do you need to diet while doing martial arts?

[ang_soo_do_guy]

ok this has plagued my mind since i started my martial art and i wanna know for sure. some people say you need to have a special diet while training in martial arts "getting the right fuel" but others say just eat what you want but not too much so im asking now so i can get the best out of my martial art do i need a special diet or can i eat normal p.s. i eat 3 times a day which is cerial, a sandwhich for lunch and then whatever for dinner usally pasta or spegetti any advice useful

[ncole_91]

I don't think you need a speacial diet. If you are doing MA fro physical fitness, then cut the Mcdonald and pizza out. If you are already fit, then eat what you are eating. It is mostly personal preference. Someone can correct me if I am wrong, but this is my opinion

[Hudson]

Well, that all depends really. I mean, theres a way you should eat in general, not just in martial arts. If you're supplementing martial arts into your life and your not obese then eat how you like, but if you live as a martial artist you certainly should eat correctly. That means waking up and eating something other then coffee and donuts.

 

Remember, you are what you eat.

[MenteReligieuse]

Jacky Chan's opinion on diets : Eat whatever you want, as long as you work out accordingly.

[aes]

I don't think you need a special diet unless you are trying to loose weight.

 

Of course for optimum health it is best to have a healthy diet but I don't think this is MA specific.

[Shorin Ryuu]

The word "diet" has picked up an incredibly negative context because it almost always carries connotations of eating less food to lose weight. Instead, we should remember what the word really means, which is just what you are eating. I for one think any one, athletes especially, but anyone at all, should eat a healthy diet regardless of who they are. The problem is, in most developed countries, the attitude of the people is now becoming one of instant gratification and over indulgence in pleasure, to include in the culinary aspect of life as well. People pay more attention to what their desensitized taste buds tell them rather than what their body tells them. Gluttony isn't a new thing, but now more and more people are able to do it, and are doing it.

 

People need to realize that there is more to health than "not being fat." What you eat plays such a large role in building your resistance to disease, including cancer, heart disease, etc. It also plays such a huge role in how gracefully you age. Whether you end up as a hunched over, ailing old person or a spry, active person of advanced years is up to you. I prefer to be the latter.

 

Of course, I would be considered "radical" in my views of what a proper diet would constitute. I don't eat sweets, ever. I don't eat junk food snacks, and avoid eating fatty foods in general (unless it is healthy fats, in which case I eat a healthy amount of them). Furthermore, I eat less and less meat (I don't even remember the last time was...maybe a few weeks ago?) and more vegetable protein (but still sufficient levels of protein). I also take care to ensure a good level of vitamins and the like. I don't eat herbal supplements or anything, as I get a lot of nutrition from the food I eat. And lastly, I ENJOY what I eat. My body doesn't even crave junk food anymore (believe me, I ate as much if not more than the average person did before I started all this).

 

People tell me "Oh, I could never do that," or "Wow, you have such crazy discipline." The sad part of it is, none of that is true. It starts a day at a time. I had relapses from time to time, but they were very few and far between. I didn't give it up once I had a relapse. The fact of the matter is, given financial means (meaning you can afford to eat what "normal" people would consider as enough to satisfy their needs), ANYONE can do this, and it isn't that special. You just have to make the decision to do it, and make it for real. This sounds like a cheesy motivational confidence tape that some people listen to on their way to work, but it is true.

 

I'll use the following example, but it isn't a great one considering the dietary considerations I am proposing:

 

Walk into a Baskin Robbins 31 flavors ice cream store. What flavor do you choose? Is it vanilla? Is it chocolate? Or maybe even Perils of Praline? Why do you like it? Experience, your taste buds give you a specific sensory impulse, whatever. Having true power of choice is being able to walk into Baskin Robbins and pick vanilla, because you choose to. And then the next day, you walk in and choose Chocolate Mint, because you choose to. They're not your favorites, really, because having it that way would limit you from choosing something else.

 

Right...maybe I should have chosen someting else, but I'm sure that walking into Baskin Robbins 31 flavors of asparagus would not have provided the image I was going for...

 

Anyway, a long and rambling post to say that no, you don't need a "special diet" because you are taking martial arts. You should eat healthy because it's healthy. You don't have to be as "extreme" as I am, or not eat as little meat as I do (but eating too much isn't that healthy...), but most people could use a little more health in their diet.

 

And no post of mine about diet would be complete without plugging the book The Okinawa Program by the doctors Willcox and Suzuki. I don't buy into everything they say, I don't follow their program per se, and I'll be the first to admit that some of their attempts to fit everything into a Procrustean bed to make everything "Okinawan" may be a bit of a stretch...

 

All the same, it contains a lot of excellent nutrition info that you can use to find out what kind of foods and things are healthy or not. Using this info, you can orient your diet to be much more healthy, or even just a little more healthy, if you don't feel like taking the plunge.

Edited November 5, 2004 by Shorin Ryuu

[TheDevilAside]

That is a great post, Shorin.

And lastly, I ENJOY what I eat. My body doesn't even crave junk food anymore

I've noticed the exact same thing. I cut out pop/soda (Coke, basically) signficantly and replaced it with water (smart, huh?) and the great thing is I haven't really craved good ol' coca cola at all, now I actually prefer water over Coca Cola because now drinking it almost makes me kind of sick. It's waayy too sweet for me. Didn't used to be, but it is now. Same goes for fast-food.

 

Also, I'd reccomend flipping your lunch with your dinner. Eat a larger, more nutritious lunch and a smaller dinner.

[MenteReligieuse]

People think im weird when I ask for water while eating sweet foods (like chocolate cakes) ... I just love water...

[HumanTyphoon]

Yeah, it's so weird, I have lost my taste in soda as well. I prefer water as my favorite drink. It's just too addictive!

[steveb]

What works for me is everything in moderation. I eat a sensible diet most of the time, but about once a week I'll indulge myself and have whatever I'd been craving (usually pizza or wings or some such). That way I don't feel like I have to deprive myself of some of my favorites and I still have a much better diet than others.