Making Weight in Six Days: The 68 kg to 63 kg Plan
Gurdeep, aged 17 and in Class XII, plays kabaddi. He is 174 cm tall and 68 kg, and wants to compete in the 63 kg category at a district tournament whose weigh-in is six days away. He has heard that kabaddi players "sweat it out", so his plan is: no breakfast, no water after 4 p.m., a 5 km run at 1 p.m. in two sweaters and a plastic track suit, and salt tablets borrowed from a friend. He also has his pre-board examinations during these six days. He has already lost 1.2 kg in two days and felt dizzy while studying. Last year he lost 5 kg in a week before an event and put it all back on within a fortnight. His coach says, "Weigh-ins are just a formality; the strong boy will manage." The tournament has a doctor at the venue but no medical check before the weigh-in.
1. Assess Gurdeep's plan against safe weight-management principles. What is a sensible rate of loss for him?
Read the worked answer
His plan is a dehydration plan, not a weight-management plan. He has lost 1.2 kg in two days - about 0.9% of body mass per day. A sensible target for an adolescent is roughly 0.3–0.5 kg per week, achieved over four to six weeks, not six days. Anything faster is mostly water and glycogen, exactly what he regained within a fortnight last year.
Problems:
- Skipping breakfast and stopping water at 4 p.m. causes dehydration without fat loss.
- Running 5 km at 1 p.m. in two sweaters and a plastic suit in summer heat is a heat-stroke risk, not a training method.
- Salt tablets without enough water worsen dehydration.
- Dizziness while studying shows the deficit is already affecting his brain and will affect his exams.
- At 174 cm and 68 kg he is not overweight; forcing 63 kg is chasing a category, not health.
Best advice: compete in his natural category this time, and if he genuinely needs to move down, start four to six weeks out with a small daily energy deficit, adequate protein (about 1.2–1.6 g per kg), normal carbohydrate for training, and a supervised weekly weigh-in.
2. Explain physiologically why dehydration harms a kabaddi player specifically, and respond to the salt tablets and the sweat suit.
Read the worked answer
Kabaddi is repeated short maximal efforts - every raid is a sprint, a struggle and a held breath - with short recoveries, often in heat. Dehydration of 2% of body mass reduces blood volume, so the heart must beat faster to deliver the same oxygen; sweating and heat loss become less efficient; muscle cramps and early fatigue appear; and reaction time and decision-making worsen, which in kabaddi means mistimed raids and poor defence.
Salt tablets: they add sodium without the water needed to hold it, which can worsen stomach upset and dehydration. Sodium belongs in a drink (ORS or a sports drink) or in normal food, not as tablets swallowed between classes.
Sweat suit and plastic track suit: they block evaporation, so the body cannot cool. Core temperature rises faster than water is lost, and that combination can lead to heat exhaustion or heat stroke. A young runner in summer is the highest-risk case.
So the sequence matters: fluid and food first, gradual loss second, and never heat stress as a weight-loss tool.
3. Give a safe rehydration and recovery plan once the weigh-in is over, and one line you would say to the coach.
Read the worked answer
After weigh-in there are usually several hours before the first match - use them.
Rehydration: aim for about 1.25–1.5 litres for every kilogram lost, taken in small amounts over two to four hours, with electrolytes (ORS or a sports drink), not plain water alone. Check urine colour - pale straw is the target. Add a normal meal with carbohydrate (rice, roti, potato) and some protein (dal, curd, eggs), eaten two to three hours before play so it is digested.
Recovery between matches: 300–500 ml fluid, a banana or a light snack, shade, and legs up for ten minutes.
To the coach: "A player who weighed in dehydrated is a player who will cramp in the second half - the weigh-in is where the match is lost or won, so we plan it over weeks, not days."
Rationale: rapid rehydration restores plasma volume and cooling capacity before the first raid, and the coach's support is what makes a long-term, safe plan stick.