Fighter Diets

[widge milward]

Any fighter,

what is your diet like overall? what sort of food do you eat? what is your diet like for say a week? do you allow 'junk days' or 'cheat meals' etc...

any info would be great :D

[marc goddard]

Hi Widge, i think that i am entitled to answer this one currently ! so may as well start the ball rolling.

At new year [ dec 07 ] i was walking around at 116kg.....New York, Christmas and time off for broken nose does that to you.....:p

Originaly scheduled to fight Sinead "Lovstadt" O'connor in March and all was going well, then fucked my knee up, felt sorry for myself and ate for attenti...er i mean comfort :D

Then fight for Cage Rage was signed so it was all back to work, Currently and for many weeks i have been eating clean and sensible, something like the following.

Meal 1 ; The biggest meal of the day by far. Sachet of [ plain ] porridge oats , scoop [ or two ] of whey [ v low carb ] and skimmed milk, banana, two small dry pancakes OR some wholewheat toast and my coffee, cant survive without my coffee

Meal 2 ; Snack on fruit and wholegrain snack [ carb source ]

Meal 3 ; Lean Protein Source [ tuna, turkey, salmon etc ] and Carb Source [ rice, wholemeal bread etc ]

Meal 4 ; snack on fruit , nuts.

Meal 5 ;*** BEFORE PM *** Lean Protein Source [ tuna, turkey, salmon etc ] Steamed veg. sometimes take on carbs depending on how i feel or what's to come training wise.

Meal 6 ; snack on some fruit, or something sweet like sorbet.

Before bed i have my green tea and my aminos. punctuated with around 3-4 litres water a day. my weakness is fizzy pop, i know but i am a big kid, its always sugar free though.

Cheating is essential for two reasons, firstly to stop you going round the bend with boredom and cravings and secondly to shock the body into not knowing whats coming next, if i want a choc bar i have it, same for crisps or bit of chinese etc but even then its a more sensible choice and liberal helping....sometimes :o

the result currently is that i am waking up and walking around at 100kg, all the way from 116 !!! this is from eating sensible and hard training no extreme measures at all just scrafices. i have two weeks before my fight and i am well ahead of target weight, i could cut from more than 100 but i am not going to i will just carry on and probably be cutting from 97-98 max.

i am fitter faster than i have ever been and feel fantastic [ as well as look it ;) ]

hope that gives an insight.

[Godders]

Great post Marc!
What sort of portion size do you go for?

[steve_langford]

Hi Widge, i think that i am entitled to answer this one currently ! so may as well start the ball rolling.

At new year [ dec 07 ] i was walking around at 116kg.....New York, Christmas and time off for broken nose does that to you

Originaly scheduled to fight Sinead "Lovstadt" O'connor in March and all was going well, then fucked my knee up, felt sorry for myself and ate for attenti...er i mean comfort

Then fight for Cage Rage was signed so it was all back to work, Currently and for many weeks i have been eating clean and sensible, something like the following.

Meal 1 ; The biggest meal of the day by far. Sachet of [ plain ] porridge oats , scoop [ or two ] of whey [ v low carb ] and skimmed milk, banana, two small dry pancakes OR some wholewheat toast and my coffee, cant survive without my coffee

Meal 2 ; Snack on fruit and wholegrain snack [ carb source ]

Meal 3 ; Lean Protein Source [ tuna, turkey, salmon etc ] and Carb Source [ rice, wholemeal bread etc ]

Meal 4 ; snack on fruit , nuts.

Meal 5 ;*** BEFORE PM *** Lean Protein Source [ tuna, turkey, salmon etc ] Steamed veg. sometimes take on carbs depending on how i feel or what's to come training wise.

Meal 6 ; snack on some fruit, or something sweet like sorbet.

Before bed i have my green tea and my aminos. punctuated with around 3-4 litres water a day. my weakness is fizzy pop, i know but i am a big kid, its always sugar free though.

Cheating is essential for two reasons, firstly to stop you going round the bend with boredom and cravings and secondly to shock the body into not knowing whats coming next, if i want a choc bar i have it, same for crisps or bit of chinese etc but even then its a more sensible choice and liberal helping....sometimes :o

the result currently is that i am waking up and walking around at 100kg, all the way from 116 !!! this is from eating sensible and hard training no extreme measures at all just scrafices. i have two weeks before my fight and i am well ahead of target weight, i could cut from more than 100 but i am not going to i will just carry on and probably be cutting from 97-98 max.

i am fitter faster than i have ever been and feel fantastic [ as well as look it ;) ]

hope that gives an insight.

Thats actually been a help to me Marc , thanks

Im walking round at 104kgs at the moment and plan to be walking round at 87-90 in 6months time.

my weakness is Mars Bars and doritos and quavers and KFC and Mixed Grills :o best pull my finger out i reckon :p

[marc goddard]

to be honest mate its around a fist full of each item.....but then again i have big hands !!

in all seriousness i dont weigh or measure nothing, be liberal and sensible and dont forget that your stomach will shrink to suit your new regime over time !

[Duchman]

great info marc.

Did you check body fat % before and after?

Godders. why was my posted on. fighters? can you dance not allowed?

[marc goddard]

sorry should have also clarified, in the morinings if i train i will have a banana and pancakes 1 and half to two hours before, then have whey and oats immediately after training, if no training in morning then i have the whey and oats first thing and banana or so after.

[Jamie Taylor]

I have only recently cleaned mine up and was previously chocolate, chocolate, protein shakes and choclate with a bit of pasta and tuna thrown in for good measure :)

For the past few weeks it's mainly consisted of :

Breakfast : 1 slice of wholemeal toast w/ peanut butter, small bowl of porridge, protein shake in water, 1g vit c, 2 echinacea.

Snack : Myoplex Diet bar, handful of peanuts, apple or banana and glass of fresh orange, Sometimes a handful of goji berries.

Dinner : Wholemeal pasta with chicken breast in ragu and a banana.

Post workout : Sports shake or home made p/w shake, Bottle of Taut.

Tea : Either steak and frozen veggies or wholemeal rice and tuna in salsini.

Supper : Cottage cheese or protein shake, flaxseed oil.

Pretty bland, I like to have my cheat day on a saturday and scoff a bit of chocolate and a parmo on the night :)

[SawaPawa]

Meal 5 ;*** BEFORE PM *** Lean Protein Source [ tuna, turkey, salmon etc ] Steamed veg. sometimes take on carbs depending on how i feel or what's to come training wise.


to me that says u eat 5 meals before 12 noon? Where have I gone wrong?

[Le_Divin_Marquis]

Maybe this question needs another topic, but why do fighter gain a huge amount of fat between fights, they should be walking around close to their fighting weight all-year long! Does it make any sense?

[Badnews]

The best advice Ive come across is 'The Grapplers guide to sports nutrition'. Tells you everything you need to know about diet content and safe weight cutting. Very well put together and easy to understand.... as you can tell I rate it very highly!

[SawaPawa]

Meal 5 ;*** BEFORE PM *** Lean Protein Source [ tuna, turkey, salmon etc ] Steamed veg. sometimes take on carbs depending on how i feel or what's to come training wise.


My understanding of that is before noon? Surely I'm wrong?

[marc goddard]

it is meant to say before 6 PM.

[Jay]

interesting thread. so any fighters that aren't dieting for an upcoming fight, just training 'normally' so to speak, what would you be eating and when?

i find it hard to do the 'little and often' type diet, although i do feel reassured because my current diet isn't too disimilar to mr goddard's!

[Le_Divin_Marquis]

The best advice Ive come across is 'The Grapplers guide to sports nutrition'. Tells you everything you need to know about diet content and safe weight cutting. Very well put together and easy to understand.... as you can tell I rate it very highly!

excellent book!! Although I think we(hard-training athletes) do need a little bit more carbs than the amount that Berardi advocates. But I guess it also depends on your individual metabolism.

[widge milward]

Cheers Marc, all the info helps, i try to eat clean but i like my food ;)

at the minute im eating:

2 wholemeal toast with Flora Light
Chicken / Tuna with Pasta or spuds or 2 chicken sandwiches
then my tea of chicken / fish and veg and spuds

both Dinner and tea are quite large portions, would you cut down the amounts and eat more?

any other suggestions to porridge? as it makes me gag.

[LewisJ]

Hi Widge, i think that i am entitled to answer this one currently ! so may as well start the ball rolling.

At new year [ dec 07 ] i was walking around at 116kg.....New York, Christmas and time off for broken nose does that to you.....:p

Originaly scheduled to fight Sinead "Lovstadt" O'connor in March and all was going well, then fucked my knee up, felt sorry for myself and ate for attenti...er i mean comfort :D

Then fight for Cage Rage was signed so it was all back to work, Currently and for many weeks i have been eating clean and sensible, something like the following.

Meal 1 ; The biggest meal of the day by far. Sachet of [ plain ] porridge oats , scoop [ or two ] of whey [ v low carb ] and skimmed milk, banana, two small dry pancakes OR some wholewheat toast and my coffee, cant survive without my coffee

Meal 2 ; Snack on fruit and wholegrain snack [ carb source ]

Meal 3 ; Lean Protein Source [ tuna, turkey, salmon etc ] and Carb Source [ rice, wholemeal bread etc ]

Meal 4 ; snack on fruit , nuts.

Meal 5 ;*** BEFORE PM *** Lean Protein Source [ tuna, turkey, salmon etc ] Steamed veg. sometimes take on carbs depending on how i feel or what's to come training wise.

Meal 6 ; snack on some fruit, or something sweet like sorbet.

Before bed i have my green tea and my aminos. punctuated with around 3-4 litres water a day. my weakness is fizzy pop, i know but i am a big kid, its always sugar free though.

Cheating is essential for two reasons, firstly to stop you going round the bend with boredom and cravings and secondly to shock the body into not knowing whats coming next, if i want a choc bar i have it, same for crisps or bit of chinese etc but even then its a more sensible choice and liberal helping....sometimes :o

the result currently is that i am waking up and walking around at 100kg, all the way from 116 !!! this is from eating sensible and hard training no extreme measures at all just scrafices. i have two weeks before my fight and i am well ahead of target weight, i could cut from more than 100 but i am not going to i will just carry on and probably be cutting from 97-98 max.

i am fitter faster than i have ever been and feel fantastic [ as well as look it ;) ]

hope that gives an insight.

Good post. I think in general most poeple over complicate things with too many numbers and precise amounts. It is difficult to predict exactly how an individual is going to respond to any given diet and therefore ideally a diet should be adaptable to how you're feeling at specific time. I follow 3 simple rules: 1. Eat less energy than you expend, but do not starve yourself. 2. Time your specific nutrient (e.g. carbs and protein) and energy intake correctly around your training scedule. 3. Allow yourself to cheat.

Only thing I would say is probably could do with some more veg.

[Jay]

any other suggestions to porridge? as it makes me gag.

you can get some pretty nice granola, quaker do some and it's basically rolled oats that are cooked, a bit like clusters. they're a dream with the strawberries and that in. quite high sugar content though when you buy the quaker ones.

[bigleeroy1]

i like my food alot.... i cut from 80kilos to 70 kilos usually in a short space of time i eat clean all week monday to friday then eat what the hell i like at the weekends when im dieting for a fight cut all crap from my diet and change my portions, but even when im up to 80k i still look lean and can see my abs.

[bigleeroy1]

i only know 2 fighters that get fat between fights.

[Smiler]

Sample of my current diet...


11 April 2008
7.35am Bowl of 1/2 mango, 1/2 banana, handful blueberries and couple spoons natural organic bio yoghurt
12.10pm Heinz tomato soup with basil, 2xslices multi-grain bread
2pm ‘Innocent’ breakfast smoothie
5.15pm ‘Innocent’ breakfast smoothie
8pm Caramelised salmon fillets with red onion and garlic on brown rice with 1xslice of multi-grain bread

12 April 2008
9.20am Bowl of 1/2banana, fresh pineapple
1.30pm Breaded haddock with good load of ketchup, peas
6pm Small portion of quiche
7.15pm 500g mussels in white wine, onion, coconut milk and spices with 3xslices multi-grain bread
8.30pm 2xkitkats
9pm Handful of grapes
11pm 11xindividual tequila fruit chocolates

13 April 2008
9.20am Bowl of ½banana, fresh pineapple, handful of blueberries
11pm Bag of maltesers
1pm Roasted tomato, basil and garlic soup with 2xslices multi-grain bread
7pm Several popodoms and mango chutney, Malaysian chicken curry with wholemeal rice and 1xslice multi-grain bread
8pm 14x individual tequila fruit chocolates

14 April 2008 (Monday)
7.30am Bowl of 1/2banana, fresh pineapple
12.30pm 3xboiled eggs, 2xslices multi-grain bread
5.30pm Breaded haddock with good load of ketchup, peas
9.30pm Organic natural yoghurt, blueberries, and chopped small banana

15 April 2008
7.30am Bowl of fresh pineapple, kiwi fruit
10am 3xboiled eggs
12pm Banana and 2xslices multi-grain bread sandwich
3.30pm Apple
7pm 3xsausages (1xduck, 2xbeef), red onion, broccoli, small sweetcorn, Portobello mushroom, good squirt of ketchup
9.30pm Organic natural yoghurt, chopped small banana

16 April 2008
7.30am Bowl of fresh pineapple
9am 3xboiled eggs
11.45am Banana and 2xslices multi-grain bread sandwich
2.45pm 2xslices multi-grain bread and raspberry jam
6.30pm Vietnamese caramelised salmon fillet with red onion and garlic on brown rice with 1xslice of multi-grain bread
9.30pm 3xslices multi-grain bread and raspberry jam

17 April 2008
8.10am Bowl of fresh pineapple and kiwi fruit
9am Apple
12pm 2xcod fish cakes, peas, good squirt of tomato ketchup
2.45pm 3xboiled eggs and 2xslicess multi-grain bread
7.30pm Chicken curry with spinach, tomato based, wholegrain rice
9pm 1xslices multi-grain bread and raspberry jam

18 April 2008
7.30am Bowl of fresh pineapple and melon
9am Panini with tomato, mozzarella, basil
2.30pm 3xboiled eggs and 2xslices multi-grain bread
7.30pm Large Pollack fillet, lightly fried in flour dusting with broccoli and green beans
9.30pm Organic natural yoghurt with fruit and nut mix turned through

19 April 2008
7.30am Bowl of fresh melon and chopped banana
9am Chopped banana
9.15am 3xboiled eggs
12pm Croque Monsieur, 1 slice
6pm Apple
8pm Spicy sweet potato and coconut soup, 1xslice wholegrain bread
8.30pm Malaysian chicken curry with wholemeal rice
10-12pm Large bag of Aeros

20 April 2008
9.30am Fresh pineapple
10am Large bag of minstrels
12pm Fish cake with good squirt of ketchup on 1xslice of multi-grain bread
2.40pm Apple
4pm 2xslices multi-grain toast and light butter
6.30pm Roasted tomato, basil and garlic soup with 2xslices multi-grain bread
9pm 2xbags of sweet popcorn

21 April 2008 (Monday)
7.15am Apple
11.30am Banana sandwiches consisting 2xsmall bananas and 2xslices wholegrain bread
3pm Apple
5pm 2xbreaded haddock with good squirt of ketchup, peas
9.30pm 1xbreaded haddock with good squirt of ketchup

22 April 2008
9am Bowl of fresh pineapple, chopped small banana
11am 2xslices multi-grain bread and honey
12.30pm Heinz vegetable soup and 2xslices oatmeal bread
3.30pm Apple
7.30pm Stir fry with chicken breast, sweet red pepper, small orange pepper, 1/2red onion, honey and cashew sauce (125kcal), small portion of fried rice and peas, 1xslice wholegrain bread
10pm Natural organic yoghurt with honey

23 April 2008
8.45am Bowl of fresh pineapple, chopped small banana
10.30am 2xslices wholegrain toast with melted mature cheddar cheese
12.30pm 3xslices wholegrain toast with honey
6.30pm Tuna steak with honey, soy and ginger, spinach, and small portion lightly fried rice with peas
9.30pm 2xslices wholegrain toast with honey

24 April 2008
8.30am Bowl of fresh pineapple
10.30am 1.5slices crust of wholegrain bread with honey
12.30pm 2xcod fish cakes, good squirt of ketchup
3pm 3xboiled eggs
7.30pm Spicy sweet potato and coconut soup, 3xslice wholegrain bread
11pm 1xslice wholegrain toast and honey

25 April 2008
8.45am Bowl of fresh pineapple and 1xsmall chopped banana
11.45am 2xcod fish cakes, good squirt of ketchup
12.15pm 3xboiled eggs
3pm Apple
7.30pm 2xwhole mackerel with green beans
8.30pm Small bag of honey salted peanuts and cashews

26 April 2008
9.30am Apple
12pm Spicy sweet potato and coconut soup, 1xslice wholegrain bread
6.30pm 1xslice multi-grain toast with honey
7.45pm 2xpopadoms and mango chutney, Nepalese v.spicy lamb starter, lamb curry main, small amount of pilau rice, sweet bread

27 April 2008
9am Bowl of fresh pineapple
12pm 1xslice multi-grain bread and honey
2pm 1x large sausage roll, slice of raspberry almond cake
4pm Bag of minstrels, aeros, maltesers
7pm 1xshortbread biscuit
7.45pm Small portion of roasted tomato, garlic and basil pasta with cheddar grated over
10pm 2/3 bag of sweet popcorn

28 April 2008 (Monday)
7.30am Bowl of fresh pineapple
11am Banana
1.30pm Small portion of roasted tomato, garlic and basil pasta with cheddar grated over
4.30pm 2xbreaded haddock fillets with garden peas and good squirt of ketchup
10pm 1xbreaded haddock fillet with good squirt of ketchup
11pm Organic low fat natural yoghurt and handful of blueberries, handful dried fruit and nuts on top

29 April 2008
8am Bowl of fresh pineapple and kiwi fruit
10am 3xboiled eggs
11.45pm Tin of baked beans on 2xslices multi-grain bread
4.15pm 1/2chicken breast with peri-peri sauce, pineapple ring, pitta bread
6pm 1/2chicken breast with peri-peri sauce, pineapple ring, pitta bread

[Smiler]

Copied from the main forum...

Hi!

In the last 8 weeks I've dropped from 100kg down to 93kg. All I did was sort my diet out, and ensure that I burned more calories than I consumed, having a defecit of 3,500cals per week, to lose a 1lb of fat per week.

Add in some metabolism speeding techniques, and correct timing of foods, and it accounts for the rest.

Ensuring that I had the correct amount of protein, carbs, vits and minerals, and fats was also key in order to ensure I could still train 2-3xdaily, monday to friday.

I will now drop another couple of kilo's fat, and then put a couple of kilo's muscle on to stay at a daily weight of 93kg.

Then I'll carefully increase my calorific intake to ensure that I maintain that weight.

One 'trick' I have used is to take the weekend's off the diet, eating what I want really (although still with one eye on quality), if I want chocolate or desert I'll have it, eat in a restaurant, hey thats fine. This means I have a higher calorific intake at the weekends than during the week, and this prevents my body going into 'starvation' mode.

But, before I dropped, I basically ate everything and anything to maintain my higher weight!! All I've done now is to drop to my 'natural' weight.

Just some background for you!

Smiler

[widge milward]

Cheers for the info guys,


Add in some metabolism speeding techniques, and correct timing of foods, and it accounts for the rest.

any more info on this Smiler?

[Nak-Muay]

lol Marc. Everytime I say 'no more fizzy drinks' it lasts about 3 days before i buy a can of coke / sprite zero! :(

[MR C]

Maybe this question needs another topic, but why do fighter gain a huge amount of fat between fights, they should be walking around close to their fighting weight all-year long! Does it make any sense?Im guilty of this .I think the reason is that most fighters have quite fast metabolisms.Therefore when im dieting i lose fat quickly.By the same token when I stop dieting I eat a lot of shit and my metabolism means I also gain fat quickly.It works both ways.

[Jamie Taylor]

Cheers for the info guys,



any more info on this Smiler?

Ephedrine ? nah, I guess he means eating smalls meals frequently or taking green tea or something ? Apart from that I can't think of anything else that would increase metabolism.

[Duchman]

any updates gary on the weight and diet?

[JamesB]

Meal 1 ; The biggest meal of the day by far. Sachet of [ plain ] porridge oats , scoop [ or two ] of whey [ v low carb ] and skimmed milk, banana, two small dry pancakes OR some wholewheat toast and my coffee, cant survive without my coffee

Meal 2 ; Snack on fruit and wholegrain snack [ carb source ]

Meal 3 ; Lean Protein Source [ tuna, turkey, salmon etc ] and Carb Source [ rice, wholemeal bread etc ]

Meal 4 ; snack on fruit , nuts.

Meal 5 ;*** BEFORE PM *** Lean Protein Source [ tuna, turkey, salmon etc ] Steamed veg. sometimes take on carbs depending on how i feel or what's to come training wise.

Meal 6 ; snack on some fruit, or something sweet like sorbet.





Hi Marc,

just wanted quick clarification on some thing, I know you cleared up that meal 5 would be eaten before 6pm but around what time would you be training? also do you only have fruit post training (meal 6)? no protein source? or do you have an additional post training meal (shake)?

thanks

James

[diamondlil]

'The Grapplers guide to sports nutrition' anyone got a copy or wants to sell one ? pm pleeassssssssssse....

[livercrank]

If you're cutting a lot weight before competition...try the chris brennan diet, there should be a threar about it somewhere. It is a raw diet but it does the trick

[MHillier]

More please :D

[coleman.sensei]

hi marc,
how much training are you doing with this diet. i have been told i have to lose just over a stone to be able to fight at my best.

[coleman.sensei]

how much training do you do on this diet as i need to lose just over a stone and a half and think this would be great diet for me to base mine on.

[Galen Frost]

Im lucky, not really got a sweet tooth so dont miss chocolate, fizzy drinks, desserts etc.. My main weakness is cheese and massive portions.