How diligent are UFC fighters with their diet?

[SuperNerd]

TS you might enjoy this video

 

[jitzmonkey]

There's a thread on here referencing the FW champion's comments on the fact that he was basically binge drinking for a month before getting the call to rematch Islam on short notice.

Keep in mind that Volk has been part of the FWGOAT discussion for a minute.

So Imma go with they don't give a F---.

 

[TheTickG]

View attachment 1028169

View attachment 1028170

That takes dedication.

 

[kingghidrah]

Not a UFC fighter, but ONE Submission grappling champ Mikey only eats pizza and pasta, and does OMAD (one meal a day) diet.

No way he's eating 7000 calories in one pasta meal lol

He doesn't claim it during the video, it was probably added for clickbait

 

[JosephTessaro]

Now I am not a professional dietician, personal trainer, doctor or fighter...

But lets look at a couple of HW's for example...

Gane - Looks like he is always in shape, he probably is diligent on his diet and eats healthy.
Tuivasa - Looks like a guy who doesn't focus on his diet, probably starts eating healthier during a fight camp in order to drop weight and make the HW limit.

That is all.

 

[Bobby Boulders]

In all honesty, probably as diligent as most people are about most things. Not very.

 

[joenewbie]

For athletes in their 20s who burn a ton of calories, many of them can probably eat any and all food that they want and still be fine. That's what training heavy, having a lot of muscle, and being young does.

I used to be a mostly dedicated long distance runner and always was between 162-168 lbs with no diet restrictions. I didn't eat a ton of junk food but I didn't stick to vegetables and chicken either. It's only when I really quit running and got older that I gained weight. And had I been serious about running really high mileage every week, like if I was good enough to be in international competion (like UFC fighters), I could have eaten even more.

I think the mantra of "eat, sleep, train" is real for many of these people and "eat" probably includes everything.

 

[Ogata]

Pete Sampras said something about how he only ate white rice and chicken every day for like 15 or 20 years. And that he was sick of it and was happy when he finally retired and could eat anything he wanted to.

But that discipline clearly paid off. And it seemed to be what his body needed.

I checked and it mentioned he ate pancakes and pastas as well.





Just chicken and rice everyday for 15 or 20 years is mental.

 

[markg171]

99% of diets that have ever worked for athletes throughout all of human history have been high protein, high/moderate carb, and low/moderate fats. Muscles require protein and carbs, hormones require fats. Eliminating any of them are dumb, but there is still a hierarchy to what an athlete needs.

And if you want to lose weight you simply eat less than what you burn. Calories in vs calories out.

It's never whatever the latest scam is from some dude who just wants to make money off you.

 

[Ogata]

Not a UFC fighter, but ONE Submission grappling champ Mikey only eats pizza and pasta, and does OMAD (one meal a day) diet.

I remember him being on Rogans podcast. He talked extensively about the quality of the flour and that it comes from a specific wheat or farm or something. Also his pizza is minimalist vegetarian pizza vs some oily cheesy cold cut infested pizza filled with freakishly high dosage of calories and sodium from the salt content of the cold cuts.

His pizza and pasta are light in nature and from what I seen, he is not dousing them with ranch sauce which is caloric catastrophe.

Overall, he found a way to come up with a healthy version of pizza and pasta all while still enjoying it. But for most of us, if he made pizza for us, we would want to add a whole lot of cheese, meats and sauces for the normal experience as oppose to some healthy minimal version.

 

[Ogata]

TS you might enjoy this video

This is very good stuff!


Naseem Hamed vs Paul Ingle:





Now both of them post boxing:

 

[mjfan23]

Overeem is likely the best example of a UFC fighter diet.

 

[that Indian]

I remember him being on Rogans podcast. He talked extensively about the quality of the flour and that it comes from a specific wheat or farm or something. Also his pizza is minimalist vegetarian pizza vs some oily cheesy cold cut infested pizza filled with freakishly high dosage of calories and sodium from the salt content of the cold cuts.

His pizza and pasta are light in nature and from what I seen, he is not dousing them with ranch sauce which is caloric catastrophe.

Overall, he found a way to come up with a healthy version of pizza and pasta all while still enjoying it. But for most of us, if he made pizza for us, we would want to add a whole lot of cheese, meats and sauces for the normal experience as oppose to some healthy minimal version.

Age is also a thing. There is no way Mikey gets away with this bullshit when he is 40. That will take him on the path to diabetes II.

 

[PhotographyRaptor]

I think it means cooked in light/little fat

Well tbf lightly cooked chicken would compel you to lose weight.

 

[PhotographyRaptor]

Overeem is likely the best example of a UFC fighter diet.

 

[AfroBanana]

 

[AmonTobin]

Overeem is likely the best example of a UFC fighter diet.

Overeem stuck to a solid routine. He never horsed around.

 

[El Fernas]

Most are good with that, then you have the Kelvin Gastelum of the sport, Pimblett is a mixed bag, he goes on a food rampage, then eventually signs a fight and gets in shape, i thought he looked bigger against Ferguson but he looked solid and made weight.

 

[Fjord]

I checked and it mentioned he ate pancakes and pastas as well.



View attachment 1028196

Just chicken and rice everyday for 15 or 20 years is mental.

For sure. It was something I saw in an interview or online article probably at least ten years ago.

It hit home with me because at the time I was eating a lot of chicken and white rice myself. Just because it gave me a lot of protein and a lot of energy. I've always liked chicken, white rice and beef all my life.

Strange thing is a lot of people were saying rice was bad for people. But it was never like that for me at all. Never felt like it was taking any of my energy away. I was doing a ton of lifting and doing different cardio stuff at least 5 to 7 days a week depending on my energy level and how my body would feel.

It's definitely different for everyone. Nobody's the same for sure. Everyone's got to figure out what works for themselves. The more you exercise, the more you know what your body needs.

Just stay away from processed foods and you should be good.

 

[Fjord]

And if you want to lose weight you simply eat less than what you burn. Calories in vs calories out.

Agreed with what you said. Except for this sentence.

You eat wha you think your body needs.

It's impossible to eat less than what you burn. Because you burn massive amounts of energy when you're exercising or training hard.

It's about eating right and eating lean protein with minimal carbs and fats to feed the sugar your body needs.

Like I never eat ice cream or eat ice cream minimally. But after I start training hard for several months, it's crazy how much I will start craving ice cream. Just because my body needs the sugar.