My Diet For Combat Sports & Training
October 6, 2021 | WORDS BY BENJI SILVA
I have tried many different diets in many different forms and fashions over the past 14 years of my career in combat sports.
Through trial and error, I have found that incorporating carb cycling while tracking my macros (macronutrients) has given me the best results. (Note that this is what works for ME and may not work for everyone else, but I wanted to share my experience.)
I begin tailoring my macros by calculating my TDE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) with a TDE calculator, which can be easily found online. The TDE is based on age, height, weight, body fat percentage, and how much I workout weekly. I then do some math with my TDE number to figure out my low carb day and high carb day macro counts. The low carb days put me in a 25% calorie deficit, and the high carb days at a 10% caloric deficit.
Once all of that’s out of the way, I start my training camp’s strict diet regimen by doing three days on using the low carb macro count and one day off with high carb macro count. This has helped me make weight every weigh-in for years—and I have never missed weight! Additionally, this method allows me to maintain my energy and train hard in both NCFIT workouts and grappling without feeling extremely drained, and it helps me retain muscle mass as compared to when I would cut weight improperly.
Remaining strict with my diet leading up to an event really does more than just help me make weight and look shredded—it allows for mental discipline as well. Staying accountable to what I put in my body, eating on schedule, and building a routine around this schedule reminds me that I’m putting in the work, capitalizing on what’s in my control (i.e. my nutrition and training), and earning my mental confidence leading up to competition. This part of the process shifts my mindset to one focused on the task ahead with full confidence.
Most people just think that being successful in combat sports comes down to training hard. In reality, that’s just one piece of the puzzle. What you put into your body as a top athlete, especially if you have to cut weight, is crucial. I look at my body like a race car; I need to make sure I fuel it correctly to maximize my potential.
When cutting weight for MMA, you get at least 24 hours to rehydrate, eat, and gain back some of the weight and nutrients you were deficient in at weigh-in. Weight cut for Jiu Jitsu, on the other hand, is much trickier. Because you weigh in the same day as the event, if you cut improperly or just cut a bunch of water weight, you’ll feel drained and fatigued for your first match or potentially the whole competition.
That’s why, when I was taught about carb cycling while maintaining my macros, it drastically changed the game for me. It made the weight cut easy and stress-free every time, allowing me to focus more on training and training harder instead of constantly combatting the fatigue and brain fog I was susceptible to while underfed and malnourished.
In Jiu Jitsu competitions, this style of dieting helped me feel nourished and strong while still being able to make weight. In MMA, the benefits were even more noticeable because I was able to feel great while making weight and then getting a full 24 hours to eat and rehydrate (even though I didn’t need much due to being well-nourished from cutting properly).
Having a bad weight cut has led many combat sports athletes to hospitalization, injuries, or not performing well due to fatigue from a lack of nutrients and/or water. It doesn’t matter how good an athlete is, if they’re not properly hydrated or don’t have ample nutrients, they’re less likely to get the results they trained so hard for.
This is why I take my nutrition just as seriously as I do my training; it all goes hand-in-hand to make a successful outcome for a competition. I know everyone has their own way of cutting weight, this way is just what works best for me and keeps my body safe on and off the mats.
