From: Deepsquatter > > I was waiting until after I had competed before posting on the training > aspect, which should be in a couple of weeks. > I am slightly over the weight class I want to compete in though so I could > use some advice now. > One of the locals was telling me that he gets himself into a state of > dehydration to make weight and then drinks a load of water after. > What legal means of doing this are there? Bob, just my opinion but if it's your first meet and you are sort of testing the waters just go in at whatever you weigh and feel good. If you are determined to lose the weight a few guys I know restrict their water intake for 48 hours before the weigh ins. Works better if you drink tons of water before and then stop abruptly. You will keep peeing and losing water weight. Then, after you weigh in start chugging gatorade/water etc to get your electrolytes/ water back in order. I think its kind of wierd. If you don't get your strength back before the squats you could be doomed. Me, I'd just lift heavy. > Also, how much cardio can I do before I start to lose strength, especially > in my legs as squats are my weakest lift? (years of knee rehab) The limited cardio I've been doing doesn't seem t affect my strength but just to be on the safe side I'd knock it off about 10 days out. > > So...if anyone has any suggestions for a 43 year old entering his first > contest... Just have fun and hit some PRs. Good Luck. > > Bob Mann > -- Jason W. Burnell - http://home.jps.net/cburnell/deepsquatter.htm Date: Sat, 7 Jun 1997 12:45:55 -0500 From: Bob Mann Subject: Re: STRENGTH Digest ------------------------------------------- At 21:47 06/06/97 -0700, Deepsquatter wrote: >Bob, just my opinion but if it's your first meet and you are sort of >testing the waters just go in at whatever you weigh and feel good. Normally that would be fine but the guy in the next weight class up is #2 in Canada. Fortunately he isn't in masters yet but he is a couple hundred pounds per lift ahead of me. He seems to think I should have no problem making 165lbs even if I'm 170 now. Of course, I can't find out which scale I'm using is most accurate. I've weighed in between 160 and 176. >Just have fun and hit some PRs. Good Luck. Thanks for the info. Bob Mann ---------------------------- Do not fall into the trap of worrying about another competitor in your weight class. Changing your weights and goals based upon what someone else will do is the wrong approach IMHO. If *your* goal is to lift in the 165's then I'ld say go ahead and try to drop the weight. Making weight is one of those decisions you have to make... depends on how close you are to the weight, how much time you have to work with, how easily you lose weight and how this weight loss will effect your lifts. For your first time out you'll be busy learning other things too. Darcy Date: Fri, 23 Apr 1999 22:48:14 -0600 From: Keith Hobman Subject: Re: need HELP making weight Suka wrote, >I have one day to lose 4-4.5pounds. I have a meet Sunday morning. I think I >am aware of most methods for shedding pounds, but I would like to know what >the easiest method is, and the least likely to affect strength or energy >levels negatively. > >What's the story with hot baths? > >Also..how about strategies for losing weight right before weigh in when >you're only a pound or two heavy? > >Is it true that you generally lose a few pounds just from >excitement/nervousness on meet day? I did the protein and coffee thing and lost 11 pounds in the 36 hours prior to a meet. Unfortunately this put me about 8 pounds under the limit and left me quite dehydrated. Still works pretty well. Eat nothing but protein and drink coffee. It will flush water. It seems all the quick weight loss methods involve losing water - getting dehydrated. Your natural nervousness also contributes to this. The extent to which it causes you to lose water dpends on how dehydrated you already are. Long, hot showers do the same. Dehydrate. Good for a few more pounds. Last, if you are just over I've heard wrestlers do a head stand for 2-3 minutes and then jump on the scale. I have no idea why this would cause you to weigh less on the scale, but have heard it vouched for by a lot of pretty responsible people. The key is to get on the scale right away apparently. In 30 seconds or so the weight is supposed to 'come back'. I realize this seems scientifically impossible, but ... Worth a try as a last resort. - - Keith Hobman Date: Sat, 24 Apr 1999 00:23:35 CDT From: Jason F Keen Subject: hot showers... Keith is right; any quick weight-loss idea is going to be aimed at water loss. If you have the time to use a sane water-loss method, go ahead. If you are at crunch time, I tried the hot showers Cozy talked about. I only needed to lose a couple, but I hopped in a steamy shower with one of those Wal-Mart plastic suits on and got out about every 10 minutes to jump rope for a few min. I ended up losing 7 pounds, which was way more than I needed to, but it worked... - --- Jason F Keen, NSCA-Certified Personal Trainer jkeen@iastate.edu Date: Sat, 24 Apr 1999 09:11:23 EDT From: Cs1erra@aol.com Subject: re: losing weight "Last, if you are just over I've heard wrestlers do a head stand for 2-3 minutes and then jump on the scale. I have no idea why this would cause you to weigh less on the scale, but have heard it vouched for by a lot of pretty responsible people. The key is to get on the scale right away apparently. In 30 seconds or so the weight is supposed to 'come back'. I realize this seems scientifically impossible, but ." This will only work if you are on a balancing type scale - those white doctor scales - not the big fish scales, or digitals. The reason it works is because any type of movement on the scale will case the scale balance to "break", thus you make weight. This is caused by the slight movement of the blood rushing back downward through your body. This is only a slight help though and is usually only reliable for only 1/16 to 1/8 of a pound. You can also try to raise your arms "slowly" as he releases the balance of the scale - - not before or after but during - and this will accomplish the same thing. If you get the timing right this can work for up to 1/4 pound. Lots of times putting all of your weight on your heels can change the balance of the scale and could take of a half pound or maybe nothing, depends on the scale. I wouldn't advise you to use the sauna or steamroom tecnique if you haven't been regulary going in one. It will severly drain you if you aren't used to it. Stay away from diuretic (water) pills, they are bad news and will make you compete like a wet noodle. This may work for bodybuilders, but when you need to compete athleticaly it won't work. I would suggest the best way is just to run it off, with plastic warmups if needed. I would get down to weight the night before and then maintain the weight until morning, (if it's a morning weigh-in). Generally you can lose about 3% of your bodyweight in water and still be able to rehydrate in time to perform well. Anything more than this and your performance will suffer, so you need to diet it off a couple weeks in advance. sorry about the long reply, I wanted to give some good information. I have been wrestling and coaching for 19 years and have a little experience with this. ------ Date: Sat, 24 Apr 1999 17:53:38 CST6CDT From: robert@Euler.Math.MsState.Edu Subject: Re: SCALES & WEIGHT Mcsiff@aol.com replies to Keith Hobman: > <<"Last, if you are just over I've heard wrestlers do a head stand for 2-3 > minutes and then jump on the scale. I have no idea why this would cause you > to weigh less on the scale, but have heard it vouched for by a lot of > pretty responsible people.>> > > ***Nothing like this will ever alter your mass. If you use an accurate > scientific scale or any other type of scale which has been certified accurate > by assayers for use in competition, you will always weigh the same, if you > stand deadstill. This is another one of those urban myths. Mel, there was a thread on GoHeavy about this last year. Initally I thought it was a bunch of malarky too, but several folks vouched for it. Then in June at the (Mississippi) State Games, there was a bencher who was just over the limit for the 220's. I suggested to him that he try the stand-on-the-head trick. I thought first of all , what could it hurt? Secondly, it should be funny to watch. The dude actually registered 1/4 lb lighter after standing on his head for a minute! It actually seems to make some difference. This effect is ephemeral and if the official makes the lifter stand still for more than a few seconds, it fades away and the scale returns to its previous reading. There were some theories last year on GoHeavy as to just what is going on, but none of them looked very convincing to me. - -Robert Robert C. Smith Starkville, MS Date: Sat, 24 Apr 1999 19:03:53 EDT From: Mcsiff@aol.com Subject: SCALES & WEIGHT ***As officials in sport, we were taught that the correct protocol for weighing boxers, wrestlers, lifters and other weight division sports was to have competitors do the following (this was part of our official examiners test): 1. Weigh in naked (so that hidden weights could not be concealed in clothing to place them in higher, less contested divisions), 2. Speak to you to see that they did not have lead weights in their mouths (never a major problem, because any athletes wishing to record greater bodymass simply drank a lot of water soon before the weigh-in). 3. Appear at specially appointed times in a separate weigh-in area where they were isolated for at least 5-10 minutes from being able to do anything to alter their weight 4. Stand still on the scale for at least 15 seconds and hold one's breath (to prevent sudden movements of the chest) until the athlete was in the correct central position and free from any acceleration which would alter the readings. The dubious effects of any such manoeuvre like standing on the head would be eliminated by the last two items above, so I have to express my persistent reservations about any such tricks ever affecting the weighing process. Dr Mel C Siff Denver, USA mcsiff@aol.com Date: Tue, 27 Apr 1999 06:51:34 -0500 From: "Steven Dana" Subject: need HELP making weight -Reply Suka, first if the meet has a weigh in the nite before..take advantage of it. Put some sweats on with a hood and sit in the sauna for 15-20 minutes...take a dump....urinate and weigh in. That should be 1-5 pounds easy. Then you can go eat and rehydrate for the next day without any strength loss. oh and one other thing...take mega doses of vitamin c...it will flush you out and help you lose water steve dana Date: Fri, 30 Jul 1999 19:24:36 -0700 (PDT) From: david cummerow Subject: Re: Strength_List: cutting weight\how much how soon - --- Steven Hill wrote: > I am in need of assistance as to how much weight can > be droped the day of > weigh in? Steven - on this issue, you might want to check in with those having more medical knowledge (Dr Siff?). Personally, I've observed wrestlers, boxers and others train at higher weight, then drop weight to compete. It seems as though some of these techniques have proven very dangerous to the athletes, and not necessarily conducive to the best performance. As a geezer,I have found lately that I much prefer to train at a weight well under my class limit, then allow myself to add a few extra lbs the week prior to the competition as I load up on extra creatine and a few extra carbs. It's also important to allow a little for discrepancies in scales and to weigh in at the time that you are the lightest and that allows you to eat freely afterwards. Just my opinion. Date: Fri, 30 Jul 1999 21:40:22 -0600 From: Keith Hobman Subject: Re: Strength_List: cutting weight\how much how soon I dropped from a weight of 221 to 208 in 28 hours. I ate nothing but protein, drank nothing but coffee and drank nothing for the last 12 hours. It gets the weight down, but a certain amount of strength also drops with it. In this case I didn't have a scale so I couldn't analyse where I was at. Otherwise I never would have dropped so much. The key is to eat only protein and drink coffee. Coffee and steak 3 times a day for a few days ain't so bad. For the contest next week I am currently only 2 pounds over the limit, so I feel at little better. - - Keith Hobman Date: Tue, 31 Aug 1999 08:39:04 -0700 From: Deepsquatter Subject: Re: Strength_List: Could I do it? Would it be worth it? "Landers,Garth" wrote: > > I weigh 250 today pretty solid but carrying about 20 extra lbs. I cannot run > to save my life- I am just too heavy. My last contest was at 242 I made > weight dropping from 260 in about 8 weeks it did clobber me in a way, > particularly in the bench but my squat went up and DL stayed about the same. > My next contest is on November 20 12 weeks away. Do you think it would be > possible/healthy and conducive to drop to 220. I look at it as a huge > challenge and that motivates me. I am 6 ft tall for what its worth. Is this > too much to ask? 30 lbs in 12 weeks, what kind of effect would that have on > my lifts? Garth, It is certainly possible. Healthy?..Hmmm...I really don't know but I doubt it. Would it affect your total...30 lbs in 12 weeks...Dropping 13 lbs or so in 4 weeks killed me. If I were you I'd try to get back to 242 and see if you can beat your lifts from last time.. Trust me, starving sucks. - -- Jason W. Burnell STRENGTH ONLINE: http://www.deepsquatter.com/strength/ ate: Mon, 20 Sep 1999 11:47:29 -0400 From: "Michael W. Brookman, Jr" Subject: Re: Strength_List: Misc. stuff.. Wade Hanna wrote: > >I have a little dilemna that I need some advice on. There is a good side and >a bad side...the good is that >I am gaining weight (good weight) and strength >like there is no tommorrow, actually I am averaging about 2lbs >a week!!!! I >have gained just about 20lbs in 2 months since returning to my Westside style >training. My >back is coming awesome and I have hit some major PR's, I pulled >a 600 DL conventional RAW last week with >barely breaking a sweat! I have >never even THOUGHT about pulling that heavy conventional (I pull sumo) >especially since I hurt my back. The dilemna comes from the fact I am now >over 275. Do I try to diet back >down or do I run with the weight gain >(strength gain too) and just lift 319/SHW? I still have 5.5 weeks to >my meet >and I don't know how much more weight I will gain. Depends, how much over 275? If its 5 or so lbs then just dehydrate a little before weigh in (like starting the night before around 6pm)and maybe take in a hot bath the morning of weigh in and you should be fine. If you don't make it then you still can do great at 319. > Now before anyone gets too excited, I weighted about 272 when I started my Physical therapy and dropped to >260 in the 8 weeks I was doing therapy. So ~12lbs was "muslce memory" but, I have gone beyond where I was in >a big way. I am afraid to take Creatine again because I usually gain about 8-9lbs once it loads in my >system!!!! I haven't had any for 3-4 monsths now. > If your strength is good, stay away from creatine for now and see if you can just maintain the weight with proper nutrition. Mike Brookman THE POWER PAGE: http://www.geocities.com/colosseum/9757/power.html Date: Mon, 20 Sep 1999 12:37:24 EDT From: "Jim Hinze" Subject: Re: Strength_List: Misc. stuff.. >>Wade, >>Do you know what BF% you are now? As I remember, you were pretty lean... > >Not entirely sure, but I was about ~12% (+/- don't remember exactly) the >last time I had it done and I am as lean, if not leaner now. Looking at my >middle comparatively, where I carry the bulk of it. ;-) >As it stands right now, only 5lb. But, like I said I am averaging ~2lbs a >weeks! I could hit 290 by the week prior to the meet IF (and that is a big >if) I stay on this pace. That's not too bad.. your carrying approx. 34lbs of fat, dropping 2% of that would be 6lbs which would put you 1lb under assuming no additional weight gain from this point out.... I'd bet that you'll taper off soon... If you can cut back a hair on calories while keeping protein relatively (translation, cut your carb supply to cut the calories, keep fat the same) stable (e.g. 4500/day to 4000/day) you'll probably begin to drop slightly and make the weight within 5 weeks. This is pretty much what Keith was saying (I think). > >That isn't even including Creatine, which I have been leary to take > >since I am gaining so much weight and will probably forego this time > >around anyway. I think creatine is out of the question if you WANT to stay in the 275lb class, however, it would seem that your ready to move up... especially now that your lifts are increasing as well. You're a force to reckon with now, I can't imagine you at 308... Hell, I'm just going to have to drop to 242 to stay out of the Hannah bro's way ;-) Jim From: Benchprssr@aol.com Subject: Re: Strength_List: Need to lose weight!!!!Help.... In a message dated 10/15/1999 4:58:12 AM Pacific Daylight Time, sew1001@bjc.org writes: > Everyone on this list has been great here is my current Dilemma. I have a > meet one month from tomorrow. My weight currently is right around 203. I > would like to compete in the 198lb masters/open bench press. What is the > best way to lose this weight. I feel very strong at this weight,( 203), but > my body is fighting me every inch of the way on this last 5 pounds. I know I > should be able to do this quickly, what are some techniques. Scott, I am 47 yrs and usually stay around 202/203 til I get ready for a meet. Here are my thoughts: 1. walk (treadmill avail?) 4 miles a day ( I do my walk 5-6am) 2. cut carbs for next two weeks and increase protein 3. write down everything you eat - it will keep you honest! 4. dont eat after 7 pm 5. if you take creatine - stop If after 2 weeks you arent making weight then I would resign myself to the fact that my body wants to be heavier to remain stronger. I would then enter in the 220 class and you will still have 2 more weeks to eat , eat, eat and be nice and strong as a 220 and will be a "light 220" but strong and confident. After all in case of ties you will win by body weight. Bruce Able te: Fri, 15 Oct 1999 17:15:45 +0200 From: "Niels Staerkjaer" Subject: Sv: Strength_List: Need to lose weight!!!!Help.... If you only need 5 lbs it should be possible. Just remember that restricting fluids and taking creatine may lead to cramping. (according to the rumours) When I needed to drop weight I just cut out carbs and went to fat food in small but frequent doses. 2 days before the meet start taking Caffeine and vitamin C - stop taking in fluids the afternoon before the meet. Take a long walk (45min.) the night before the meet - buy a big black plastic bag; cut it up so you can wear it and keep it on during the night. Wake up early and take a long shower alternating between hot and cold water. Go for another walk and check your weight. You will probably weight around 190 now!!! If not remember that 1 cup of spit is around 100-200g. Niels Date: Fri, 15 Oct 1999 10:58:19 -0500 (CDT) From: nccozine@webtv.net (Noble Cozine) Subject: Fwd: Strength_List: Need to lose weight!!!!Help.... Scott, The night before the meet take several hot showers.(20-30minets).Last year I was 4lb over the day I was going to weigh in. I ate very lightly that day ,restricted my water intake.I had a 4 hr drive.Lost 1 lb there.Arived at the hotel and went to the shower.After about 1/2 hr. I'd lost 1 1/2 lbs.I cooled off for abot another 1/2 hr. then took anoter 1/2 hr. shower.Lost anoter 1 1/2 lbs.Dried off and went to the weigh ins.MADE WEIGHT!!!! With a quart of gaderaid in hand I started putting fluids back in . Went across the street to Mc D's and pigged out. The next morning I had a big breakfast before lifting started. Just for fun I reweighed myself,I had gained the 4 lbs. back. Hope this helps. Cozy Date: Fri, 15 Oct 1999 09:07:06 -0700 From: "Vargas.Liborio" Subject: Strength_List: need to lose weight SCOTT: If you are that close to 198lb... I'd recommend you starting to drink1.5 gallons of water a day for the next 3 1/2 weeks... Then 2 days before the meet stop drinking water all together except maybe 4-8oz the day before the meet and the morning of the meet have none.... Over flowing the body with water makes your body keep flushing water out by hitting the rest room 2-3 times a nite and all through the day... when you stop... the body keeps flushing and by the second day... you can easily drop 5lb without losing any muscle or getting weak from carbing down..... Just my .02 Date: Wed, 29 Mar 2000 11:33:26 -0600 From: Joe_Littleton@Dell.com Subject: RE: Strength_List: Re: Losing weight standing on head I know that there are numerous people out there who believe that this is one of those deep dark secrets to making weight, and if it works for you, who am I to judge. But, as one who is now gravity and folliclely challenged and has competed in, coached, and refereed Wrestling, Martial Arts, Powerlifting, and Olympic Lifting since 1957, I know how difficult it is to drop that last pound. I have probably seen most of the "secrets" of making weight, (Diuretics, laxatives, spitting in a jar, sweat suits, plastic suits, rubber suits, starvation diets, thermogenic vitamins, weighing in wet, shaving your body, leaning left, leaning right, leaning back, leaning forward, exhaling, standing on your head, standing on one foot, having your buddy stick his toe under the scale platform, etc). Some of these I would not use on the day of a meet, match, or tournament, if for no other reason that the in-escapable loss of strength and/or endurance that will come with sudden weight loss. (Although possibly the argument could be made for added thrust in the squat and deadlift from the use of laxatives, or even increased pressure against the lifting belt, but wouldn't the cork and duct tape be painful?) I think that I would approach meet day with a good handle on my weight and concentrate more on my lifts than my weight. I can assure you that, when a scale has been calibrated, the person reading the scale has more influence on +/- 1/4 lbs in body weight than standing on your head. Joe Littleton, PE,MSE Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2000 14:35:00 -0600 (CST) From: Keith Hobman Subject: Re: Strength_List: weigh ins Yeah, it can be done. At 132 he should weigh no more than 137 normally, weighing in the morning after going to the bathroom and before eating. Any more than this and I suggest he move up to the 148 class. If there is no fat to lose the person is only going to lose from one of two sources. Muscle or water. Naturally nobody wants to lose muscle. So really your lifter is going to dehydrate in order to lose weight. Dehydration has dangers associated with it. Also it affects your strength. Dehydrated means you lose strength. So what a person wants to do is dehydrate as little as possible to make weight and then re-hydrate as quickly as possible after weigh-in. The lifting starts in two hours, so it is virtually impossible to completely re-hydrate if a lot of water has been lost. Combine this with the dangers and the strength loss and most people figure 5-8 lbs is the most you want to lose. Since he is a light lifter I would say 5 and to be honest that is pushing it. I try to be within 3 lbs of my weight the week of the competition, although I have lost as much as 14 lbs in 24 hours. Yes, it did affect my strength. 5 lbs is a tremendous amount for a 132 lb lifter. So if your guy weights more than 137 I would advise the 148 lb class or losing fat and muscle. The key to weight loss starts about a week prior to weigh-in. Start drinking copious amounts of water - as much as you can handle. At least a gallon a day. You want your body to get used to being hydrated and to expect to get water. Monitor your weight and start reducing carbs if necessary. If you are around 5 lbs over - no problems. Eat normally and drink lots of water. Two days prior to the competition start eliminating carbs from your diet. No heavy sources of carbs - eat nothing but protein and fresh veggies. Drink tons of water. 24 hours before weigh in eat only protein and drink coffee. No water, no veggies, nothing but protein (steak is great!) and coffee. Have a last meal at suppertime and then don't drink or eat anything. You'll be up pretty often taking a leak this night. Thats okay. Make sure you have lipsyl because your lips are going to get dry. I also make sure I have gum for the next morning. Weigh yourself as soon as you get up (after taking a leak of course). If you are under 132 already get a container for water and some sort of container to put rice or whatever you are going to use to carb up with. Weigh yourself holding the water and carbs, making sure you are still under 132, and then consume them. If you reverse the dehydration process prior to weigh in make sure you are under. If you are not under you'll have to resort to more drastic methods. For 1/4 lb or less - don't worry, you'll lose it. If it is 1/2 lb - drink or eat nothing and possibly you may have to spit out a 1/4 lb prior to weigh in. Think of having a long, hot shower. Really long. For a lb or more you may have to do the saran wrap and bike or run, sauna, etc. I've never had this problem, normally I'll start taking in water and carbs immediately the morning after the dehydration process. I drop 5 lbs overnight using this method quite easily. After weigh in - as much carbs and water as you can take without getting bloated. I prefer rice as my carb. For whatever reason it seems to absorb a tremendous amount of water and doesn't leave me bloated. Very high glycocen level. Normally by the time you start lifting you can expect to have back about 1/2 of whatever you lost. By deadlift time you are normally right back to your starting weight. Be careful. I did this for a meet once and didn't have a scale. I weighed 223 Friday am and Saturday at 10:30 I weighed 209 lbs. Needless to say I didn't have the best meet. Monitor your weight the day of the meet constantly. Date: Sat, 8 Apr 2000 22:19:59 EDT From: TSteve4220@aol.com Subject: Re: Strength_List: weigh ins First of all, how old is he and what does he weigh now. Losing too much weight can screw up your electrolyte balance and screw up your lifts. Dehydration is one way to lose weight quick if you only have a couple to lose. No water for 24 hours, spit, sweat. Don't eat either for about the same period of time. Immediately after weighins, start pumping the gatorade and carbs. This will add the weight back on. If however this is a young kid, I would not recommend it. It is hard on a growing body and can cause some bad problems. If this lifter has very little body fat, maybe it is time to go up a weight class. That is the natural progression. Weight training makes us bigger and heavier. Tom Stevenson Wheatfield, NY Date: Fri, 12 May 2000 11:25:06 -0600 (CST) From: Keith Hobman Subject: Re: Strength_List:Need to lose 4lbs in 8 hours. >My weigh in is at 6 to 8 pm tonight. I just weighed myself at 246 and I need >to be 242 1/2. The meet is tomorrow at 9am. Now what is the best way to shed >the 4 lbs and be able to put it back by morning. I figure if I sauna it off I >may be able to drink it back in a few hours. Also I don't want to be weak >from the water loss. Any good tricks out there and I don't want to stand on >my head. Sorry - you are way to late for common techniques. If you had even given us notice last night you could have done the steak and coffee thing. Now it is too late to flush water from the muscles using natural diuretics. So the only way I know is not to drink or eat anything, heat in the form of long, hot showers or sauna or hot tub and possibly the saran wrap run or bike ride. Yeah, you may have to jog it off wearing saran wrap. All of these may affect your strength level. Unfortunately that is the price you pay for poor weight management. The good news is if you have been drinking and eating normally you should be able to shed 4 pounds easily just by not eating and drinking and doing the heat thing. You'll put it back on quickly with minimal or no loss of strength. However if you have been dropping weight and need a last minute extra four pounds its going to be very tough indeed! You'll probably have to do the run or bike and will lose a moderate amount of strength. Good luck! Let us know how it goes. Date: Fri, 12 May 2000 14:42:34 EDT From: JLNew10@aol.com Subject: Re: Strength_List:Need to lose 4lbs in 8 hours. Sorry about the late notice but I have been eating normal and weighing in every morning at 242 on the nose. At my partners request I tried another scale we have at work instead of the gym's scale. Both are standard doctors beam scales and the one at work weighed 4lbs over. This resulted in my last minute panic. I've been drinking coffee and no food today and its slowly coming down. I'll sauna if necessary .