The emotional impact of losing weight for boxers

^{By Beka Romero}

 In the world of boxing, the first exacting rival to overcome, and as many refer to it as, “making weight,” has become one of the most crucial factors, in the lead up to a fight, and it a fact that this has a very significant and direct impact on a physical and emotional wellbeing. 

Boxers, who seldom “Make a meal” of hardships, constantly undergo changes in their eating plan when they are “overweight.” For example: they reduce the intake of carbohydrates  as an energy source, and also the amount of fluids to lose weight “quickly and easily,” although this process It is not adequate,  as considering that food is one of the most important sustaining building blocks for athletes, this has repercussions at a mental level with some of the following symptoms:

– Irritability or bad mood: By not supplying fluids and food to the body, the neurotransmitter dopamine and the neurotransmitter serotonin are considerably and significantly affected.

– Fatigue: When the body does not have enough energy to carry out daily activities, the mind also goes through a process in which mental abilities suffer an interruption, causing the athlete to not pay attention, and this increases as the boxer has to participate in public training or interviews.

– Problems concentrating or thinking about something other than weight: The constant anguish generated by “not making weight” brings with it a feeling of nervousness, tension, tremors and in many cases even feeling anxiety.

It can be concluded that if there is an eating plan with ample time plus balance,  and it is carried out with both care, attention as well as discipline, the mind will provide a state of well-being making the athlete concentrate not only on making weight comfortably, but also on enjoying the training sessions complying with the objectives to reach an optimum sports performance.