An article that stresses the important of carbs for fighting and where to get them.
I’ve decided to bring up this subject because the problem I see with may new fighters is their lack of willingness to eat carbs. For whatever reason, people have this idea that eating carbs leads to fat. Other people believe in substituting carbohydrates for proteins in order to focus on building muscle. The simple fact of the matter is, everyone needs carbohydrates whether they like it or not.
The Importance of Carbs for Fighting
If you study any food pyramid, you will see that carbohydrates are the biggest, most important layer of food on the very bottom. The reason why you need carbs is for energy. Even if you’re not boxing and not fighting, you will still need carbs to survive. There’s no way around it. If you’re moving your body like a fighting machine, you need to up your carb intake or else your body will starve – which leads to your body looking and performing like crap.
Carbs VS Fat
Carbs does not always equal fat. Good carbs give you energy, BAD carbs give you FAT! Read more on bad carbs here. If you’re consuming carbs and don’t work out and don’t have a high metabolism, you WILL build up fat. If you are boxing and training, then the carbs will definitely be used up. Top notch fighters consume about 7,000 calories a day and burn it off easy!
Where To Find Carbs
GOOD carbs are most commonly found in bread, pasta, vegetables, fruits, beans. You can read more on carbs here.
When To Eat Carbs
Most important times of the day to be consuming carbs:
When you wake up – breakfast is the most important meal of the day! Make it big, eat a lot, and then eat less throughout the day so you’re not weighed down by food and have “food coma” and feel lazy throughout the day.
Before a workout – you definitely energy before a workout so make sure you eat before you begin that workout.
After a workout – your body will starve after a workout and will immediately begin “resting mode”, which is when it starts taking nutrients to start putting your body back together and rebuilding your body and muscles to become better than ever.
Conclusion
I kept the article as simple as I can. Your carb intake depends on how serious you train everyday. Ramp it up slowly and if you still keep feeling hungry, eat more. If you feel bloated, eat less. As for people who want to ask me about carbs VS protein, just remember this isn’t a bodybuilder’s diet. This is a FIGHTER’s diet. The point is, you’ll need to eat like a fighter if you want to perform like one!
I like this article focusing on carbs, ou speak of carbs vs protein, should carbs be put IN PLACE of a high protein diet or AS WELL AS a high protein diet, is it still useful to have higher protein levels to help increase muscle power?
Also on the subject on diet would you recommend or condem the use of creatine or similar substances in a fighters diet?
Thanks for your help great site.
awesome.
this is educational!
eating carbs
robbo – your carb to protein intake depends on your body’s natural body metabolism and chemical makeup as well as your training routine. In general, I would go 2 grams carbs for every 1 gram protein. High protein diets are for people who want to build a ton of muscle. Do keep in mind that you will probably eat more than the normal person. As for creatine, I wouldn’t recommend that because it holds water-weight. It’s commonly used for bodybuilders who want bigger stronger muscles. If you just want to look good, sure, use creatine. If you want to just train hard and build performance muscle, it’s not needed.
what kind of supplements do you recommend if any.
Supplements
Personally, I like fish oil, flaxseed oil, and vitamins. Those are the only ones I’ve ever used and I don’t even do it consistently.
Paleo diet
I disagree, I have far more energy when I stick to a low carb high protein diet. I have followed the paleo way of eating for 2 years and have never felt better in my life!! If you don’t believe me then try it for yourself, buy the paleo diet and also read diet dilussion… which is a real eye opener!!
Detailed suggestions ?
Hi there , first off this website is a god-send. Thank you very much. I trained for boxing when I was around 16 for 9 months or so, it didn’t make full sense then. Recently a friend has turned pro so I am getting thorough tutoring 1-2-1 on a weekend, nothing like what the local ABC teaches me. Ive been going for about 2 months again, stopped smoking and I’m progressing more than ever. The pro I work with teaches me well in comparison to the macho-ego training in my local gym and I can say comparably the information on here is damn near similar to what I’m being taught, i.e ‘the good stuff’ ! Thats not my question, ive been reading for a few days and had to type something!
I would just like to ask for a sample diet for one or two days. And how it compares to what I’m doing. I get up around 6 or 7, im unemployed at the moment so I have all the time in the world. I usually eat about 3 weetabix, then go for a run half an hour later. Now my real question is, if im doing intense training at around 5:15pm when should I eat? and what? I usually have maybe 200grams of rice around 3 hours before training. Would this make sense?
Once again thank you very much these articles are my secret weapon!
@groundhog – as long as you’re following the glycemic index and not eating the wrong kind of carbs, you should feel a lot of energy. Then again, you sound like somebody who already knows about it. Can you describe the paleo diet briefly for us?
@Collins Cardiff – I’m currently working on a sample diet and will get that up as soon as I can. You should always eat a big meal about 2 or 3 hours before you train. And then have a small snack right before you train.
Paleo diet scares me. Seems like copying the diet of cave men would not only garner their primal prowess but also their life expectancy. Anyway, it would not be suitable for a boxer who trains hours upon hours in a week rather than the suggested 12 minute weekly workout suggested by the primal diet.
And people don’t realize that the Paleo Diet is based on what a caveman consumed thousand of years ago. Humans have evolved since then and so have different dietary needs.
I´ve been told that you can get your calories(energy) from fat instead of carbs. That comes from a guy who is really in to healthy food and such, but he does box, and I guess you may need a different kind of energy for boxing than for lifting weights?
Right now I´m losing weight down to 75 kg to eventually fight my first amateur fight, so I´m a bit scared of carbs really. But would you say that some oatmeal 2 h before workout would be good?
Big credit to this site Johnny, I just decided to start boxing seriously and to compete, and I´m on this site everyday reading and learning, you seem to know A LOT and really live for boxing!
Energy can be found from carbs, protein, or even fat. Getting your energy from carbs is usually healthier, though. Oatmeal before workout is not a bad idea. Thanks, Nils.
I can describe the paleo diet mentioned by groundhog.
The simplest way to explain the “paleo” or “caveman” diet is grain free, or very limited grains. Emphasis is put on QUALITY protein, which would be grassfed beef, bison, or free range chicken, eggs, whey, etc. Carbs should be consumed primarily in the form of vegetables, and secondary in fruit. Dairy is a mixed bag, depending on how your body responds to it. Nuts and seeds are also eaten. For a fighter or someone who is following an intense workout, more starchy vegetables should be consumed to replace grains for your carb source. These would be your root vegetables like potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, etc.
So basically on this type of diet you would be eating good quality meats and TONS of vegetables, maybe dairy, fruit in moderation, and nuts and seeds also in moderation.
Hello, I’m going to be boxing soon like I want to compete and do amature and try eventually pro I’m only 19 and I am very fast I can throw flurries and flurries of punches I’ve been told I should box or mma I d really like to have a career in it just need to find the right trainer. But anyways I’m just starting to do intense training though, I’m 6foot2 and 145 pounds yes I know I’m lanky but I’m just not thin I’m very built and I’ve loved boxing for about 8 years now. I’m just wanting to know how much calories I should be getting I belive around 3,500 a day but I’m not exactly sure?
See how you feel. If you need more, eat more. If it feels like too much or unnecessary, then you can eat less.
Actually the paleo diet doesn’t like you using any form of potatoes, since our ancestors apparently wouldn’t of had the knowledge to dig for them. Personally I went paleo for 2 years and went from 17 stone, down to 10.5 stone (67kg). As a weight loss approach, I found it 2nd to none. As a fighting diet, I found it inhibited my performance and confidence. The moment I introduced healthy carbs back into my diet:- rye bread, brown rice, brown pasta, oats and controlled the portions- if anything I lost even more weight. Carbs/glucose stoke the metabolic fire and are a quick release source of energy and help re-nourish the muscles after intense exercise. Good clean wholesome food and any amount of exercise is not going to make anyone fat, regardless of carb intake. It’s all about being calorie wise. You would not go the distance on a low carb, paleo diet. That is for neolithic man, who didn’t exercise the same way we do today and only lived to 35 years old at the latest.