Dehydrated, tired and hungry–this is how most wrestlers start their match day. No water for the last 24 hours and only rice cakes and oranges as fuel.

Wrestlers are known for cutting large amounts of weight quickly before their meet.. It’s not for cheating or vanity, but to fit into the lowest weight class they can. To evenly match opponents, wrestlers are put into separate weight classes, usually separated by seven-pound increments Wrestlers then compete against the other people in the same weight class.

Because of this, wrestlers will oftentimes try to lose weight right before a match to squeeze into a lower weight class. The motivation behind this to get a better physical and athletic advantage by competing against smaller and weaker opponents. However, this can lead to wrestlers feeling weak, drained and sluggish before competing.

Typically, wrestlers try to drop or gain seven to 15 pounds before matches to make weight, but this varies depending on the wrestler and their abilities.

Senior Cole Kenerley, a wrestler of five years, says procrastination can play a big factor in how dramatic you need to cut. “I tried to cut 10 pounds in two days because I was like ‘I’ll just cut it off [later]’…and I know a lot of guys that do the same thing, where they’re like ‘I’m going to go out and get a bunch of food, I’ll just cut it later.'”

But how do they cut all of this weight so fast? Sofia De La Jara, a senior wrestler at East Meck, says it’s a combination of extreme dieting, exercise and dehydration.

“A singular water bottle makes you gain one pound, [so] you can’t really drink water,” De La Jara said. “I’ll fill my mouth with water and then spit it out so it generates saliva… and then just swallow the last few droplets.”

Because water can easily fill the stomach without any calories, wrestlers will drink a lot prior to match day to consume fewer calories and help lose weight. However, when it comes within 24 hours of their match, they then try to lose as much water weight as possible. One of the ways to do this is by trying to lose the water weight by sweating it out.

“I had like four or five layers of pants on, three hoodies and two shirts, and then I would do ‘Just Dance’ for as long as I could,” De La Jara said.

Kenerley used a different strategy. “I [would make] a homemade sauna at a hotel, where I put the cloth under the door frame and turn on the shower and just get as hot as possible,” Kenerley said.

No matter the method, wrestlers go to the utmost extreme to cut weight before meets.

To lose weight this fast, withholding from consuming what your body naturally craves, takes a toll. It pushes limits, both physically and mentally.

“You have to have an inner reason to be doing all of it. Nobody does any of that, that often, without a purpose,” Kenerley said. “As long as you have a good community with your team, everybody supports each other; everybody goes through it [together].”

Even though it may seem like that the dieting that wrestlers today go through is extreme, the sport is progressing and aiming for healthier athletes– wrestlers were cutting 20-30 pounds to meet weight just a couple of decades ago.

Senior wrestler Finn Hoveland, along with Kenerley, believes the sport could advance much further and would get more participation without the pressure for cutting weight and weight classes.

“We want people to fall in love with the sport instead of hurting themselves to do so, which I wish Coach would emphasize more,” Hoveland said.

“I’ve personally been jealous of other sports [because] they can really optimize their performance and I feel like it allows them to grow and become athletes, and I think that with wrestling, the cutting weight aspect holds back the sport a lot,” Kenerley said.

As the sport continues to grow and develop, there is hope that some of the more extreme aspects of the meet prep, including the extreme dieting, dehydration and mental load, can be let go while maintaining the best parts of the sport.