Diet and Martial Arts

[njc81]

Just wondering what kinds of diets people eat on hear. more life styles than diets as such.

[Spartacus Maximus]

I only follow a few guidelines and have no specific food restrictions. First I drink water whether or not I am thirsty. Sometimes 6 or more litres in a day, half of this in the morning. I rarely eat breakfast and when I do it is a very small meal. For other meals I eat whatever I like but always include as much vegetables as possible and more importantly, I make sure I am not completely full. Besides that I make sure I train 7 days a week, at least an hour.

[Kanku65]

Diet can be a very important thing for any physical activity.

In all honesty, a good diet can benefit everyone in every aspect of their life, whether it be work, physical health, or mental health.

My diet is complete garbage! Some days I over eat, some days I under eat. No day is ever the same, and yet I remain in what I consider to be above average physical condition.

Often I wonder about the benefits of implementing a solid diet plan to my lifestyle and the positive effects which it would have upon my life. My lifestyle is brutally fast-paced however, going to university 4 days a week and working 3, and I fear that placing a strict diet plan within it would run me into the ground. It's a most unfortunate thing to be driven to a life of convenience.

Despite being physically fit, my poor diet has lead to a lack of alertness in my life. This is no good. It makes me feel awful when I want to take a nap halfway through 2nd class, or before lunchtime at work.

Don't be like me. Eat as healthy as possible, feel good always!

[Spodo Komodo]

I am trying to lose a bit of weight after a long layoff from Karate so I log all my food every day. It is a good idea as you can go back and review your diet from time to time to make sure it is giving you the fuel to perform. I use My Fitness Pal but there are quite a few diet logging sites out there. The better ones will give you a breakdown of protein/fat/carbs etc and maybe even your vitamins but more features will probably only come at a cost.

As for what I eat, I generally start with good old porridge (oatmeal?) can't beat it as a breakfast. Lunch is generally fish based with a starchy accompaniment such as potatoes or rice with fresh green veg and dinner is always soup. I make a batch of soup stuffed with veg at the start of the week and freeze portions in cheap plastic mugs. I try to get at least 200g of veg in each portion and flavour it with tomatoes and curry paste. I can't always eat much when I come in from training so soup is a digestible and healthy way to get an evening meal.

[yamesu]

Some solid comments here already.

Personally, I make sure I am maintaining my water intake throughout the day (coffee, tea and juice does not count). I eat extremely clean Monday to Friday, usually low carbohydrates, wholesome breakfast (usually the only days carb's if any), protein and veggies/fruit for lunch, and heaps of veggies with a standard serve of protein each night. Small snacks in between only if I actually feel hungry, usually nuts or a protein bar. Coffee for me is normally a long black as I like dairy, but don't consume too much of it oner than yoghurt.

I then allow myself to binge on weekends, order pizza or pies, go out to a fancy joint with my better half, and often includes making pancakes for saturday morning breakfast In saying that, I still eat pretty clean, but do just eat what I want - this also gives me something to look forward to at the end of the week.

If I am on holidays somewhere, its all bets off. I just eat whatever I want. I mean, how can you go to France and not stuff your face with pastries all day!!!!

Ive been following this for years, and have found that I am less lethargic, as well as sleep and train better than I did when eating junk all the time. It has also boosted my muscle levels to a point where I am maintaining a good mass while still having speed and technique. It also has helped me to shave down on fat from my layoff from training a few years back...

I don't drink soft drinks (soda for those in the USA), don't eat lollies, can't stand energy drinks, and if I do have chocolate it is usually the 70% variety. Its just me, they are not part of my everyday (similarly with fast food like McDonalds and KFC etc...) and I often look at these foods and feel disgusted, let alone feel the need to eat them.

I have found that particularly when training full contact, these clean eating elements are important, as they facilitate muscle recovery.

[RAM18]

Only things i would add is don't make drastic changes to your diet as they are hard to maintain. Small changes.

The other is that protein is your friend. Anyone who does physical activity needs it and most people don't meet the daily requirement. There are a lot of protein calculators out there on the internet, worth a look!

[Spodo Komodo]

You are not kidding! I don't eat much meat, only fish and occasionally chicken and I find it a constant battle to keep carbs under control while eating somewhere near enough protein.

[DWx]

Kind of topical:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-32417699

It's that saying: "Abs are made in the kitchen and not in the gym"

Same applies to the rest of your body.

[Spartacus Maximus]

Another general guideline that I follow is to avoid processed or transformed foods as much as possible. The idea of "staying hungry" is good advice and really does work.

[muttley]

I was going to put up a post about diet and what is best for training. Although I only train once (sometimes twice) a week depending on my shifts, I do want to get my body back to how it was when I was training more regularly.

The main problem I have is that I work shifts and when at work, it is hard to balance eating with my job. When I am at home, I try to eat as healthy as I can, but having both myself and my wife work full time (and with 2 young children), this is not always easy! I am trying to cut out breads and "processed" carbs as much as possible, unfortunately, this leaves very little variety for meals!

I have recently started to use an outdoor gym that was kindly installed by my village council pretty much right outside my house, I am looking to combine these body weight exercise machines with some laps of the park they are in to turn it into a decent(ish) circuit. Again, this is going to be dependant on shifts and time (Isn't everything?)

My main concern though is my diet, my metabolism has gone from being super fast when I was in my younger years to slowing right down since I turned 30 (9 years ago). Part of me thinks I am too old for this sort of change, but I realise I need to sort my diet out if I am going to progress with my new style of karate that I am now trying to train in.

Any suggestions would be very much appreciated

Ossu