4 pounds in 9 days - possible???

I am a fighter and need to make my weight division.  I am 160 fully hydrated.  I need to be 156 to make the cut.  They weight us in 24 hours and 1 hour before the fight so I can't sweat it off and expect to be hydrated again in time to feel good.

I eat about 2100 calories a day and have been training consistently.  This is well below the calorie intake I believe I should be at but I can't seem to lose the weight.  The break down of my diet is.  fat 20%, protein 40%, Carbs 40%.

Any suggestions on how to lose those last 4 pounds and quick.  The competition is in 9 days. 

You cannot lose 4 pounds in 9 days, realistically. The most you can lose safely is 2lbs a week. To lose more would potentially damage your body and have you less than fighting fit. Honestly, I think you ought to focus on training for the future if you are not going to make your ideal devision in the coming 9 days. Do not do anything stupid or drastic like starve yourself - though I am sure, as an athelete and sparrer, you could know better than this already.

Might I ask your height and age, and activity level?

no, you can.  four pounds in nine days isn't a good idea, but it's more than possible.

but you're not likely to make friends and get good advice by spamming the boards.  pick a forum.

5'10''  20 and extremely active

What about 2 pounds and shed the rest in water weight?

That might be possible. This said,

According to this calculator, a 5'10, 20 year old male at 160lbs has a BMI of 23 (given you are a sparrer I would presume that is largely muscle) and burns:

2420 calories sedentary
2880 calories lightly active
3350 calories moderately active
3910 calories very active.

To manage a loss of 2lbs per week, at very active, you would want to be eating 2910 calories. A deficit greater than 1000 is dangerous and can result in what is known as starvation mode - something that may explain why you are not seeing loss, as it is where the body clings to everything it can get - even if you are still eating 2000+ calories.

My bad.  I thought that each forum was a different community of people so I thought I could get more diverse answers by posting in the relevant topics. 

it takes more than a few days to go into starvation mode.

Really.  I would love to consume 3000 calories.  Should I still keep the same ratios of protein, carbs and fat or should I alter them. 

You'll probably have better responses in the Martial Arts group.  I realize that you're looking to drop water weight and not trying to starve yourself in order to make a weight cut at a particular time.  This is really manipulating your normal daily fluctuations to your advantage, not crash dieting (or I hope not).

On the forums we often get this type of question with people thinking that they're going to be able to lose fat by doing ridiculous diets.

Alright, do you mind if I post in the Martial Arts Group?

Also,  If I increase my calorie intake will but I increase my activity level will that put me in the same position of possibly being in starvation mode?

Pgeorgian: True. Forgot to mention that. Though the OP didn't detail how long they'd been eating 2100. D;

Shanelynch: At your activity level you should consume that much. Your ratios look okay but I think you should follow smwhipple's link to the Martial Arts group. Also, yes. Upping your activity even more would mean you'd have to consume more.

Original Post by shanelynch:

I am a fighter and need to make my weight division.  I am 160 fully hydrated.  I need to be 156 to make the cut.  They weight us in 24 hours and 1 hour before the fight so I can't sweat it off and expect to be hydrated again in time to feel good.

Sweating the last 4 pounds isn't a very big deal, College wrestlers weigh in a hour before matches and it isn't uncommon for people to cut 10+ pounds the last day.

Can I properly rehydrate in 60 minutes?  Is there anything you should drink to do that, for example is juice or poweraid better than water?

How should I cut the water weight? 

You probably can't lose 4 pounds of actual body weight (safely) in that amount of time, but since your body is made up of over 70 percent water, there's no reason why you can't drop some water weight before weigh-in.  Simply steer clear of salty foods for two to three days before being weighed (in addition to the plan you are already following).  Cutting too many calories isn't really a great solution because you will deprive your body of much needed energy to win your fight!  After being weighed, make sure to drink something with electrolytes (gatorade, powerade, etc) but drink it slowly so that your body has time to process it.  That way you have enough salt in your system to keep you hydrated during the fight.  Best of luck!

Why would they weigh you twice?  I have never heard of two weigh ins.

Anyways you can lose 4 pounds in 9 days.  Cut back on the carb's relplace with protein.  Take two pounds off during the week and sweat the last two off.

If you really want to know the magic drink.  Its pedialyte. You can get it at any drug store and it comes in 3 or 4 flavors.  Its kiddie gatorade. A quart cost like five bucks.  I can't say enough about that stuff.  It works for hangovers and also summer rugby tournaments.  Sometimes both of these things occur at the same time.

Godd luck man

I have to weigh in at crew races- so here are my tricks.

Drink a TON of water in the next couple of days. It will flush your system, and make sure you pee it all out before the weigh in.

No salty foods. Salt retains water. You don't want water.

If you are weighing in in the morning, chances are your weight will be less (for example, I weigh 137 in the afternoon, but I can weigh in for races at 135 in the morning with no problem).

Also, most scales aren't great. So if you lean back on your heels, you'll drop a pound or two instantly. However, make sure that you're controlled- if you lurch forward you'll GAIN a pound or two.

If you have a specific uniform for weigh in, don't wear underwear or anything else underneath it.

Good luck! I'm not sure if these little tricks will work for you, but they've worked for me!

4 pounds in 9 days is going to be kinda hard. I'd be careful if I was U, and don't do anything foolish, you just might hurt yourself. How long did you know about this weigh in and fight, or is this something that just popped up.

Original Post by shanelynch:

Can I properly rehydrate in 60 minutes?  Is there anything you should drink to do that, for example is juice or poweraid better than water?

How should I cut the water weight? 

What do you mean properly rehydrate? 4 lbs is about a half gallon of fluids, you won't be able to take in everthing that you lost, but you can get yourself reasonably close.

Drink gatorade or powerade mixed with pedialite (or if you can stomach it just drink strait pedialite) make sure your drinking room-temperature fluids for the first hour or so after weigh-ins, cold drinks can cause cramps.

You can cut the water weight any way you want, put on a sweatshirt and sweatpants and go to practice, or ride an exercise bike, or run on the dreadmill or sit in a sauna...