On Saturday morning at my usual daily weigh in I recorded 97.3 kg. Bearing in mind that my scales weigh about 600-700 grams over I was sitting at 96.7 kg. A full 3-3.5kg off the target weight to compete at light heavyweight. Now there are ways and means of dropping that much weight quickly that of course are not sustainable. The big thing in my mind was that they essentially involve differing levels of dehydration. Given that doing so can impact on your physical performance and that I have no guarantee of enough time to rehydrate, this was quite a disheartening prospect looming on the horizon. That and the thought of missing weight and having to compete against guys in the heavyweight division who could be anything up to 10+ kg heavier than me. Not so appealing.
Bring on Sunday morning and although I had done 4-5 hours mat time on the Saturday, I had eaten accordingly and it had not been that physically taxing so much as mentally challenging in maintaining focus on Coach Richie's latest seminar at Synergy. So I figured that nothing much would change on the scales. How wrong I was.
Having been 97.3kg on my scales the day before, I registered 94.9kg on the Sunday...To say I was shocked is an understatement. I hadn't seen anything under 96.0kg before. What is even better is that this loss has been maintained and improved upon. As of this morning I was sitting at 94.1kg on my scales. The critical thinker in me puts it down to being strong and consistent in my diet and being owed that number after the last few weeks. The more spiritual side of me says that I've been looked after. Either way, I feel an enormous weight (pardon the pun) has been lifted and I am now free to focus on the other aspects of this weekend.
I visited my dietician this week. I made the appointment with the view that at this time, I will be the fittest and leanest that I may potentially ever be. Based on that, I wanted a measure of the fruits of my labours. Some advice on pre and post weigh in diets and what a maintenance plan in terms of my food might look like were also on the agenda. I was very, very pleased with all aspects of the visit and the outcomes.
I weighed in on the super duper proper scales at 93.6kg. That means a few things. I make weight for the competition and I am now living light heavy! Important to me also were my skinfolds measurements. Using the chart below as I have done before for context, last visit my total measurement was 59.8mm. This snuck me into the excellent range for male athletes. Yesterday's measurements totalled 43.8mm. This puts me right near the top of the same range. Gotta be happy with that right!
Yes I am very happy with the outcome. Let's unpack it a little further though. At the level of body fat that I have, for every kilo of weight that I lose that is fat, I should see 5mm drop from my skinfolds results. Anything less than that and there is some muscle loss to go with the fat. Assuming a 15mm loss of skinfolds in my case, the best result I could hope for in terms of muscle retention would have been to weigh in at around 97kg give or take. Given I was 3.5kg under that, it stands to reason that I also lost that amount in muscle. That is not unexpected as at my last visit, my dietician explained that to reach my goal weight would involve some muscle loss as I just didn't have enough body fat to lose to get there. I guess the system works. There is a little tolerance in there for human fudge factor in so much as the measurements are taken by a person, not a machine and there is some variability as a result. Having said that, my dietician does everything to maintain a level of consistency in the process, by marking out the different points with a tape measure based on different bone structures on my body. Bearing in mind that my bones don't change in scale or position (generally). As a yardstick, I am satisfied that it is a good measure of my progress. Ongoing, one of my challenges will be to put on a little muscle weight whilst maintaining similar body fat levels. But, that is another story.
You may remember from my first post - The Magic Number - that competing in some form of Mixed Martial Arts was the method to my madness in trying to get fit and healthy. Reaching a goal weight of 93kg was at the centre of it all. I dropped another couple of hundred grams this morning, putting me at 93.4kg as best as I can tell. I have reached my goal and as my first post suggests, I feel completely uplifted by it. What remains is to complete the MMA journey on Sunday. I have taken so much from the experiences along the way that, contrary to what I expected, I am not feeling a lot of pressure or placing expectations on myself. I have, with the help of so many people along the way, changed myself, grown and met my goals. I have dived deep into the well of what competing in a combat sport means to me and I know that I have already had the victory that matters most to me. That leaves me with a couple of things remaining to experience. I get to become the 'Man in the Arena', a topic on which I have written more than once and I get to measure myself with no strings attached. That is the gift which my opponent\s will give to me and I to them. To see how we stack up after having worked so hard. Better or worse than my opponent\s, win or lose, I will be measured. Nothing like direct feedback at the cold face! An exciting prospect in of itself.
The plan from here? Keep a close watch on my diet for the next few days. Execute my pre match day diet plan. Weigh in, victorious at that moment. From there, get on the mats and throw down, knowing that at that moment, I AM the best I can be!
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