“They lose a few pounds, then starve themselves the last 24 hours to empty their stomach and bowels, and dehydrate themselves to an extreme point. They are regularly 15-20 lbs heavier the next day when they step into the ring, sometimes even more”
I remember the wrestlers in HS doing this. One guy was a state champion wrestler. He would not brush his teeth for 2-3 days before weigh in so a not to get a minsicule amount of water in his body.
I have no idea if it worked or not or just bs.
It works, especially for leaner people. Fat doesn’t dehydrate. I’ve watched overweight sailors try to get within standards to save their career, and for people with lots of fat and little muscle, it’s not as effective. Same as you get older, the body shuts down faster as you dehydrate.
For athletes, it’s pretty unhealthy to take it to the extreme. I’ve seen guys weighing in that looked like they were in Auschwitz, and had to be helped on and off the scale. I think a lot of wrestling programs have gone to same day weigh-ins to eliminate large weight cuts.