Don’t Cut Weight

That’s it. That’s the post. Don’t do it.

While that is the gist of this article, I'm all about diving deeper into the why.

This topic is one that I am extremely passionate about- and one that I firmly believe this world needs more of. The fitness space is flooded with diet culture messaging, solely promoting thinness as the pinnacle of everything.

Powerlifting is the sport that advocates for a different path, to break past the norm in a transformative and empowering way. Yet the intense, deep-rooted devils of restriction run rampant in our brains, especially with the increasing female population of this community. These internalized messages can easily seep into our barbell athletics if unchecked. This mentality ultimately deprives individuals of the best possible experience and success they can achieve. Instead of focusing on strength and fueling our bodies- to grow and reach new milestones, a heavy emphasis on dieting and weight loss shifts our priorities to shrinkage. How can you expect to increase the number on the bar when all of your energy goes toward decreasing the number on the scale? The two goals often contradict one another, as much as our ambivalent brains would hate to accept that. If we truly want to pave a better path, escape the cyclical patterns holding us back, and revolutionize ourselves as strength athletes:

We must break away from the obsession with being smaller.

Otherwise, you’ll spin your wheels in both pursuits, never once reaching satisfaction or any sense of accomplishment.

1. Why do athletes cut weight?

Powerlifting is a weight-class-based sport- we all know that much. It attracts individuals who seek some sense of competition, desiring to reflect their capabilities and showcase their work ethics. These two facts (when combined with an intense athletic mindset) can breed increased weight fixation. Lifters will go into a calorie deficit for weeks to reach their weight class- and/or perform an intense dehydrative process known as a “water cut” to lose 5+ lbs the week before their meets. But why?

Athletes commonly state that they’ll be more “competitive” at a lower weight class, improving their strength levels. A 140-lb person deadlifting 300 lbs is a better “ratio” than a 160-lb person doing that, serving as motivation to cut. Gaining strength is hard- and if you simply lose weight, your current numbers will be deemed more "impressive." Many athletes believe they aren’t “strong enough” at their current ratios, so they must diet to be “good enough” to compete.

There are a lot of flaws in this logic:

-There’s no minimum strength level to compete,

-You often lose strength in the process of dieting, and,

-Your motivations are based on external validation, which defeats the purpose entirely.

Other athletes may cut weight to break a record they could achieve in a lower weight class. Some may want to qualify for Nationals: if the total in their current weight class is beyond reach. Others may want to win first place at a meet in their weight class.

Essentially, when the motivations for cutting weight are Powerlifting-related, it’s all around achieving an outcome in the pursuit of competitiveness.

I get it. We all want to be the best we possibly can be, to watch ourselves succeed & prove we're capable. It’s a gratifying feeling- and if we didn’t care, we wouldn’t participate in the sport. Yet, many newer athletes get trapped in this mindset early on, preventing them from celebrating their accomplishments, maximizing their strength potential, and enjoying the sport.

Cutting weight is only worth it if you’re going to break a World record, medal at Nationals, qualify for IPF Worlds, and have many meets of experience on your back- and the reality is, most of us aren’t there. Very few are. You must be honest with where you’re at:

-Do you have a lot of data on your body and how you perform on meet day?

-Do you have a history of disordered eating?

-Do you know how cutting impacts your strength?

The vast majority of athletes are better off fueling themselves, training hard, controlling their recovery variables, and gaining experience through meets for years before even considering a weight cut. You’ll almost always be disappointed with the outcome, sabotaging yourself, and failing to reach your goals.

Beyond the “competitive mindset,” many athletes use this argument as a facade for their actual reasoning-internalized weight loss messages. No need to shame anyone for feeling poorly in their body or wanting to restrict themselves: it’s built into our society, nearly impossible to escape. But, do some deep self-reflection as to where your intentions lie.

Are you trying to lose 10 lbs to medal at your next meet, or do you believe your current body is unattractive, uncomfortable, or not good enough?

A fixation with leanness is a separate issue to address- but don't mix it with your sport- it will sour your entire experience. Powerlifting can be a way to heal from your past struggles, but perpetuating them without addressing those layers beneath the surface will only further derail you.

So, unless you’re the next World-record holder (and not for a Deadlift-only, masters one), you haven’t earned the right to cut weight to “be more competitive.” Instead, you just need to get stronger.

2. Side effects of cutting weight

As slightly touched on above, cutting weight poses a lot of risks to you as an athlete. There’s a reason it’s discouraged in most cases. While there are many potential downsides, here are five main ones to consider:

A) Increased rates of disordered eating

Cutting requires you to restrict yourself- putting yourself in a calorie deficit or manipulating water/sodium/etc., if it’s a water cut. Many of us have spent our lives on this hamster wheel, constantly trying to be smaller. It’s well-documented in the research that this type of behavior & mindset surrounding food negatively impacts your mental health. For example, according to the National Eating Disorder Association*, “dieting is the most important predictor of a developing eating disorder,” indicating that restriction poses a risk. Disordered eating is even more common- a less extreme form of these negative effects from controlling food behavior, as documented in this longitudinal study,** which outlined its prevalence across many different demographics.

Especially for those with a competitive or obsessive mindset, an innocent attempt to lose weight can breed a downward spiral, where food controls your every thought. It's a miserable prison to exist in, where the preoccupation with food intake, calories burned, and the number on the scale consumes your existence, hindering you from the individual you truly want to become & the activities you enjoy. Especially for those with a history of dieting & struggling with food behavior, cutting weight for a competition can easily trigger that. If you don’t "make weight," you may view yourself as a failure, going to more extreme measures to achieve your goal. You may chase a lower and lower number on the scale, losing sight of your original objective.

Even if everything goes to plan, you may find yourself constantly thinking about food, unable to have a social life, and cutting out more and more food groups to achieve/maintain it. Maybe you’re an individual with zero disordered eating patterns and a *completely* healthy and logical mindset with food, but that’s a very small proportion of the population. Before you embark on that cut, examine where your relationship with food is at; and if all of those risks are truly worth it. If it costs you your sanity and enjoyment in life, avoid it.

B) Reduced performance

While many Powerlifters state their reason for cutting as improving their competitiveness- in practice, the opposite often becomes true. Theoretically, if one could lose weight and gain strength simultaneously, lifting ratios would improve. Yet, what many overlook is just *how* important proper fueling is for strength progress. A calorie deficit is an energy deficit- you are literally giving your body less food than it needs to sustain itself. If you’re trying to push your limits and achieve more than before, eating less will hinder your body’s ability to produce those goals. Especially- depending on your level as an athlete, and your body fat percentage, reductions in strength are extremely common when food intake decreases. An adequate supply of calories, carbs, proteins, and fat sets you up for success in your athletic aspirations. Depriving yourself of this also deprives you of your potential. Is it impossible to gain strength while losing weight? No, but it’s difficult- and training age, body weight, current calorie intake, dieting history, etc., play a role. So, when you’re cutting calories from your diet, you’re putting yourself at risk of decreasing your strength, defeating the entire purpose.

C) Decreased mental energy

Not only is adequate food intake essential for your body to perform, but it’s also necessary for your cognitive function. Calorie restriction also restricts the bandwidth of mental energy you can give to any activity in life. Focus and attentiveness go down: not to mention- your brain space surrounding food may increase, which will impact you in the gym. As humans, we divert our energy to multiple tasks on a given day. So when a deficit is created, some of that will have to go, and your lifting drive may decrease. Calorie restriction can lead to burnout, a loss of focus and presence, which is the opposite of what you need when prepping for a meet. Heavy lifts require your attention, demanding you to tune out everything else and think about your cues, channeling your energy in a given moment, and lack of food will make that way harder. You may struggle to psych yourself up, connect to your body, or grind through an attempt. In turn, you won’t be able to perform at your best, and your enjoyment will likely decrease, too. When the gym begins to feel like a chore, your intensity and sharpness take a hit, so trying to create progress feels far less motivating.

D) Negative body image

This is a similar sentiment as above, but cutting weight can also lead to body image issues. Whether you’re planning dieting just for meet day or maintaining it for the rest of your life, it changes your perception of yourself. The reality is our weight fluctuates naturally during different phases of life, and even though the focus of weight classes is not aesthetically based, it’ll probably become a focus. You may find yourself chasing an arbitrary, unattainable physique, picking apart your current appearance. When you get down to that lower number, you might prefer how you look there, wanting to keep it forever- even desiring more (because it’s rarely enough)- and forgetting all the sacrifices you made to achieve it. This desire for self-acceptance becomes a quest for lower and lower body fat percentages, a leaner and leaner physique, hoping one day that you'll reach satisfaction- but that day will never come. The reality is, Powerlifting bodies usually are not shredded and ripped, with abs and veins popping out effortlessly. There are exceptions to the rule- but for uterus-having athletes especially- it's often not sustainable. Maintaining that physique almost always requires extreme levels of restriction, which is not conducive to successful performance. Having some body fat, generally, helps you move more weight in the gym. When the focus becomes a lower weight, it’s a direct pipeline to chasing leanness- which leaves you feeling dissatisfied with your body & frustrated with an aesthetic you can’t attain. Instead, focusing on accepting & respecting your current state- and shifting your focus to your performance accomplishments- often helps improve your self-image.

E) Cutting opposes the true purpose of Powerlifting

The bottom line is that cutting diverts your energy from what’s truly important, from the most positive experience you can gain in this sport. Powerlifting can be:

• A radical endeavor into self-acceptance, adding confidence as you add weight to the bar,

• Pursuing a better version of yourself,

• An objective measure to reflect your capabilities.

Watching yourself get strong, chasing those milestones over time: is healing and empowering. No longer is the focus on running toward an arbitrary, externally-imposed metric. Instead, it’s about searching for ways to improve yourself as you are. The goal is not to change or mold you into a societal standard but rather; to cultivate meaningful accomplishments for yourself. Powerlifting is a space to define yourself and your aspirations in life- and ultimately, pave a path that connects you with the individual you want to become. In the gym, you overcome battles, breaking barriers imposed on yourself with every new number achieved, squandering your previous limits. It’s a space to channel every event and circumstance outside, finding ways to move forward through the chaos. In turn, you watch yourself transform, building character and improving your relationships & perspective in all aspects of life, specifically, the one with yourself.

Cutting weight contradicts this entire process. It easily becomes a way to feed into the restrictive and limiting mentalities of your past. It shifts the focus onto hyper-control and away from improvement & sustainable progress. It deprives you of the chance to pursue your growth and hinders you from your desired outcomes. It can become a form of self-sabotage: rather than supporting your strength, the choices you make with your nutrition provide an impossible obstacle to break past. And for many of us, it becomes an obsession, sucking away all the joy from lifting that made us fall in love with it.

Examine what Powerlifting means to you and the outcomes you truly desire from it. Powerlifting often breeds the most success when it’s not tied to weight loss. That decision can be uncomfortable for many, but that’s where we experience our greatest moments of growth. If you’re about breaking the norm and preventing the cycles of treachery, pick up the fork and put down the scale.

3. The alternative approach

So if cutting weight is removed from the Powerlifting equation: what’s the alternative? It’s a crazy question, I know. Restriction has become an instinct embedded so deep in many of us that it’s difficult to imagine a different path.

Instead of worrying about weight, you compete wherever you naturally sit for months and years. You let your weight do whatever it does- while focusing on the habits that support you.

• Rather than counting every calorie, you focus on eating enough, especially around your workouts, to support your performance.

• Instead of trying to cut carbs, you embrace their importance in your diet.

• You shift your focus from “taking away” to “adding:” more protein, more fruits/veggies, more balanced meals, and paying attention to the contents of your diet.

Abandoning cutting does not mean abandoning nutrition: it’s the opposite. You use food to fuel yourself: to support your aspirations, and in turn, you’re often more consistent. The motivations behind your behavior are meaningful now- you know what you put in your mouth will directly impact how your squats feel tomorrow, so you prioritize those decisions.

• You emphasize recovery, sleeping adequately, managing stress, and taking care of your brain- outside the gym.

• You bring your energy and effort to your training, and with the vast amount of mental space no longer consumed by food, you dedicate it to becoming the best athlete possible.

• You shift your focus to the habits that will help you; rather than feeding into your damaging patterns.

• You may gain weight, you may lose weight, you may remain relatively the same, or it may go up and down in the process-

But: your strength continues to progress, avoiding extreme plateaus, your goals become achievable, and you watch yourself reach new heights continually, using the platform to reflect it all. You start to heal from your past behaviors where food was the primary focus- and eventually, the desire to cut quiets completely.

Why would you subject yourself to deprivation when everything has been so successful?

If you maintain that mindset for the formative years of your Powerlifting journey, you’ll thank yourself forever. Maybe after you’ve been fueling for years, not focused on weight, cutting could be on the table- but always consider the pros vs. cons. For some, it may never be worth it. Of course, this is a case-by-case basis, and if your motivations for weight loss lie outside of Powerlifting (i.e., recommended for health reasons), that’s a different circumstance. But for the vast majority of Powerlifters, especially newer athletes & those with a history of disordered eating, don’t cut weight. You’re closing the door to the life-changing, profound impact this sport could leave on you.

References

*“The Dangers of Dieting & ‘Clean’ Eating.” National Eating Disorders Association, 26 Feb. 2018, www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/dangers-dieting-clean-eating.

**Neumark-Sztainer D, Wall M, Larson NI, Eisenberg ME, Loth K. Dieting and disordered eating behaviors from adolescence to young adulthood: findings from a 10-year longitudinal study. J Am Diet Assoc. 2011 Jul;111(7):1004-11. doi: 10.1016/j.jada.2011.04.012. PMID: 21703378; PMCID: PMC3140795.