Sailing Blog
Un-American to Diet on Thanksgiving? »
November 21, 2010
As we approach the most gluttonous day of the American calendar year, most true patriots will be priming their stomachs for a mass amount of Turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, cheesy mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, stuffing, gravy, yams, green-bean casserole, fresh baked rolls, gravy, pudding, apple pie, french silk pie, gravy, pumpkin pie and many more traditional family favorites, like gravy. For Melges 32 sailors preparing for the Gold Cup which begins one week after our nations hearty holiday, they are faced with a weigh-in that will require a more modest serving of the tasty treats our Pilgrim friends brought to Plymouth Rock. While there is a constant debate over the nature of weigh-ins, their effectiveness, and whether or not to do away with them, the only concern I have is that it might be highly Un-American to partake in a crash diet over Thanksgiving; is this anyway to pay respects to the people who invented the Cornucopia?
The 32 class rules are not going to change next week, which means I will have to reach my target of 185 lbs for the Gold Cup and deal with the guilt of upsetting the Pilgrims, but such is life, and duty calls. While every sailor has their own routines for losing weight, below is mine and if you need to make weight, or look snazzy for a class reunion, it might help:
-Start tapering 3 weeks before the event – No beer, cheeseburgers, fries, pizza or anything that goes together with 6 hrs of football on Sundays. Overall smaller portions and lower carb intake with much less bread, pasta and potatoes, and more fruit, veggies and water intake. Basically just eating healthier while dropping the portions down, but continuing to eat meals and small snacks. This is also in conjunction with a fitness schedule that shifts away from weights, to only cardio and core body. 4-5 times per week completing a 1.5 hr workout – 10 mile interval bike (stationary), 3 x circuit of crunches, side crunches, back raises, push-ups, lunges, 2.5 Mile Run (treadmill).
-2 Weeks Remaining- Continuing to taper meals with smaller portions, low carbs intake and cutting out the dessert which was meant to be cut the previous week. Continuing with work-outs.
-1 week Remaining- Taper meals. Having oatmeal as the highlight of your day has become depressing. Even though the meals are getting smaller, it is important to still eat something even though it is small to keep the metabolism going. Continuing with work outs…I can’t believe the Olsen twins do this all year.
-24 hours remaining – nothing by mouth. Don’t talk to me unless it is an emergency, or if the Vikings are going to win the Super Bowl.
-If the team does not make weigh-in…off to the sauna to get out every last drop.
Again, this type of tapering routine has worked for me when presented with a weigh-in, and it usually prevents having to make things really painful the last few days. I will be working hard for the upcoming weigh-in for the Gold Cup and will be doing my best to stay away form my Aunt Mary Lee’s cheesy poties, but being the holidays, and of course, for respect of the Pilgrims, I will most likely allow a sampling of what is on the table. Good luck to the other 32 sailors this Thanksgiving.
Comment by Matt R — November 22, 2010
I’ll eat what you don’t eat on Thursday.
Comment by Fritz Mueller — November 23, 2010
Having just read the commentary on making weight, I suspected it might be a joke. Admittedly, I am not and engineer or designer, but weight problems in the keel boat classes mentioned seemed a bizarre concept. They are hauling lead anyway. The truth is, I know it is serious business for most competitive sailors in in this day and age.
This apparent “paradox” for keel boats makes me wonder about dinghy classes like the Finn, or Snipe, which are beasts in terms of weight for their size, requiring more than 2 people to put it on top of a car, our haul them off a ramp at the end of the day’s sailing. Both these classes have evolved through design to favor significantly crew weight (light or heavy) to be competitive.
I wonder if decreasing the weight of some such boats might be the great equalizer in today’s climate, particularly if missing a shift or hitting powerboat chop doesn’t do the job. It does not blow all the time. Imagine a sub 190lb sailor in Finn with the right rig running away downwind in light to marginal planing conditions in a boat that could easily be constructed to be 50 lbs lighter. In a series of races, that factor might open things up for a broader range of sailors with different physical characteristics to arrive at the podium.
Clearly, dietary concerns to make a certain weight are becoming yet another problem with competitive sailing, for both crews and the race committees who have to enforce the rules as well. These concerns may well deserve an answer from the classes’ technical committees as to why the became that way over the years without having to be at one side of the physical spectrum……the Finn wasn’t always characterized as the “Men’s Heavyweight Dinghy”….just ask Peter Commette, Dave Buemi, Carl van Dyne (RIP), and all the others who have been hugely successful in the class.
The magic of sailing is the myriad of skills that need to be mastered, and I feel that unreasonably throwing personal weight and not technical optimization into the mix takes the sport awkwardly to a level seen in Boxing or Wrestling, where the emphasis is on size and not skills.
Comment by admin — November 23, 2010
Hi Fritz,
Thanks for the note. You raise a couple of good points here, and while I try to keep most of my commentary lighthearted, teams trying to weigh in at M24 and 32 events is very serious. As I mentioned in the blog, having a weight limit is not the problem, but how often to perform the checks is. If teams know there will only be 1 check at the beginning of the event, they will do whatever they can to bulk up in a boat like the Melges 32 since it becomes overpowered in anything over 12 kts. Sure, there are venues where a smaller team who weighs in close to the limit may perform better, but as soon as there is planing conditions (12-13 kts) the heavier teams will prevail.
How often to perform checks has been a debate over the past few years; either once at the begining of the event, or mid-event with a random annoucement as to who will be checked. The honest truth is I do not feel strongly either way since these weigh-ins over the past few years have helped me keep my girlish figure, but I do know that pulling off these crash diets are not only un-healthy, but for a large amount of sailors who are taking their own vacation time to be at these events, starving yourself and hitting the sauna is not a very fun way to spend your free time.
Thanks again for your comment.
Best,
Sam