Weight Management

Updated: Feb 11, 2023 Share

Experimentation is essential, but consistency is what you need in the weeks leading up to your fight.

Fiber

Fiber is essential for gut and digestive health. Your gut drives the rest of your body. Good gut health keeps you from getting sick, and keeps your mind and body fueled. Fiber also helps you feel full for longer, keepings cravings away. Foods like red cabbage and green vegetables are excellent fiber sources.

Simple vs Complex carbs

You must have plenty of carbs in your diet. Complex carbs, such as from whole wheat, take a long time to break down and will help you feel full for longer because they sit in your stomach for longer. Simple carbs, such as white bread or sports drinks, digest quickly and will turn into fat if unused. Having a mix of both in your diet is ideal.

If you're working out in the evening, have some complex carbs in the morning to start fueling for the workout, and to help fill your stomach. Three to five hours out from your workout, have some simple carbs so that your body is fully fueled. And if you're going to be working out for two or more hours, drink a sports drink, banana, or something similar to keep your body fueled.

You'll need plenty of fuel to avoid burnout and injury. Making sure that you're body has the carbs it needs for every workout is essential.

See Don Heatrick's Instagram post for guidelines on how to properly carb-load for fighting/training.

Sugar

Sugar is not bad. Like anything else, excessive amounts are. You can have candy, you can have fruit, you can have juice, you can even have donuts, you only need moderation. Sugar is also essential. Your body burns it to fuel you. Make sure that you're getting enough of it; just not too much.

Protein

You probably know this, but you need protien. And potentially more than you're getting if you are not a compeeting athlete. So make sure that you're getting enough. I use Ka'Chava to post-workout and protien supliment. I've experiemented with many and find it fills in all of those little gaps the best for my body.

Experimentation

You'll need to experiment to see what fuel your body needs to function properly, both at the gym and at your work. You need to have a well defined list of foods for what fuels your mind, body, and soul. This includes cheat meals/days. Two plus weeks out, you can have a full cheat day where you don't worry about any of your meals and just eat for the pleasure of eating. One to two weeks from fight day you can still get away with a cheat meal. But those last five days before you fight you need to have perfect meals. Let's break it down.