Hello girls, hope all is great. In this article I am going to give a guide about the female wrestlers diet during tournaments and matches. As a female wrestler managing your weight throughout a tournament and even offseason is a source of positivity.
While planning to wrestle with your opponent in the ring during the match, you are also trying to wrestle with your body weight throughout the week. This is in order to remain in your weight range or weight class.
This entails of a lot. The intensity of your training, the nutrients you take in for fueling and the season. So are you seeking to lose, gain or maintain your body weight in order to stay in your weight class?
This guide will give you tips for Girls wrestlers. The guide tells you what to eat, how and when to eat it in order to properly manage your weight and menstrual cycle during wrestling tournaments.
But first things first, you have to be verse with Good Foods for Wrestlers to Eat During Tournaments & Offseason. In the article, you will also learn about the six classes of food and their importance to wrestlers. So I recommend you read it first before continuing to follow this guide.
Diet Planning principles for Female Wrestlers
A diet plan is simply a bespoke to guide or drive your eating habits, training workouts and weight management lifestyle towards maximum health and performance. So what are the diet planning principles for women fighters? Read on to discover six important principles to incorporate your diet plan.
1. Maintain adequate levels of all energy nutrients, movement and rest for maximum health
2. Keep a balance of all food groups (classes) and consume them in their right proportions.
3. Eat the right number of calories to maintain a healthy weight. This depends on your metabolic activities and workout levels.
4. Focus on creating a high nutrient-dense diet not having high calories.
5. learn how to moderate the consumption of foods higher in fats and sugar
6. Explore a varied diet that contains all the nutrients required for a healthy wellbeing.
Best Diet for High School Female Wrestlers
It is not just the type of food you eat as a female fighter, but your relation with the food you eat and your body. Develop a healthy eating routine by including the following in your diet plan:
- Fruits and vegetables: These are super foods that contain nutrients, phytochemical, and fiber. Focus on eating these super foods.
- Home-cooked food: This will help you avoid foods high in sodium and refined fat. Fast food sellers add salt, sugar and fat to foods to give them good flavor. Avoid them if you really want to invest in your body.
- What to drink: Avoid drinking sweetened soda because it contains calories but with little or no other essential nutrients. For developing fighters, water and milk is the best. Make the drinking of water a habit. It will help your hydration habits. Water loss leads to reduction in strength, your reaction time and endurance.
Do not drink too much water at a time because the foods you eat also contains water.
- Lean Proteins: proteins support the growth and development of muscles consumes adequate amounts of proteins. The best source of proteins for muscular development come from fish, chicken, low-fat meat, beans and legumes.
Female wrestlers between 12 and 18 should get adequate amounts of calories and proteins from a normal diet. They should not focus on high-protein diets.
- Vitamins and supplements: Rely on vegetables and fruits for your source of vitamins. Vitamin supplements can be detrimental to the health when taken in large quantities.
- Calcium: Calcium is very important for the bone health of young girls and boys. Calcium is from milk and bones.
- Do not forget carbs. Your brain and muscles rely on carbs for their source of energy. Include low glycemic index carbohydrates in your diet.
As a young wrestler, unrefined cereal/bread/pasta should form your adequate source of energy. I believe a food pyramid found in Good Foods for Wrestlers to Eat During Tournaments & Offseason will help you understand why a balanced diet for wrestlers should comprise all the important classes of food.
The Importance of Breakfast
It is very important to always take a good breakfast before a wrestling match. Choose foods that are minimally processed and contain fiber. Fiber stabilizes your blood sugar levels and keeps your gut healthy.
Also include eggs in your breakfast. Catherine Joy (CJ) Perry, born March 24, 1985, is an American WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) superstar who has been eating 5 eggs for breakfast when preparing for a big match.
Tips on Weight Management for Female Wrestlers
You will not become less of a wrestler if you do not adopt extreme weight management practices. Your coach should tell you your appropriate weight class or range.
It takes more time for female fighters to adjust their weight, so female psychology should be included into your weight management strategies. In weight management for female fighters, not the following factors:
1. The Emotional Relationship between Food and the Body
This is very significant because some wrestlers measure their success based on weight loss or gain rather than on how they felt in practice. Eat a well-balanced diet for fueling and concentrate on wrestling rather making weight..
2. Female Wrestlers Bodies React Differently To Stress Compared To Male Bodies
A girl, for instance, can focus on making weight and in response to that her body instead holds weight. This will lead to further stress.
3. A Critical Component of Weight Making Is Sleep
As a female wrestler, you need 8 to 10 hours of sleep per day for your body to recover, adapt and manage hormones, which are also a key to weight management.
4. Over-training Is Detrimental To Weight Management
Over training will cause female wrestlers to struggle to lose body fat and recover muscle. Adequate recovery should be included in the female fighters’ training and fitness program. A 2 days recovery period is efficient.
5. Unexplained Weight Gain
Unexplained weight gains such as increase fat mass (adiposity) and increased fluid storage can be handled by considering the effects hormones. Birth control, stress and other health conditions affect hormones.
6. Female Wrestlers Are At More Risk of Heat Stress
Using hydration shifts in making weight, place the girls a greater performance disadvantage than the boys. Sweats out workouts are less effective in the girls. The female fighters need electrolyte for replenishing.
7. Girls Wrestling Against Boys
In this situation, the tendency is to cut weight in order to bridge the biological strength gap between the boys and girls. This often led to health problem. Boys should wrestle with boys or look for a match between boys and girls rather than engaging drastic making methods.
8. More Energy Going Into Weight Management
This is not good. Concentrate on wrestling than weight making. So gauge your effort in weight management.
The Dos and Don’ts for Female Wrestlers Diet
So let me summarize for you the weight management tips you can use.
What to Do:
- Start slowly and go gradually
- Always stay hydrated
- Eat frequently throughout the day
- Eat a healthy balanced diet
- Rest well and have plenty of sleep
- Eat fruits for snack instead of candy
- Concentrate more on wrestling rather than weight making
What not to do:
- Use excessive sweating methods
- Starve yourself
- Use laxatives or diuretics
- Eliminate carbs and proteins
Include the following foods in your diet:
- Fresh fruits
- Whole grain
- Low-fat dairy
- Lean meats
- Vegetables
- Nuts and seeds
- Fish
- Baked potatoes or sweet potatoes
- Peanut
- Eggs
Female wrestlers should limit the following foods during tournaments and wrestling season:
- Soda and energy drinks
- Fried foods
- Candy , pastries
- Full-fat chips and hot Cheetos
- Nachos and pizza
Menstruation and Female Wrestlers Diet
Girl wrestlers often find themselves wrestling with menstruation and weight? Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) symptoms like fatigue, mood swings, tender breasts, anxiousness, trouble sleeping, tummy pain and food cravings can influence the girl’s tournament negatively.
Growing evidence suggests that the female wrestlers diet can reduce PMS symptoms includes foods:
- rich in omega-3 fatty acids from fish
- low in animal fats
- low in salt and caffeine
- rich in calcium and vitamin D
Being overweight or underweight is another issue that can influence your menstrual cycle. Being underweight may lead to irregular menstrual cycles and amenorrhea sometimes.
If your body has low very percentage of fat, it will stop the production of estrogen and therefore no menstruation.
During puberty, over 50% of girls drop out of sports. This barrier is high and to reduce it, the coaching staff and athletes should be comfortable to talk about female health to the wrestlers, especially in menstruation
There is no difference in performance and capabilities of young girls and boys before puberty. The males surpass the female wrestlers after puberty because of increased testosterone levels.
Before wrapping up this amazing guide, I will recommend you to also read College Wrestling Diet during Tournaments and Offseasons and these related articles below.
Wrapping up
This information in this post is very good and applies to every wrestling season. Most parents always asked this question about wrestlers’ nutrition: what are some good foods my daughter can eat?
Female wrestlers diet is as important as her training and fitness programs. So always consult the best diet planning principles for female wrestlers in order to maintain your weight class, optimal health and physical endurance in the ring.
Weight Management for Female Wrestlers cannot separate from their diet. But concentrate wrestling more rather than on how to make weight.
Your menstrual cycle should not be a big hindrance to your wrestling programs, since you can eat the foods that reduce the PMS symptoms like tender breasts, anxiety, fatigue, mood swings and food cravings.
Frequently Asked Questions about Female Wrestlers Diet
How do female wrestlers cut weight?
Female wrestlers should lose weight gradually by combining diet and exercise. Do not wait for the last minute before weigh-in to drop weight. Have a weigh-in plan. A plan of what you will be doing. So losing weight adopt the following techniques:
- Use different hydration methods
- Restrict calorie intake
- Use over exercise
- Continue with gym training
But it is good to:
- Start gradually
- Be hydrated always
- Decrease fat intake
- Eat a healthy diet
- Sleep and rest well.
What should a wrestler eat for breakfast?
Eat a healthy balanced diet and eat breakfast daily. The excellent choices include
- Cereal
- Fruits
- Eggs
- Ham
- Yogurt
- Smoothies
- Peanuts
- Milk
Not taking breakfast is very detrimental to the wrestler’s health. It leads to muscle breakdown and fatigue.
How do female wrestlers deal with periods?
You might ask: can you wrestle in your period? Is wrestling during menstruation possible? The answer to all these worries is yes. Fighting during menstruation even has some benefits. For instance, hormone levels during menstruation make your body to be at its strongest.
During premenstrual period, to prevent PMS symptoms, eat foods that are:
- rich in omega-3 fatty acids from fish
- low in animal fats
- low in salt and caffeine
- rich in calcium and vitamin
During periods wear:
- Tampons with pant liners
- Pads
- Menstrual cups
- Period proof underwear
If you are bleeding heavily, wear extra underwear.
What to eat when you’re cutting weight for wrestling?
What foods are good for wrestlers cutting weight for wrestling? The best foods to eat when you want to lose weight are diets which are protein rich sources. Examples of protein sources include lean meats such as
- chicken breast,
- beef sirloin,
- pork tenderloin
- deli meats like roast beef, ham, and turkey
Do girl wrestlers wear a cup?
Yes, all wrestlers are recommended to wear compression shorts under their singlets when fighting. Female wrestlers have to wear an undergarment that covers their breasts completely. This is to reduce the risk of them being exposed during the fight.
Some girls wear shirts under their singlets during wrestling because some guys go to tournaments just to look at girls in singlets
What should wrestlers eat during a tournament?
Fueling with the right type of foods during tournaments is vital for wrestlers. Besides using electrolyte replacement and hydration after weigh-ins, take in foods rich in cards such as bagels, bananas, yogurt, graham crackers, pastries, and enough vegetables.
So What foods to avoid while cutting down weight? If you want to lose some pounds before weigh-in, it is good to avoid some foods.
While cutting down avoid sugary drinks, French fries and Potato Chip, White Bread, Pastries, Cookies and Cakes, Candy Bars, Ice Cream, too much Alcohol and Most Fruit Juices