Saturday. There is no benefit of full out training during fight week. You could end up tired/drained, even more nervous and end up psyching yourself out, or injured and have to pull out which would be a waste of all your hard work. Fight week is reserved for not only dieting down and cutting but more importantly recovering and relaxing.

Dieting down. Again, basing this off of an 8-10 week camp of 5-6 days per week at 4 hours per day with a fight on a Saturday night. Your diet starts Monday morning. For the entire week you can eat nothing but fresh fruits and vegetables, egg whites and lean, skinless chicken breasts. You can only drink water (we'll come back to this). This diet can get very rough very fast if you're not creative with the food options. Use as much seasoning as desired on your vegetables and chicken. Bake or grill the chicken. Brush them with a bit of olive oil.

Avoid/cut out:

• all dairy products
• yokes from the eggs
• condiments and toppings
• breads and grains
• as much sodium as possible
• all fats

Yes the diet can be very boring and bland, but the weight will easily melt off.

Water. your goal is to try to consume between 1 1/2 - 2 gallons of water per day. Your trying to do whats called super hydrating. Consume large amounts of water right to the point where the body feels it's taking in too much then when you actually cutting the water weight will come off easily.

You can supplement a low/no fat/carb high protein shake throughout the day as well in between meals.

By Thursday you'll notice most of your weight has come off in the form of body fat and now it's time to start the actual cut. Let's say you have a same day weigh in at 4pm on Saturday. You're going to do a 40hour water cut, meaning starting at 12am Thursday night/Friday morning you stop all water consumption. Your body will naturally expel the rest weight you need to come in on target.

It is okay to swallow your saliva. You don't need to spit, the water will go away, don't worry.

To help speed up the process a bit, go to a sauna, do 15 minute intervals on, 15 minutes toweling and cooling off for 2-3 sets on Friday.

Do not be stupid and jump on a treadmill in a sauna suit for and hour, you'll only risk injury and fatigue.

Starting Friday at 4pm you'll do a 24hour food cut, meaning you'r now consuming absolutely nothing until after weigh-ins.

Check your weight Saturday morning, you should be within 3-5lbs of making weight. You can do another session in the sauna but be careful to only do 2 sets tops this time or your risk fatigue or possible injury.

After you've weighed in consume a bottle of Pedialyte (or the eqaute brand). Keep it on ice cause it tastes like crap warm. Eat a little bit of carbs and protein. Avoid fatty or greasy foods cause you'll either want to vomit or crap yourself. Don't eat and drink until full, eat just enough to curb the pains (you can pig out after you win your fight). Stop eating and drinking at least 1 1/2 hrs before show time, not before your fight, before show time.

During cut/fight week it's good to warm up a little and stretch but remember you're supposed to be recovering and reserving your energy. Avoid sparring and classes, at this point your not going to master anything and get any better before your fight anyways. That work should've been done during the training camp.

Recover, recover, recover, that is your goal. Get as much sleep as possible during fight week. Take naps throughout the day.

This is a general run down of dieting/cutting, there is a ton more detail to get into.

[sanjuro_ronin]

I have been trying to drop a weight class for a while, but I am having no luck. I've been within a few pounds of 145 for about 9 months now.

When I first decided to get into fighting shape, I weighed about 165, I dropped to 145 like it was nothing and have been stuck their ever since. I'm 5'6" and most of the guys fighting at 145 go about 5'9" or 5'10" it seems like. I don't want to deal with the reach disadvantage and I'm trying to get to 135.

I'm working out about 4 hours a day, 5 days a week right now. On Saturday I do about 2 hours and I take Sunday off.

I've recently started replacing foods with lower calorie versions; i.e. changed 2% milk to 1%, white bread to a lower calorie wheat bread, replaced most of my snacks with fresh fruit...but I'm still stuck between 143 and 145. If I eat any less than I do now I'm always hungry.

Anyone got any advice on this? I really don't want to cut weight. I would like to be at my target weight or within 2 pounds. It's too stressful for me to worry about making weight when I want to focus on training. I feel like 135 isn't extreme at my height and body type, but my weight has barely moved in 9 months.

When I fought kyokushin, we didn't have weight limits so being light was not that great.
When I did boxing or any other weight category MA I fought at my natural weight that I maintained because of the type of training I had to do to be competitive.
I never tried to fight in lower weight classes because I always felt "weaker".
I went from 135 to 155 and was always 5'-6" and always tended to fight taller guys.
No biggie.
You fight your fight, they fight theirs and the best fighter at the time, wins.

[Kellen Bassette]

@ Shaolin....I've done a few MT fights...I've never really cut weight other than eating light a couple days ahead of time...I train at 145....I never did the running in suit or sauna thing before a fight because I was worried about being weak and tired. If I could drop 10 pounds over a week with a strict diet, I think that would be a lot better for me than trying to cut it all in 2 days or keeping a diet that makes me crazy for 3 months.

I just don't have much experience at all in cutting and I'm worried about doing it wrong and paying for it in the ring. I appreciate the advice. I know a lot of these guys have got the cutting down because they all look like they should weigh a lot more than they do.

@ Sanjuro...I've always been the smaller guy it seems like...I've sparred the bigger guys forever and I'm not afraid of it...just looking to start doing tournaments instead of single bouts. If all goes well and I have to do 3 fights in a day, I'd like to have as much advantage as I can, knowing the other guys are doing the same thing....

PS did you see that Kyokushin KO I posted in the MMA thread? That wasn't you doing that kick was it? :P

[Shaolin]

I walk at between 190-195 solid and cut to 170lbs. I drop down to around 178lbs and get down to about 3-5% body fat, then I only have to cut 8lbs of water. I've always felt energetic and strong in my fights.

[Kellen Bassette]

I walk at between 190-195 solid and cut to 170lbs. I drop down to around 178lbs and get down to about 3-5% body fat, then I only have to cut 8lbs of water. I've always felt energetic and strong in my fights.

It seems like you got a pretty good system for doing it...

So on your diet week are you still running the first few days of the week, doing light drills, or just totally taking the week off training?

[Shaolin]

I personally take the week off. I'll take walks and stretch a little but that's about it. As I stated before I put all my work in during the camp. Fight week is a recovery week for me, physically and mentally.

[SevenStar]

I noticed this hasn't been said yet - you may not be training intensely enough. This could be hindering you in two ways:

1. If you can train 5 hours multiple times per week, it can't be that intense. 1 to 1.5 hours and i'm spent on really intense days. Sometimes it doesn't take that long. Upping the intensity may rev your metabolism up a little more.

2. Training for longer than an hour at a time can have a negative impact in the body. The bosu views working out - particularly cardio - as stress. The body's reaction to stress is to produce Cortisol, which is like pac-man and you're muscles are the power pellets; Cortisol eats away muscle tissue.

How are your workouts currently structured?

[Kellen Bassette]

I noticed this hasn't been said yet - you may not be training intensely enough.

About 2 hours of that is intense training.

My current daily workout usually goes like this...

Go to the public gym, 30-45 minutes of weights, run 2 miles,

Then head to my fight gym, bags, thai pads, clinch, sparring and specific sanda/thai drills. This is usually pretty intense and takes about 2 hours.

Then in the evening I do a traditional class between 1 and 2 hours. Typically not so intense.