Sally Roberts on Making Weight

By Katie Downing

            Sally Roberts has competed everywhere from the 130 pound weight class to 149.  She chose not to cut weight, cut weight the wrong way, made weight the hardest way possible and finally figured out how to manage her weight the right way.  She had to change her lifestyle and the way she thought about making weight and training so that she could eventually change her body to wrestle at the best weight class for her. 

            For a while, Sally’s life was all about making weight.  Her training was more about making weight than it was about wrestling.  Her coaches told her that she had to do all of the right things to make weight and wrestle at her best.  She made the choice to do ‘all of the right things,’ but it took some time and a lot of work to figure out exactly what all of the right things were for her. 

            When Sally first decided to go down to a lower weight class, she figured she’d do all of the same things that she did to make weight at the higher weight class, only more extreme.  She thought she’d just work out more, eat less, and have longer workouts the day of weigh-ins, and struggle all the while.  She figured that by choosing the 130 pound weight class, she was choosing a hard life, and that it was just going to be hard all of the time.  When everything was a struggle, it was only so long before Sally began to wonder why anyone would choose to be miserable all of the time and to lose the joy in wrestling.  When she missed weight at world team trials, Sally felt like she had done everything she could, and had spent every day of a month in misery just to fail in the end.  That was when everything changed for her.  Her thinking changed, which meant that she was ready to change her lifestyle.  When she changed her outlook on making weight and training, she realized that maintaining a manageable weight didn’t have to be so hard or miserable all of the time. 

            Right after missing weight, Sally knew she had to convince her body once and for all that it would be at a new weight.  She began to run 3 miles every single morning for an entire month.  She began to log every single thing she ate so that she had to be completely honest with herself and with the times she had cheated on her diet in the past.  She knew that there could be no leniency in her diet at all.  She began to keep track of what she weighed every morning, and after the last practice of every day.  She set a limit for herself that she could never go above.  If she was above her limit after practice, she had to work out until she got back under her limit.  Sally knew that the evenings were the times when she was most likely to feel like she was hungry and wanted to snack, so she knew that she’d have to occupy herself.  She’d go work out, go for a long walk, or find something to do with a friend in the evening so that she didn’t fall into the trap of snacking when she wasn’t really hungry.

            It’s been more than a year since that first month of living a new more disciplined lifestyle.  Now Sally usually only has to run her 3 miles every other day, and only adds extra workouts at the end of the day when she needs it.  Now when she’s under her limit, she has a little room to stretch her strict diet for that day.  Sally knew that the mental game was one of the most important parts of maintaining her weight, so she chose to work out according to how she felt.  Her workouts didn’t have to come when she already felt worn out.  She didn’t have to just suck it up and struggle through not feeling like it.  When she knew she needed an extra workout, she gave herself options.  If she felt really good at the end of a workout, she’d stay to workout extra.  If she felt worn out or mentally drained, she would go away, rest, recover, and come back later. 

            Sally studied a lot of nutritional information so that she’d know what she was looking at when she saw labels on the back of food items.  Sally did the research, and now you all get to reap the benefits.  Sally likes to keep her diet really simple so that she doesn’t have to think about it all that much.  She keeps her menu short so that her daily diet routines are as simple as possible.  She eats about every four hours during the day.  Sally eats mostly carbs in the morning because they provide quick energy, but they also break down slowly during the rest of the day.  Some examples of good carbs are whole wheat bread, oatmeal, and fruits and vegetables.  The meals in the middle of the day include carbs, protein, fruits, and vegetables.  Sally eats protein after her workouts because it helps in muscle recovery and building.  Some good proteins are chicken, fish, tofu, nuts, and dairy like yogurt.  For Sally, vegetables are a free for all.  She can have as many vegetables as she wants during they day because they don’t have too many calories, and they provide lots of vitamins and minerals.  Sally says that it’s good to have a lot of fruits, but not as much as vegetables because fruits have shorter lasting sugar energy. 

            Sally stressed the fact that she doesn’t change her diet much as she gets closer to weigh-ins.  She keeps the same amount of food going in, and adds workouts.  When weigh-ins get really close, she may taper her portions a little bit, and adds even more water intake during the day.  Keeping hydrated is really important for Sally’s wait control.  She has to be able to get quality workouts in to maintain her weight, and she has trained her body to allow itself to loose water weight easily because it gets plenty of water throughout the day.  The night before weigh-ins is as important as the day of weigh-ins for Sally.  She knows that most of her energy for the next day comes from the meal she eats for dinner the night before.  She finds the best foods to pack in calories without adding much weight.  One of her favorites is a tortilla with peanut butter and a banana wrapped in it.  The day of weigh-ins, Sally eats some carbs in the morning so that she can have plenty of energy to workout and get her final weight down. 

            After weigh-ins, Sally tries to get a lot of calories back from liquids, and makes sure to get some drinks with electrolytes.  She knows that her stomach will be small right after weigh-ins, so she gives herself a few hours after her drinks before she eats.  Then she makes sure to get the food with the most useful calories.  Even after the tournament, Sally makes sure to stay under her weight cap.  She tries to get away from wrestling, workout rooms, or any kind of training for a day, and she’ll let herself relax her diet with whatever she wants to eat as long as she stays under her limit.  Then she has to get right back to the routine.  She says it helps her to associate good eating habits with training and practices.  That way she doesn’t look at practices or workouts as punishment for what she eats.  Sally says that keeping to a strict regimen and making weight became powerful tools for her mental game in wrestling.  When she steps off of the scale, Sally gets a little victory before she even steps onto the mat.  She knows she did ‘all of the right things’ when she makes weight and feels strong the next day.