Fighters Guide to Eating Healthy: 9 Top Tips

Eating healthy is imperative for everyone, but especially for fighters. Whether you are an amateur boxer training in your local gym, or a pro fighter in the ring, the food that you eat is important because it can make or break your workout.

Certain foods give you the energy levels that you need to train 2-3 times a week, to the best of your ability. When eaten correctly, they can even prevent you from getting an injury.

Do you want to gain muscle, lose weight, or simply retain your fitness? Your nutritional plan will play a huge role in determining this.
How can you eat healthily?

Here are 9 expert tips to staying eating the right foods.

• You’ve probably heard before about eating your five a day of fruit and vegetables, but this is really true. Eat lots of bananas, blueberries and pineapple as part of your daily food plan, incorporating them into your breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch and tea.
• You can always try eating it with some low fat yoghurt! If you are peckish, try eating a handful of almonds instead of reaching for a chocolate bar.
• Swap the big fry ups for a healthy bowl of cereal with skimmed meal.
• Bread is fine to eat but try to use low fat spread on whole meal bread. Ideal sandwich fillings are chicken, or tuna.
• You can give yourself a little treat on the seventh day of the week but don’t go overboard. It will only leave you feeling bloated afterwards. Try to avoid the temptation of sweets, crisps and alcohol.
• You can still eat a hearty meal at tea time that is rich in fibre and protein. Grilled chicken breasts with sweet potato and mixed greens are great, as well as baked potatoes, salads, basmati rice and grilled fish/turkey. Try to choose white fish and brown rice to cut down on the amount of starch you eat.
• If you love having a steak, lean ground beef can be eaten but only once every 10 days as advised by MMA legend Jeff ‘The Inferno’ Joslin.
• Swap tea and coffee for plenty of water. Around 3-5 litres will ensure you remain hydrated throughout your work outs. If you do like the odd cuppa, make it skimmed milk instead.
• Adding spices to your meals is fine, but try not to add too much salt.

Eating healthy doesn’t have to be an arduous task and the results will pay off when you find that your cardiovascular endurance has improved, and that you don’t get out of breath as easy. You’ll soon be knocking those punch bags right out of the park!

This article was written by Lauren Grice on behalf of Fightshop.com, the leading specialists in MMA fight gear. For high quality sports clothing and equipment, visit the site today.