The Mental Health Effects of Cutting Weight as a Powerlifter

Content material warning: This story incorporates references to disordered consuming and excessive weight-loss methods, which can be upsetting or triggering for some readers.

At her very first powerlifting meet, Brittainy Chown had already seen a strain to “weigh in” as mild as doable in an effort to nab the highest spot. A former collegiate monitor athlete, Chown turned to powerlifting—a sport that entails lifting as a lot weight as doable for one single rep—to faucet into her latest appreciation for energy coaching whereas satisfying her must compete.

But it surely took her a couple of yr to lastly decide to a meet. Her years of operating five-plus hours a day had made her physique small and lean. It was arduous to shake the nagging feeling that she wanted to be “this tremendous skinny, skinny” athlete. “I used to be form of embarrassed about what my weight had gotten as much as within the yr that I had taken off from any form of train,” she says. “I personally felt like I wanted to drop some pounds to get into what I used to be contemplating a extra favorable weight class, so far as, like, what I needed to be often known as.”

Chown spent someplace between six and eight months attempting to drop some pounds earlier than her first meet, in the end dropping 20 kilos in that interval. For the subsequent 4 years, Chown mentioned she “pressured” herself to remain inside the 75-kilogram (165-pound) weight class. However by 2018, her lifts had been plateauing. She was struggling damage after damage, she recalled. In her ninth meet, the then-27-year-old had lifted a complete of 881.8 kilos throughout her bench press, squat, and deadlift—greater than 100 kilos lower than what she had lifted in a contest simply eight months prior.

Though lots of the powerlifters in her circle inspired her to embrace weight acquire—and, in flip, muscle and energy—and bump up a category, “in my mind, I used to be like, ‘Positive, I will get stronger, however I am additionally heavier, so it does not matter,’” she remembers. “As if it does not depend in the identical approach, which is silly, however in my mind, that is what made sense.”

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Chown’s not the one powerlifter who’s turn into fixated on the dimensions, both resulting from both inner or exterior voices. As much as 70 % of elite athletes competing in weight-class sports activities weight loss plan and have some sort of disordered consuming sample in an effort to scale back their weight earlier than a contest, based on 2012 research¹ in Sports Health. In a latest 2024 survey² of 16 aggressive American Olympic weightlifters, contributors seen competing with out chopping weight beforehand as “unimaginable.” And the athletes’ personal weight-class decisions had been pushed by the game’s condemnation of physique fats, based on the study authors.

For some athletes, competing at a decrease weight class may give them a aggressive edge—as long as they’re participating in healthful, sustainable practices with the help of a crew of pros (together with a registered dietitian, sports activities psychologist, coach, and healthcare supplier), based on the consultants interviewed for this story.

However for a lot of lifters, policing physique weight for the sake of a win can have critical psychological and bodily well being results. And, as Chown later found, escaping the confines of a weight class may be liberating.

Why physique weight issues in powerlifting

Powerlifting is promoted as a “you versus you” sport—you’re striving to be one of the best, strongest model of your self. That distinctive sort of competitors makes for a typically optimistic setting, with a supportive group that may cheer one another on no matter what number of plates are on the bar. And that’s what hooks many athletes, says Natalie Ribble, MS, CSCS, CFSC, an athlete, powerlifting coach, and the chief of workers at Seattle Strength & Performance.

What your physique seems like—its form and dimension—shouldn’t be a priority. In truth, athletes interviewed for a 2023 study³ within the Women in Sport and Physical Activity Journal all described the powerlifting group as body-positive, because of the emphasis on coaching to degree up bodily energy—not aesthetics. The game offers athletes a deeper appreciation for his or her our bodies and their capabilities, enhances mind-body connection, and improves self-compassion, based on the findings.

Nonetheless, for critical lifters seeking to win, physique weight does matter. The first powerlifting organizations divide opponents up right into a dozen or so weight courses. USA Powerlifting (USAPL), for instance, splits feminine athletes into 11 weight classes, spanning from 44 kilograms (97 kilos) to 100-plus kilograms (roughly 220 kilos and above). Top, physique composition (i.e., quantity of lean physique mass and physique fats), genetics, age, and different components can all affect your physique weight and, in flip, have an effect on which weight class you’ll “naturally” sit in. The scoring system, nonetheless, can depart lifters feeling pressured to lose physique weight or preserve a decrease weight.

Powerlifting is promoted as a “you versus you” sport—you’re striving to be one of the best, strongest model of your self.

Awards like “Greatest Lifter” of the complete intercourse class are decided by an athlete’s DOTS rating, which is actually your ratio of energy to physique weight, Ribble says. In concept, having the identical energy in a decrease weight class will make you extra aggressive, she says. For instance, somebody who lifts 200 kilos in a decrease weight class would have a better—and extra aggressive—DOTS rating than somebody who lifts the very same weight however is in the next weight class. (Throughout the weight class, nonetheless, DOTS typically does not matter for placement. Awards are given based mostly on who has the best whole weight lifted inside the class, based on Ribble.)

“We’re all fairly ingrained early on that in an effort to win the meet, it’s important to elevate probably the most weight on the lightest physique weight,” Chown says. “That is going to be what is going on to provide the highest rating. So there’s this strain to weigh in as mild as you possibly can, as a result of if you wish to win total, that is going to be one strategy to do it. Clearly lifting extra helps, but when it’s also possible to elevate extra at a lighter physique weight, then that ratio goes to go up.”

In powerlifting and different weight-category sports activities, that narrative usually encourages weight loss⁴. Ribble factors out that shedding pounds in an effort to compete in a specific weight class may be carried out in sustainable, non-restrictive methods. In a 2023 survey⁵ printed within the European Journal of Nutrition, lots of the powerlifters who reported long-term weight-reduction plan adopted an “If It Suits Your Macros” or “versatile” plan, each of which are supposed to be much less restrictive.

Think about Ribble herself. In 2022, she sat on the sting of the 90- and 100-kilogram courses and wasn’t inserting in addition to she needed within the greater class. As a powerlifting coach, she needed first-hand expertise with the weight-loss course of. For a whole yr, she progressively misplaced 24 kilos. She dropped to a lower class for her subsequent two meets and bought even stronger. Her totals went up, as did her DOTs. She clinched second and third place.

The harms of shrinking for aggressive edge

That mentioned, some athletes resort to excessive, short-term weight-loss strategies which are confirmed to be dangerous, Ribble says. In a small 2022 study⁶ within the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 83 % of the surveyed athletes reported “chopping weight,” doing so by proscribing fluid consumption, fasting or skipping meals, growing exercise, taking laxatives or diuretics, and utilizing the sauna. Weight-category athletes have been found² to attenuate vitality consumption.

The vast majority of lifters within the above 2022 research reported damaging modifications to their psychological state, experiencing fatigue, anger, emotions of isolation, and anxiousness. And these weight-making strategies have been proven to extend the chance of in-competition accidents, compromise bone well being, and hurt basal metabolic well being, per a 2024 review² printed in Performance Enhancement & Health. 

As a coach, Ribble usually sees this sequence of occasions: First-timers stroll into their meet at their baseline, “as-is” physique weight. After competing, they begin to surprise how they could place in the event that they did drop some pounds whereas sustaining their energy. Then, they attempt to minimize down a weight class for his or her second, third, and fourth meets.

However this course of tends to turn into irritating; perhaps they’re not as robust as they’d prefer to be or they’re struggling to keep up that decrease physique weight within the low season. “For those who attempt to minimize weight quick for a meet, then what is going on to occur is after that meet is over, in your low season, your weight goes to pop again up,” Ribble says. “Relying on when you might want to compete once more, then it’s important to undergo one other small minimize to get again right down to your weight class and one other after which again up once more. Every time you form of fluctuate up and down like that, it will get more durable to chop again to that weight class.” To not point out, in the event you’re placing on muscle (which theoretically comes with⁹ potential will increase in energy), you’ll usually weigh extra over time, she says.

It’s why Ribble doesn’t particularly advocate chopping to any of the athletes she works with. In the event that they ask for steerage on weight reduction, they’ve an in-depth dialog concerning the shopper’s “why,” their relationship with meals and their physique, and what a sensible, mentally and bodily supportive plan would possibly appear to be. Most of the time, although, she reminds those that their smallest physique just isn’t their strongest or healthiest physique. “I believe for me and for most individuals, except there is a nationals qualifier on the road or one thing like that, it’s not typically value it.”

“For the primary time in my life, I used to be consuming to handle my weight and never consuming to gas my coaching.” —Brittainy Chown, powerlifter

For Chown, sustaining her 75-kilogram weight class wasn’t simple—or wholesome. She remembers obsessively counting energy, overanalyzing all the pieces she was consuming, and battling an incessant cycle of proscribing and binging. “I believe mentally, that was actually tough,” she says. “I’ve all the time been an athlete. I’ve all the time eaten rather a lot and eaten to carry out, after which for the primary time in my life, I used to be consuming to handle my weight and never consuming to gas my coaching.”

These kinds of restrictive practices can’t solely result in under-fueling⁵ and bodily exhaustion, particularly given the depth of a sport like powerlifting. However they will additionally have an effect on your social and emotional connections, says Melissa Streno, PsyD, CMPC, a licensed scientific psychologist in Denver who focuses on physique picture, consuming issues, and disordered consuming, significantly amongst athletes.

Meals isn’t simply gas in your physique; it’s additionally a supply of pleasure and a strategy to join with others. And having to remain at a specific weight, keep away from sure forms of meals, or feeling like “I can’t get pleasure from XYZ meals” usually modifications your day-to-day routine and negatively impacts your social life, she explains. “I believe over time, that may get actually draining and actually disconnecting.”

In the meantime, one other damaging connection is fashioned: The quantity on the dimensions can turn into a lot greater than a easy reality. In her early days, Chown’s weight class was a tenant pole of her id. Chown, like many different athletes, put that quantity in her Instagram deal with, @brittchown75. It was immediately recognized within the powerlifting group that she was within the 75-kilogram weight class—and that’s what folks would count on of her, she says. She remembers considering, “If I had been to achieve weight and transfer up a category, what would everybody assume? When you’re connected to it and also you assume that is your weight class, you may do no matter you possibly can to carry on to it.”

This inner and exterior strain to suit into one weight “field” can occur in any weight-category sport, whether or not it’s powerlifting, bodybuilding, or wrestling, based on Streno. “You are feeling like you slot in. You are feeling like you could have a spot. You are feeling such as you belong,” she says. “If there’s alternative in having the ability to transfer away from that [weight] to one thing that may really be helpful in the long run—in your well being, in your efficiency, all of these issues—but it surely seems like this unknown territory…there’s hesitation to that.” Creating that distinction, nonetheless, can take away among the energy these numbers carry, she provides.

The liberty of devaluing physique weight

Following 4 years of restriction, poor efficiency, and damage, Chown hit a breaking level. Lastly, she started to let herself develop. It’s a mindset shift many elite powerlifters expertise, Ribble says.

“For those who had been to speak to anyone who’s been on this sport for a very very long time—tremendous mature lifters who’ve been competing for 10 years or extra—they’d say the identical factor: Your smallest weight class just isn’t all the time your best weight class,” Ribble says. “Perhaps typically it’s, but it surely will not all the time be that. And in an effort to proceed to develop into the game, you’ve bought to placed on muscle, which implies you’ve bought to placed on weight sooner or later.”

Streno places it this fashion: Simply because a pair of denims suit you in school doesn’t imply they have suit you for the remainder of your life. In powerlifting, you shouldn’t count on your self to sit down in a single weight class for each competitors, particularly if it’s doing extra hurt than good from a efficiency or well being standpoint.

For Chown, transitioning out of that decrease weight class wasn’t as simple as flipping a “reset” change behind her mind. She spent a yr engaged on consuming extra gas for her coaching, feeling snug seeing her physique weight go up, and breaking the behavior of—deliberately and subconsciously—proscribing herself when she did see these will increase. Whereas she apprehensive that after she noticed, say, 175 kilos on the dimensions, she would instantly hate her look, “that by no means occurred,” she says.

As an alternative, Chown says her energy elevated a ton when she hit the 181-pound weight class. “I noticed a lot progress going from these two courses, and I simply saved kicking myself, like, ‘Why did I wait 4 years to do that?’ It was horrible. I used to be so mad at myself.”

“It is such a superb feeling to not be so harassed over a weight class, and I can simply concentrate on the coaching.” —Brittainy Chown, powerlifter

In 2023, Chown has moved up yet one more weight class. Whereas within the 181-pound class, she discovered herself doing water cuts (dehydrating herself to the purpose she would drop 10 kilos of water weight alone) in an effort to make weight on meet days, a follow she now admits “bought actually unhealthy” and is harmful.

Now in her tenth yr of powerlifting, Chown usually competes within the 198-pound class. It’s a weight that her physique naturally sits at (usually known as a “set level”), no obsessive restrictions or weight loss plan micromanaging required. “It’s a weight that permits me to stay my life,” she says.

It’s additionally a weight that permits her to succeed in new private data and take house first place titles. In June, Chown nabbed the highest spot in her weight class at america Powerlifting Affiliation’s Tested National Championships in Nevada.

“I really feel the strongest I ever have,” says Chown. “It is such a superb feeling to not be so harassed over a weight class, and I can simply concentrate on the coaching. Who cares what the quantity is that I weigh in at, ? It is a part of the game, however I haven’t got to have any form of emotional ties to that quantity.”

Some folks might even see a efficiency enhance from dropping down a weight class, as long as there’s a help system making certain it is carried out in a wholesome method, Ribble says. However for many athletes, powerlifting isn’t a critical profession. It’s merely a interest sport that helps folks discover their energy and, in lots of instances, heal physique picture points, she provides. The fixed strain, id disaster, and danger of dangerous bodily and psychological well being results? That’s simply not well worth the trophy.

For those who or somebody is combating an consuming dysfunction, name the Nationwide Alliance for Consuming Issues Helpline at 1-866-662-1235 for quick help or go to allianceforeatingdisorders.com or anad.org/get-help for extra sources.