Nutrition Tips For Martial Arts

Nutrition Tips For Martial Arts Training & Weight Management
written by: Master McCorry

Is nutrition important in sports or, in life in general? YES, of course it is! Nutrition not only helps in boosting your energy levels but, it also enables you to understand how your inner body  performs and how to achieve a perfect body composition. It also helps you understand how best to increase, or lose weight, at some point in your sporting activities or life. A case in point is when you want to  lose a few pounds to have the right weight for a martial arts tournament, competition, upcoming event or, for the summer season. Unfortunately during such times, losing weight sometimes needs to be done in a quick and fast way. And, this of course will require a lot of sacrifice and pains to achieve. The following are nutrition tips to ensure that you lose weight and acquire a perfect body in a fast and healthy way. 

Set a Goal 
The first thing you should do as soon as you start the journey towards your ideal weight, is to set a goal. The goal in this context is to shed off some pounds. It is important to understand that there is no safe way to lose weight than eating appropriately and training hard to achieve that
goal.  Some people may resort to using sauna belts and sweatsuits, pills and fad diets as the fastest way to achieve their goals. However, these apparels are not enough to help you lose weight, be healthy and keep  the weight loss off. Avoid fasting as it will cut down your caloric intake and cause problems to the normal functioning of your body and it's metabolism. 
 
Avoid Eating Empty Calorie Foods
For a healthy weight loss procedure, it is advisable not to cut too much of your calories on your food intake. For proper functioning of the body, it is important that you constantly supply it with essential nutrients and cutting down on your food intake may stop the supply of these nutrients.
Therefore, instead of drastically cutting down on your energy source, refine your food intake with more nutrient-dense foods (fruits and vegetables) and avoid eating empty-calories (highly processed foods that contain added fat and sugar). For example, you can eat more vegetables
instead of those sides of french fries or baked potato's with your lean cuts of protein meats, poultry or, vegetarian and vegan proteins sources such as beans, lentils, tofu and tempeh. Your body will get the required energy supply it will demand from your training. Cut the baked products for desserts and turn to fresh fruits for sugar cravings.  

 Learn How To Naturally Boost Your Metabolism
In order for you to lose weight your metabolism must be improved. Frequent meals (ideally small meals every 3 hours, or 3 meals with a snack in-between) full of nutrient dense foods based from your BMR (basil metabolic rate) which is the number of calories you'd burn if you stayed in bed all day. By doing this, and knowing your caloric intake, your body will be able to burn calories for longer periods of time. This will also help you gain and maintain the energy level you need to train hard and achieve your goals.  Below are some formulas to find your proper caloric intake based on your activity level.

BMR Formula

Women: 

BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches)- ( 4.7 x age in years )
Men: 

BMR = 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches )-( 6.8 x age in year )

To determine your total daily calorie needs, multiply your BMR result by the appropriate activity factor, as follows:

If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2 

If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) :Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375

If you are moderately active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) :Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55

If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) :Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725

If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9

It is important to point out that your metabolism is influenced by your age and genetics. But, this does not mean that you cannot change it. For instance, as a martial artist your metabolism will depend on exertion level and your eating pattern or habits. If you want to lose weight you must
increase the frequency of your workouts and adjust your food intake. When planning your meals endeavor to combine proteins with complex carbohydrates, vegetables and fruits as mentioned above. Keep healthy snacks handy for in-between meals such as fruit or a serving of nuts. This
will will prevent yourself from going too long without eating which leads to hunger, which then leads to poor food choices. Make sure to drink plenty of water throughout the day to stay hydrated for optimal performance and prevention of morning grogginess and tiredness. 

Stay on the GOAL Track!
We all know how hard it is to achieve our ideal weight.  Whether it's 30,40, 70, or 100 pounds or, that last 5-10 pound hurdle to reaching your goal for your special event or competition,  understand that falling off the goal track is normal and perfectly fine.  Most of us have all been there at least once in our life.  Don't beat yourself up but, more so, pick yourself up and get back on the goal track. Move on and forget about it. With a little determination YOU CAN do it and YOU CAN be successful in reaching your goal weight!

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