Fight night- diet and supplementation.

[Madison Boxing]

Not a fighter so its not advice for me, but im always interested in diet and nutrition. I was just wondering what does a fighters diet on the day of the fight look like? And what would the last thing a fighter have to eat before a fight be? Do they take any supplements or stimulants (legal, i would hope) prior to the ring walk? Obviously there is differences between most fighters but is there a fairly standard format or anyone aware of any interviews in which fighters have spoken about it? Of course there are probably fighters in this forum, if so what does your diet look like on the day of the fight?

[PRINCEKOOL]

In Nigel Benn's autobiography, i read that he used to eat a full jar of Raw Honey before his fights! Honey is not just pure carbohydrates it contains vitamins, minerals and antioxidants! Honey would actually be a really efficient way at restoring muscle glycogen after a weigh in! because it also contain other co-factors that help your muscles recover...(I believe that historically Spartan Warriors used to also eat plenty of Honey)..

I would suggest fighters eat plenty of carbohydrates and saturated fat! before a fight. Saturated fat contains allot of energy way more than carbohydrates per gram! (And then of course throw some form of protein source! preferable white meat or fish)...

[Richard P]

In Nigel Benn's autobiography, i read that he used to eat a full jar of Raw Honey before his fights! Honey is not just pure carbohydrates it contains vitamins, minerals and antioxidants! Honey would actually be a really efficient way at restoring muscle glycogen after a weigh in! because it also contain other co-factors that help your muscles recover...(I believe that historically Spartan Warriors used to also eat plenty of Honey)..

I would suggest fighters eat plenty of carbohydrates and saturated fat! before a fight. Saturated fat contains allot of energy way more than carbohydrates per gram! (And then of course throw some form of protein source! preferable white meat or fish)...

I fight as an amateur, typical fight day diet (assuming fight is roughly 8pm)

Porridge with large spoon of honey and dried chopped fruit (sultanas)

Apple or orange late morning, sometimes a protein shake.

Lunch (approx 1230-1300) grilled chicken, sweet corn and pasta with spinach,

mid afternoon a piece of fruit,

5pm bagel with sliced banana and honey

And 2-3litres of water throughout the day

[PRINCEKOOL]

I fight as an amateur, typical fight day diet (assuming fight is roughly 8pm)

Porridge with large spoon of honey and dried chopped fruit (sultanas)

Apple or orange late morning, sometimes a protein shake.

Lunch (approx 1230-1300) grilled chicken, sweet corn and pasta with spinach,

mid afternoon a piece of fruit,

5pm bagel with sliced banana and honey

And 2-3litres of water throughout the day

You can't go wrong with Porridge Oats, full of minerals such as selenium, manganese and silica which are hard to come by! and soluble fiber which feeds your gut bacteria, which will help your immune system stay strong! which is important for athletes, because training is actually a stress to the body! it can strengthen your immune system, but also suppress it! (If you over train etc)...

[HedonisticFrog]

I would suggest fighters eat plenty of carbohydrates and saturated fat! before a fight. Saturated fat contains allot of energy way more than carbohydrates per gram! (And then of course throw some form of protein source! preferable white meat or fish)...

You want lots of carbohydrates before you fight, but you dont need fat. You already have a lot in your body. Even if youre lean you have enough energy stored in body fat to run a marathon. Its not metabolized any differently than fat that you eat either. The problem is you cant use fat for anarobic metabolism like you can with carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates are what you need for high intensity exercise like boxing. You need your glycogen stores to be full for best performance on fight night.

[PRINCEKOOL]

You want lots of carbohydrates before you fight, but you dont need fat. You already have a lot in your body. Even if youre lean you have enough energy stored in body fat to run a marathon. Its not metabolized any differently than fat that you eat either. The problem is you cant use fat for anarobic metabolism like you can with carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates are what you need for high intensity exercise like boxing. You need your glycogen stores to be full for best performance on fight night.

Carbohydrates, Fats and Proteins can all be broken down into glucose! (But preferable you only want to be using Carbohydrates and Fats)......as you main energy source, protein you want to be using to repair muscle!

Glucose is what your body uses for anaerobic & aerobic energy production! Fats give you allot of energy per gram, and they don't spike your blood sugar sky high like simple carbohydrates! so before your fight plenty of complex carbohydrates and fats mixed in with some protein is the right way to go....(Its best to cover all basis, before going into battle!)...

Also most of your hormones such as testosterone, need fat to be produced by your body! Ironically Floyd Mayweather's diet of KFC and McDonald's before a big fight, use to supply him with plenty of carbohydrates and fats!

If you just eat protein and carbohydrates before a fight, you are not really supplying the body with what it needs! Lions and Tigers in the wild get allot of their energy from fat! fats are good for your brain, hormones and even muscle recovery! every single cell in your body has a cellular membrane which is made of fat!

[Madison Boxing]

thanks for the replies. Do any fighters use red bull/pre workout supps before fights?

[HedonisticFrog]

Carbohydrates, Fats and Proteins can all be broken down into glucose! (But preferable you only want to be using Carbohydrates and Fats)......as you main energy source, protein you want to be using to repair muscle!

Glucose is what your body uses for anaerobic & aerobic energy production! Fats give you allot of energy per gram, and they don't spike your blood sugar sky high like simple carbohydrates! so before your fight plenty of complex carbohydrates and fats mixed in with some protein is the right way to go....(Its best to cover all basis, before going into battle!)...

Also most of your hormones such as testosterone, need fat to be produced by your body! Ironically Floyd Mayweather's diet of KFC and McDonald's before a big fight, use to supply him with plenty of carbohydrates and fats!

If you just eat protein and carbohydrates before a fight, you are not really supplying the body with what it needs! Lions and Tigers in the wild get allot of their energy from fat! fats are good for your brain, hormones and even muscle recovery! every single cell in your body has a cellular membrane which is made of fat!

Thats very misleading if not outright wrong. Carbohydrates are made up of glucose so they can be broken down into glucose. Fat and protein need to be turned into glucose, not broken down into glucose. Your body doesnt do that unless you barely eat any carbohydrates so you cant rely on your glycogen stores for glucose. Its not quick enough to be useful during a fight either. Thats why runners will "hit the wall" when running a marathon. Its when they run out of glycogen stores and have to rely entirely on metabolizing fat for energy. Note that this does mean turning it into glucose, its using fat directly for energy which is completely different than going into ketosis.

Of course fat and protein dont spike your blood sugar, they have no glucose.

The rest of your post has nothing to do with fight prep.

[PRINCEKOOL]

Thats very misleading if not outright wrong. Carbohydrates are made up of glucose so they can be broken down into glucose. Fat and protein need to be turned into glucose, not broken down into glucose. Your body doesnt do that unless you barely eat any carbohydrates so you cant rely on your glycogen stores for glucose. Its not quick enough to be useful during a fight either. Thats why runners will "hit the wall" when running a marathon. Its when they run out of glycogen stores and have to rely entirely on metabolizing fat for energy. Note that this does mean turning it into glucose, its using fat directly for energy which is completely different than going into ketosis.

Of course fat and protein dont spike your blood sugar, they have no glucose.

The rest of your post has nothing to do with fight prep.

You have made mistakes in this thread, with the information you have posted! (And I have made no mistakes! That is the difference between me and you)…

The only person who has stated something flat out wrong on this thread is you! And after this post you will fully understand why…

You stated…

The problem is you can’t use fat for anaerobic metabolism like you can with carbohydrates.

This statement up above of yours is completely scientifically wrong!

Here are the facts:

Glucose is what your body uses for both aerobic and anaerobic metabolism! Both carbohydrates and fats can be broken down into glucose! That is why people who are on low carbohydrate diets can still sprint and perform high intensity exercise! (Because fats can still be used for anaerobic metabolism! It’s really that simple!)…

Yes fats are broken down at a slower rate, but they can still be used for anaerobic metabolism! (This is a scientific fact)...

I also explained how Fats are important for hormone production! Hormones such as testosterone are heavily dependent on cholesterol production! And your body makes cholesterol from fat primarily! (Hormones are important for athletic performance, that is why there is such thing as performance enhancing drugs!)...

So the information that i have posted about fats, is very important for fight preparation! its also best to naturally optimize your bodies own hormones for performance.

There is nothing more i need to say here....

[HedonisticFrog]

You have made mistakes in this thread, with the information you have posted! (And I have made no mistakes! That is the difference between me and you)?br />
The only person who has stated something flat out wrong on this thread is you! And after this post you will fully understand why?br />
You stated?br />


This statement up above of yours is completely scientifically wrong!

Here are the facts:

Glucose is what your body uses for both aerobic and anaerobic metabolism! Both carbohydrates and fats can be broken down into glucose! That is why people who are on low carbohydrate diets can still sprint and perform high intensity exercise! (Because fats can still be used for anaerobic metabolism! It’s really that simple!)?br />
Yes fats are broken down at a slower rate, but they can still be used for anaerobic metabolism! (This is a scientific fact)...

I also explained how Fats are important for hormone production! Hormones such as testosterone are heavily dependent on cholesterol production! And your body makes cholesterol from fat primarily! (Hormones are important for athletic performance, that is why there is such thing as performance enhancing drugs!)...

So the information that i have posted about fats, is very important for fight preparation! its also best to naturally optimize your bodies own hormones for performance.

There is nothing more i need to say here....

Seriously? Youre right and im wrong? Thats all you have? Then you just repeat yourself.

Fats are made up of lipids. Lipids arent glucose, theyre not made up of glucose, theyre lipids. Your cell membranes are made of lipids, not glucose. Find me any source that says fat is made up of glucose. Anything at all. You cant just say its scientific fact, it isnt at all.

Heres a diagram to help you out with how carbohydrates and fats are metabolized. Notice how the carbohydrates section has glucose in it and the fats section doesnt.

//cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/0*7n4eww3DyWes14Kg.