Making weight – Kerstin Joandi

You made weight. Now can you still fight?

One of the workshops at the European Combat Sports Festival will be led by Kerstin Joandi: sports nutritionist (MSc, University of Copenhagen), the first Estonian to complete the International Olympic Committee's Diploma in Sports Nutrition, member of the international Sport and Exercise Nutrition Register, and nutrition specialist for Team Estonia athletes.

Most fighters lose the fight before the first bell – on the scale. A weight cut done wrong costs power, reaction speed, and concentration exactly when they matter most. This workshop covers the full nutrition cycle of a fight: how to plan a weight cut that doesn't wreck your performance, how to rehydrate and refuel after the weigh-in, and how to eat during camp so the cut is small in the first place.

During the workshop, you will learn:

• How much weight can realistically be cut, and where the line between a smart cut and a dangerous one is.
• Post-weigh-in nutrition – what to eat and drink in the hours before the fight to get your body back.
• How to structure fight camp nutrition so you arrive close to weight without starving.
• The most common weight-cut mistakes and the ones that put young athletes at real risk.

This workshop is designed for competing athletes, coaches, and parents of young fighters who want to use nutrition to make weight safely and step into the cage or ring at full strength.