LUCAS COUNTY, Ohio Medical experts are weighing in on how restrictive dieting and drastic weight loss/gain can impact your body.
When the average person tries lose weight over a healthy, regulated period of time, the goal is to burn fat and build muscle, which then helps you slim down, which can't be done in 24 hours.
When someone who's already very active tries to lose weight over a short period of time through these extreme methods, they are only losing water weight. This causes their body to be dehydrated and can cause them to under-perform.
If you have to maintain a certain weight for a sport, doctors recommend the best way to do that is to treat your body the same during the off season.
"I think the safest thing is to stay close to your competing weight. Try and keep your off-season weight close to your in-season weight for your competing, just so you don't have to do drastic measures to lose weight in a short period of time," said Dr. Steve Wing, a Promedica Emergency Physician.
Cutting weight as an athlete can also lead to metabolism problems later in life.
"Weight cycling is linked to weight gain in the long run. Our metabolism tries to maintain a homeostasis and weight cycling is an attempt to change that homeostasis," said Amy Good, a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist.
There are health risks with both cutting and gaining weight quickly, especially when an athlete is young.
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Health experts weigh in on cutting weight for sports - WTOL
