6 Fat Loss Tips for Rowers Moving Down a Weight Class

In indoor rowing, there are two weight classes: lightweight and heavyweight. For competitions like the British Rowing Indoor Championships or the World Rowing Indoor Championships, lightweight is defined as 75kg or under for men and 61.5kg or under for women.

These thresholds can create a strategic opportunity: if you're close to the cutoff, moving down a class can make you more competitive. But make no mistake, dropping to lightweight should never come at the expense of your health or performance.

This guide is specifically for indoor rowers considering moving down a class safely and effectively. (Note: boat weight classes are even lighter, so if you're racing on water, be sure to check the event-specific requirements.)

Here’s how to approach a weight cut in a smart, sustainable way:

1. Go Slow

When it comes to cutting weight, slow and steady truly wins the race, particularly if you want to maintain power and performance. The closer you are to the lightweight limit, the less room you have to create a calorie deficit without risking muscle loss or fatigue. Start early and ask yourself: is this goal realistic in the time I have? If you’re over 67kg (women) or 81kg (men) and have fewer than 12 weeks until race day, you're better off approaching this as a longer-term project.

In general, it's not advisable to lose more than 10% of your bodyweight per cutting cycle. Anything more aggressive runs the risk of hormonal disruption, reduced training capacity, and a greater chance of regaining the weight. Because many rowers already sit at lower-than-average body fat percentages, their maintenance calories are lower too. That makes it harder (and potentially damaging) to diet too aggressively.

To calculate your ideal calorie intake:

• Use a BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) calculator.

• Adjust for activity level to estimate your maintenance calories.

• Subtract a deficit of 150–500 calories per day, depending on how long you have and how lean you already are. (A 500 kcal/day deficit leads to ~0.5kg/week fat loss.)

Pro tip: Lean athletes should avoid staying in a calorie deficit for more than 12 weeks. Instead, plan your fat loss in 6–12 week blocks, followed by at least 2 weeks at maintenance calories. These “diet breaks” give your metabolism, hormones, and mindset a chance to reset, without undoing your progress. A well-timed break isn’t a setback: it’s part of a smart plan. “Nutrition has seasons, just like everything else in life. It’s not realistic to think you’ll be in a weight loss or fat loss phase year round. It’s mentally not a positive thing, and your body needs a break.” — Brittany Werner, MS, RD

If you’re feeling worn down, constantly hungry, low in mood, or your training feels flat, your body might be asking for a break. I’ve seen this often in my clients: low energy, reduced motivation, and a noticeable dip in performance. When I recommend a maintenance week, the difference is usually clear within days: better sleep, stronger sessions, and a renewed sense of momentum heading into the next deficit block.

2. Start Early

Starting early gives you options. Many athletes find that the first few weeks of a cut are the easiest, when motivation is high and glycogen stores are still full, this allows you to be slightly more aggressive with your deficit (within reason).

By starting early, you give yourself time to:

• Course-correct if fat loss stalls

• Gradually increase calories closer to race day to support peak performance

• Avoid excessive depletion or last-minute dehydration strategies. The goal is to arrive at race day feeling fueled, sharp, and confident, not flat and underfed!

3. Track Your Calories

Calorie tracking isn’t for everyone, but for many athletes, it’s a helpful way to remove guesswork, by adding numbers and structure. If eating intuitively isn't providing the results you want, tracking can help.

If you choose to track:

• Use a tracking app like MyFitnessPal

• Log food in grams, rather than spoons or cups, for increased accuracy

• Look for verified entries (green ticks) when possible

• Avoid overly complicated recipes during cuts - simplicity makes tracking easier.

• Turn off step tracking or activity syncing - your daily movement should already be factored into your calorie target

One thing that’s made a big difference for me is planning my meals before I eat them. I map out my main meals first and then check what I’ve got left over for snacks - not the other way around! That way I know I’ve hit my protein and fibre targets and left room for flexibility without overshooting.

4. Balance is Key

One of the biggest mistakes athletes make when cutting weight is overly restricting certain macronutrients. Each macronutrient has a role:

• Carbohydrates are essential for energy, especially in a high-output sport like rowing. “Carbohydrates set the limit to how fast or far you can go as an athlete, not fat.” — John Hawley, Ph.D.

  They’re also the only macronutrient that provides fibre, which supports digestion and keeps food moving through your gut - essential for weighing in lighter!

• Fats support hormonal health, which is critical for performance, recovery, and sleep.

• Protein preserves lean mass and helps with satiety (feeling full). Maintaining muscle is crucial, not just for rowing power but to ensure that your weight loss comes from fat, not lean tissue.

Target intakes:

• Protein: 1.6–2.2g per kg bodyweight

• Fat: No lower than 0.8–1g per kg bodyweight

• Carbs: Fill in the rest of your calories, scaled to training load

In addition to macronutrient balance, be mindful of micronutrient intake. Diets that are too restrictive or repetitive can lead to deficiencies in:

• Iron

• Calcium

• Vitamin D

• B vitamins

• Magnesium, and more

To help safeguard against this:

• Aim for variety: eat the rainbow with your fruit, veg, and grains

• Include oily fish, legumes, nuts, and seeds when possible

• Consider a high-quality multivitamin

5. Eat High-Volume, Low-Calorie Foods

Satiety is one of the biggest predictors of diet adherence. Luckily, there's a secret weapon: high-volume, low-calorie foods. These foods provide bulk without excess calories, helping you feel full and satisfied.

Examples include:

• Leafy greens, carrots, broccoli, courgettes, bell peppers

• Berries, apples, melons, and citrus fruits

• Soups, stews, or stir-fries that increase food volume with water or broth

These foods help you feel full on fewer calories, and they’re usually water-rich, which supports hydration too.

Pro tip: If hunger’s a problem, start by drinking a large glass of water before each meal: it can help you feel fuller, faster. Next, load up on fruits and veggies. They take up space on your plate (and in your stomach) without costing many calories. Still feeling peckish? A low-calorie jelly or a Coke Zero can take the edge off without throwing you off track.

Got a sweet tooth? 100g of strawberries is only ~32 kcal, and some ice lollies come in under 50. Smart, strategic snacking can curb cravings without breaking your calorie budget.

6. Track Trends - Not Single Data Points

Weighing yourself can be a helpful tool, but only if you approach it with the right mindset. Daily fluctuations in weight are normal. Your body weight can change by 2-3% from one day to the next due to:

• Water retention (from salt or carbohydrate intake)

• Hormonal fluctuations

• Food still in the digestive tract

That’s why it's vital to:

• Weigh yourself daily, ideally first thing in the morning after using the toilet and before eating or drinking.

• Use the same scales, on the same surface, in the same state of dress.

• Record your 7-day average, and focus on that weekly trend.

Don’t panic if the scale doesn’t shift, especially if you’re female or have IBS, where these fluctuations can be even more pronounced. It’s not unusual for me to go five or six weigh-ins without any change during a cut. But I trust the process. I know I’m dialled in with my nutrition, I’m being honest about my activity, and I’m not skipping sessions.

Then all of a sudden I'll see the numbers shift! That lag can be frustrating, but it’s totally normal. Keep going!

(But, if progress flatlines for weeks and you’re showing signs of under-recovery, it might be time for a planned break.)

Pro tip: Aim to be slightly under your target weight to account for natural fluctuations and to give yourself a race-day buffer. Race-day weigh-ins may happen later than you're used to, and competition scales may differ from yours - build in that safety buffer!

Also, take note of any foods that make you heavier the following morning. High-sodium meals, for example, can cause temporary water retention. Avoid these for 24 hours before your competition.

Final Thoughts

It's important to always check the rules of your chosen competition. Most indoor events will allow you to race as a heavyweight if you miss the lightweight cutoff, but you often won’t be eligible for medals, even if you win. It's important to be honest with yourself about whether moving down a weight class is realistic in the time you have availble.

Start early. Eat smart. Prioritise recovery. And always remember: your goal is fat loss, not performance loss.

Let the weight class work for you, not against you.