Wrestlers on the EPR Wrestling team are cutting weight during the winter wrestling season to make weight for tournaments or matches by running and doing other activities. 

Cutting weight can be fun sometimes, but it is usually no fun at all. Wrestlers have to make weight during the season to get to their weight classes. People can physically cut weight, but it is all a mental game. You need to be mentally strong because of all the sacrifices you have to make. Sacrifices include not eating junk food, snacks, large meals, not eating during family parties, not eating on certain holidays, going to sleep early, not hanging with friends, etc. You also need to workout on your free time such as going for runs, practicing at different wrestling places, lifting weights and eating foods that you might hate. Wrestling is not like any other sport; it is probably the hardest sport out there with all of the things that go into it: the blood, sweat, tears, sacrifices, etc. This sport is not for everybody. It’s not for the weak. It’s for the strong. 

The following wrestlers on the EPR Wrestling team gave permission for me to share their responses to the following questions: What is your experience with cutting weight? How do you cut weight, and what are some healthy ways to do so? 

A freshman on the EPR wrestling team, Louden Mazzeo, cut weight for most of his life and believes wrestling is the “toughest sport” because of how much time and effort you have to put in, in order to be good at it. 

“I’ve done it all my life, it’s very hard when you barely have any body fat. I cut weight by eating healthy, wearing a lot of clothes during practices, working out a lot, limiting myself to eating certain amount of food each day and running several miles and sprints. Some healthy ways of losing weight are to eat a lot of fruit and vegetables, no snacks, some sort of chicken, eggs and a bunch of other healthy options like yogurt. You can also drink water and a bunch of healthy fruit and energy drinks. 

A sophomore on the wrestling team, Anthony Paino, has been losing weight since last year and claims it is “very hard” and does not recommend the wrestling way of cutting weight to people who actually want to lose weight because of how hard it is. 

“I started actually doing it my freshman year, but other than that I have never really cut weight but I took it seriously once I hit high school. To cut weight I try to eat a lot of greens and fruits and maintain a healthy diet with no snacks or carbs, a lot of running and wearing a lot of clothes during wrestling practice while the room is over 90 degrees. To lose weight healthy I would eat vegetables, fruits, but no bread/carbs. Also, to lose weight healthy you can’t eat more than 2-3 meals a day, you have to run a few miles and you need to drink healthy drinks.”

A former wrestler for the EPR wrestling team, Giovanni Ramaci, used to have to lose a good amount of weight to make the starting lineup but stopped wrestling because of how bad cutting weight was when doing the sport. 

“It was awful. The fact of being hungry and not being able to eat is awful. I did it for years and stopped doing it because of  how tough it was. I put on a lot of layers of clothes and went on the treadmill after practices and during practices I would wear a lot to lose weight while we wrestled and ran. Healthy ways to lose weight are that you could eat healthy, eat light foods, high protein, no fats or sugars, eat fruits and vegetables, rice, eggs, yogurt, and a lot of others.”

I don’t mind cutting weight. I like it a lot because it makes me feel good once I get to the weight I have to get to. It makes me feel strong, shredded and in great shape. I personally have cut weight since I was very young. There are times where I could not go out and hang out with my friends because I needed to go on a run, workout or even get an extra practice in. For other people, there’s times where you’ll want to stop wrestling but it’s part of the sport. Wrestling is not only a sport, it’s a test for life. If you can get past the years of wrestling, everything else in life will be easy. It disciplines you and matures you for the rest of the steps you will take in your life. 

To lose weight, I would eat foods such as yogurt, jello, italian ice, peanut butter, eggs, cereal, fruit, vegetables, chicken, nuts, fish and all other small portions of foods. You should drink milk, water, fruit juices (orange juice, V8 drinks, vitamin water, etc), gatorade, powerade and other healthy drinks that don’t gain a lot of weight and will give you energy. These are only some of the things I would eat and drink and I would recommend to anyone who is trying to lose weight to eat and drink these things at a healthy pace.  

Overall, wrestling is a tough sport. The whole Emerson Park Ridge wrestling team will have to do this for the rest of the winter season. They will cut weight from November to March by running, lifting and wrestling. They will sacrifice their time to make themselves good and to get to the weight they have to. Lastly, cutting weight will make you mentally and physically strong. So I hope you guys get to work and make yourselves better each and everyday, eat healthy, try to lose some weight, and get in great shape.