When it comes to making weight for competition, the weeks and months leading up to an event are often far more important than the final few days. While acute weight cutting tends to receive the most attention, chronic weight loss is where the biggest opportunity lies to improve body composition while supporting training, recovery and performance.
For female athletes competing in weight-category sports, taking a gradual, well-planned approach to body composition allows weight goals to be achieved with less reliance on aggressive strategies closer to competition. It also provides the opportunity to support health, preserve lean muscle mass and maintain training quality throughout the preparation period.
Start with the right assessment
Every athlete's weight-making journey should begin with a comprehensive assessment. Rather than focusing solely on the number on the scales, it's important to understand what contributes to that body weight.
One of the most valuable tools for female athletes is a Dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) scan, which provides a detailed assessment of body composition, including fat mass, lean body mass and bone mineral density. This information helps determine whether body fat, lean mass or body water are the most appropriate targets for intervention and provides a reliable baseline to monitor progress throughout a weight-making phase.
Alongside body composition, measuring resting metabolic rate provides valuable information to guide energy intake and identify whether an athlete may already be experiencing low energy availability. Estimating daily energy expenditure from both training and normal daily activity also helps create an individualised nutrition plan.
For female athletes, menstrual cycle status, hormonal contraception use and any underlying health concerns should also be considered as part of the assessment process to ensure nutrition strategies are tailored to the individual.
Body composition over body weight
The goal of chronic weight loss isn't simply to become lighter, it is to optimise body composition. For many athletes, this means gradually reducing fat mass while preserving lean muscle, allowing them to maintain strength, power and training capacity. Research shows female fighters often have a body fat percentage of between 20 and 23 percent, however body fat percentage is highly variable, with some women performing at their best and showing no signs of low energy availability at a lower body fat percentage, while others need to maintain a higher body fat percentage to perform and feel their best. Seeking personalised advice is always recommended when pursuing body composition change.
A gradual rate of weight loss of around 0.5 to 1.0 kg per week is recommended, providing enough time for meaningful body composition changes while supporting consistent training and recovery.
Fuel your training while losing weight
One of the biggest misconceptions surrounding weight loss is that athletes need to drastically reduce food intake. In reality, chronic weight loss should still provide enough energy to support training and basic physiological function.
Current recommendations suggest that daily energy intake should, at a minimum, meet resting metabolic rate. This helps reduce the likelihood of prolonged low energy availability while still allowing gradual body composition changes over time.
Protein requirements are higher during this phase, with around 2.0 g/kg body mass recommended to support lean muscle retention. Carbohydrate intake is typically reduced compared with normal training but should still be periodised around training demands, ensuring athletes are appropriately fuelled for key sessions. Fat intake remains an important part of the diet and should not be eliminated, even when overall energy intake is reduced. Fibre intake and hydration should also continue to meet general recommendations throughout the preparation period.
Fuel for the work required
Rather than eating the same amount of carbohydrate every day, intake should reflect the demands of training. Higher carbohydrate availability can support more demanding sessions, while lower training days may require less. This periodised approach allows athletes to continue adapting to training while supporting gradual reductions in body fat over time.
Females may rely slightly more on fat oxidation during exercise than males. Combined with strategic meal timing and appropriately periodised nutrition, this may provide another useful consideration when targeting gradual reductions in body fat throughout a training cycle.
Supporting long-term health
Successful weight making isn't only about competition day, it also involves protecting long-term health. Female athletes are at increased risk of experiencing low energy availability during chronic weight loss, particularly if energy intake becomes too low or body fat is reduced excessively. Monitoring changes in body composition, resting metabolic rate and overall wellbeing throughout a weight-loss phase allows adjustments to be made before performance or health begin to decline. Regular assessment also helps identify early signs associated with Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S), reinforcing that body composition goals should always support, not come at the cost of, athletic performance.
Every athlete has a different pathway
No two athletes have the same body composition, training load or fight schedule, meaning there is no single approach to weight loss. Nutrition strategies should be individualised and based on ongoing assessment rather than fixed formulas.
Key takeaways
For female athletes, chronic weight loss provides the foundation for successful weight making. By focusing on gradual body composition changes, fuelling training appropriately and regularly monitoring health and performance, athletes can arrive at competition ready to perform. This not only reduces the need for more aggressive acute weight-cutting strategies but also helps support strength, recovery and long-term performance.
Next in the series: Acute Weight Cutting: The Hidden Risks for Female Athletes
By Laekin Rose, Accredited Practising Dietitian