Mixed Martial Arts Forum banner

Diet and Supplement advice

2K views 2 replies 3 participants last post by  I.P.Freely 
#1 · (Edited)
Hi all

Ok i'm starting on at the beginning of my MMA plan, for the last four years i've got into such bad shape, with both eating and exercise. I've started a new diet to help start getting into shape and give my body what it needs rather then lots of crap, i've never been good with nutrition so i'll list what i've been having for the last couple of weeks:


6.45am - Bowl of wholegrain Cheerios with Semi skimmed Milk, two slices of whole wheat toast with either Honey/Jam/Marmalade and a glass of pure juice.

10.30 - Two pieces of fruit

13.00 - Two small oven cooked fishcakes, Turkey or Chicken Breast meat, two pieces of fruit, low fat organic yoghurt, 4 thin slices of Malt loaf with low fat spread

15.00 - Piece of fruit

18.00 - Some kind of Meat with Veg or lean Steak mince with bolognaise sauce and baked potatoes.

20.00 - Piece of fruit

Lots of water throughout the day.

And every Saturday i eat what i want. Does this look terrible to anyone? I'm a really fussy eater and with only really having Junk food for the last 4 years it's been hard to adjust but im trying my hardest with this one.

Also what do people recommend as far as supplements go? I've joined back at the gym so i want to start taking some, at the Minute I’m only taking a multi Vitamin and a Jointcare Supplement which contains - glucosamine, Chondroitin, cod liver oil and various Amino acids, calcium etc etc So any recommendations of what to take and what they do as well as any diet tips would be awesome (bearing in mind i work in an office during the day time so can't be making many adjustments for food at lunch that cant fit in a sandwich box)

Thanks so much all.
 
See less See more
#2 ·
on the right track

Personally I dont think that diet is too bad at all. The only thing I would do is throw a couple of protein shakes in between meals (mixed with water not milk). ie. one at 10:00am, one at 15:00 (move the fruit to 15:30 or 16:00) and possibly one at 20:00. It would be better if you didn't eat crap on a Saturday but not the end of the world, I'm the same. Don't know if I'd eat read meat every day either, it's difficult to have too much white meat or fish but you can overdo red meat.
As for supplements like yourself I have multivitamins, joint tablets on a morning, one glutamine (amino) tablet with my lunch and one before bed with 3 ZMA tablets. I do intend to start using some more amino supplements but haven't got around to it yet.
I only ever use any other supplements when I feel I am peaking with my training ie when I have pushed myself to the max consistabtly for 2-3 weeks I start using Creatine (an Ethyl Ester works best for me - I've tried a fair few and have found Xpand to work best for me)and also) I have also used OXO-6 and 17-HD to increase my testosterone levels for a course which I noticed some gains on as well but nothing huge. I am going to try a ephedryn/caffeine mix tonight which apparently is good for an extra energy boost on intense training days like leg training days and fighting training days but it isn't for everyone so I'll know if it works for me or not tommorrow.
The main things to concentrate on are your diet, train hard - don't slack and get penty of rest, thats where I fall down a bit, not enough hours in the day to sleep.
I am by no mean an expert but thats what I've picked up over the last few years and what I eat and train by. Hope it helps.
 
#3 · (Edited)
If you've been eating just junk, that is a big improvement. Well done. But you can improve it still further, from a general health perspective.

First off, get some fish in there. Oil fish is better than non oily fish. Healthwise this is absolutely the best way to get protein. If you're not sure the difference between oily and non-oily fish, here is a list:

Food Standards Agency - What’s an oily fish?

I am not completely sure about the malt loaf. Processed food is a bad idea in general, as the processing process invariably adds salt, sugar, fat and chemical additives.

I'd vary from potatoes and bread as your sole source of protein. Get a rice cooker and learn to use it. If you can manage brown rice all the better- a lot of the nutrients and fibre are in the brown husk that is removed to make white rice.

Don't cut butter out of your diet completely. It's good for in moderate amounts (as most things are). Some people can get vitamin D deficient if they cut it.

Try steaming vegetables, and make sure you eat them 'al dente'- when they are still pretty crisp. That way they still have plenty of nutrients in them that are otherwise cooked out.

Here's one that not everyone will agree with: don't eat meat every day. When we were evolving into our present form we didn't have meat every day in our diet and the stomach can't handle it. Most westerners, and Americans especially, have a lot of undigested meat in the bottom of their stomachs as a result. It impairs the efficiency of your digestion and is just a bit toxic.

Not sure about the cheerios. I am not wild about breakfast cereals in general because (a) they are processed, and (b) you have to have them with milk, and most milk is saturated with growth hormones (female ones) and antibiotics. A mix of fruit and organic yougurt along with something with plenty of fibre is a good breakfast. Cottage cheese on wholegrain toast is quite good if you're a bit hungrier. A few eggs a week are fine, too.

It looks to me like you're not eating too much. That isn't great because you need plenty of calories for that exercise. Also, you can get kind of depressed if you're not eating, and when you're depressed you give up. So it is better to set an achievable target that you can live with. Don't be afraid to eat a bit more. Quite a bit more. With exercise and the effects of eating right, you will get into great shape anyway.

Oh, and learn to love salads. Great way to bulk out a meal and get your vegetable and fruit content up. Don't just stick to boring lettuce and tomato. Consider any and all of white onions, avocado, any kind of nut, asparagus, artichoke, spring onions, apple, orange, olives, anchovies, and pretty much anything else that takes your fancy. Try different kinds of lettuce and also rocket, which is more bitter than lettuce and makes a nice change. Learn to make dressings as well. Although they are a little fattening in principle, in practice you can dress a massive amount of salad with a tiny bit of dressing if you mix it in first, and the effect on the taste is unbelievable- it changes it from rabbit food to something you will be wanting second helpings of. One good dressing is a vinagarette, whih you make by mixing mustard, oil and vinegar. Use nice oil (olive oil) and nice vinegar, like balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar. Add salt, pepper, random herbs, garlic, again, whatever seems like it might be interesting.

Back from my long digression on salad...

Also, add variety. If you get bored you'll break your diet. To that end, you should invest in some healthy eating cookbooks.

(I'm assuming you don't know too much about cooking. Sorry if this is not the case and I have offended/patronized you. Not my intention at all.)
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top