First off, let me state I am in no way a dietician, nutritionist, medical doctor or certified professional. I am, however, an intensely devoted student of nutrition. I believe I can provide insight because I view things from a strictly MMA point of view, whereas most of the “clean eating” diets available on the internet are more tailored to bodybuilders and endurance athletes.
The first aspect I’d like to cover is a very broad concept of nutrition for individuals. In mixed martial arts, food is fuel, and just as you would not randomly pour any sort of gasoline or liquid into your car, you would not fuel your body with anything other than the highest grade of food. You need to know what you’re eating, how much, and how to optimize your eating. Some cars need premium, some need diesel, and no matter what, pay attention to how much you put in.
When training for MMA, nutrition plays a key aspect; since food is what you use for fuel, you must know what you are eating. I suggest that you approach this one of two ways: a very strict, formulated diet where you plan out what you eat every day. Plan the macronutrient breakdown (Protein/Carb/Fat) and the caloric value of what you eat. This is a rather extreme approach, but especially handy to plan shopping, supplementation, and training around.
The other approach is to keep a food journal, while remaining conscious of your food choices. The obvious drawback can be a failure to properly fuel your body, but it provides much more flexibility and forgiveness. I suggest starting with a retroactive food journal (again, keeping track of the macronutrient and caloric breakdown using a site like this or this) then moving on to a meal plan as you train harder, work better, and need the next step in performance.
Now, the specific breakdown of macronutrients and calories varies on a fighters height, weight, body fat, proximity to fight, and frequency of training. There is no magic formula. As a good judge, though, a 5′10″ 200 lb MMAist training 3-5 times a week a few months out from a fight should be consuming around 2500-2800 calories. The focus should be from lean protein, good carbs, and healthy fats. Those will all be covered in future columns as to what to eat of each of those, and when.
I truly believe, and have seen, that the fighter who wins in the kitchen wins in the ring. You simply cannot live on processed, greasy, sugary crap fuel and expect to be great. Grill up some chicken breasts and make yourself a shake, because nutrition in MMA will improve every aspect of your game- training, fighting, skills and focus.
