1. Unhealthy Weight Loss in High School
and Collegiate Wrestling
How can Wrestlers lose weight in a
healthy way?
By: Jacob Heaton

2. Story
Cutting weight is a common practice in the sport
of wrestling. In fact, wrestlers have been
shedding pounds to qualify for lower weight
classes since the NCAA made wrestling a sport in
1928. A lot of wrestlers go to drastic lengths to
lose weight such as:
• Dehydration
• Starvation
• Excessive Exercise

3. Frequently Asked Questions
• What weight should I Wrestle?
It Should be a mutual decision between coach
and wrestler.
• Is Cutting Weight dangerous?
It can become very dangerous if you do it the
wrong way.

4. Dehydrating
Dehydration occurs when more water and fluid is exiting the
body then are entering the body.
• Wrestlers will result to Dehydrating
themselves in order to shed those last few
pounds without knowing that it is a dangerous
weight loss practice
• These Dangerous weight loss practices
include riding an exercise bike in a rubber suit
while in a steam room, using Laxatives, drinking
nothing or very little, and Spitting.

5. Starvation
Starvation involves long or short term food restriction.
The body does not get enough calories or
nutrients to function properly. Weight is lost from all
compartments of the body including
water, fat, muscle and even bone.

6. Excessive Exercise
• Another way wrestlers cut weight is by excessive
exercise where they think that it is all in there
head that there tired or starving and there body
can still continue to lose the weight needed to get
to the next weight class.

7. Those Opposed
• Coaches: many coaches often tell there wrestlers
that by not making weight you let the team down.
• Parents: There are some parents who are so
competitive that they encourage there offspring’s
dangerous behavior.
• Teammates: wrestlers teammates will also
encourage there rapid weight loss without knowing
the dangers of the practice.

8. • If your willing to • As a wrestler I will
encourage an say you are better
athlete into a off wrestling up a
dangerous practice weight class and lift
which could be life weights, eat food to
threatening then build
you are ignorant muscle, Increase
and selfish. your energy, and
practice learning
new moves.

9. My Views
• I am a wrestler weighing 205 pounds
wrestling in a 220 pound weight class. I
do have the option to drop to the 195
pound weight class but choose not to
because I can eat what I want, lift as
much as I want, and have more energy to
practice harder and wrestle tougher.

10. Things To Think About
• What do Billy Saylor (19 years old) at
Campbell University in North
Carolina, Joseph LaRosa (22) at the University
of Wisconsin-La Crosse, and Jeff Reese (21) at
the University of Michigan all have in
common? They are all dead now. All three
boys were engaged in dehydrating practices
trying to lose weight in order to qualify for
their first college-wrestling matches.