Skipping in a sauna while wearing a sweat-suit might sound like the tough-guy thing to do but the dehydration and damage done to your endurance, innards and mental condition far out-weigh the water loss. You will lose a certain amount of water-weight through dehydration in the short-term but you will also suffer from cramps, an irregular heartbeat and electrolyte disturbances. As the weigh-in is often on the morning of a fight, you are unlikely to rehydrate in time to fight at your best. Using a sweat suit on a regular basis to maintain a weight is pointless as all you lose is fluid and it has no effect at all on fat levels. You may feel like you are skipping faster due to the rise in body temperature but harder training on its own is more beneficial. Starvation for 2-3 days before while continuing to train will deplete your glycogen stores and lower performance on the day. It also affects mental faith in your power as your body reads hunger to equal weakness. If you are consistently using dangerous last-gasp measures, you should discuss a weight-category move with your trainer.

The first aim here is to set a realistic target – a loss of 2-3 kgs is possible where 8-10kgs (it has been tried ! ) will surely result in a own-goal before you even enter the ring. If you have the luxury of picking your fight date, then allow plenty of time for the weight-loss, a gradual loss of about 0.5kg/wk is sustainable. The second thing to do would be to carefully reduce your calorie intake by a maximum of 15% and never, never below your Resting Metabolic Rate! The third would be to aim to hold your fat intake at about 15-25% of your total calories, fats here referring to Essential Fatty Acids found in oily fish such as mackerel, fresh tuna or salmon , linseeds, pumpkin seeds and nuts. The fourth is to hold carbohydrate intake to 60% of your total intake. If you find yourself increasing your carb intake to combat fatigue, be careful as 1 kg of carbs will store 3 of water. You will need to allow for this in your calculations. Fifthly, make sure you minimise muscle loss by eating plenty of protein – the best balance for a fighters needs would be about 1.5g/kg of body weight/daily. And lastly, as you will be continuing to train hard during this period, be sure to eat frequent small meals during the day to keep your blood sugar topped up and maintain performance. Keep it natural and most important - "MUAYTHAI Against Drugs".