Having a good fighter’s diet can be just as important as having a good training schedule. One of the hardest parts of preparing for a fight is getting to the agreed-upon weight. Many aspects have to be taken into account when choosing the correct weight to compete at, and if you, or your coach, choose a weight that is too light, it can make life very difficult in the days/weeks leading up. One of the reasons why making the competition weight can be so hard is that many fighters don’t eat like athletes!

A fighter’s weight cutting meal is one that should not only aid a fighter in losing weight for his competition bout but also provide adequate nutrition for the body to continue to train hard leading up to it. Just because a fighter is losing weight, doesn’t mean he is becoming healthier! There are many ways to lose weight, some of the healthy methods, and some others are very damaging. This post is not about all of the ways that a fighter can lose weight, but it is to provide a simple meal that can be very effective when trying to drop that excess fat in the weeks leading up to weigh in.

Video Audio: This is a spur of the moment video that I decided to make on one of the ways that I sometimes meal prep for my fight camps. I’m a pretty average cook, it’s pretty easy, and it’s pretty healthy. Hopefully, this helps out some of my fighters, or anyone else interested in how to make a healthy meal!

For more info on losing weight for a competition check out this article!

Fighters Weight Cutting Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 salmon steak (approx 200g)
• 3 x brussel sprouts
• 2-3 small broccoli chunks
• 2 carrot pieces (each 1-2 inches long)
• 3 cherry tomatoes
• 2 pieces of asparagus (halved)
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1/8th red onion (sliced)
• olive oil
• salt + pepper
• chilli flakes (optional)
• aluminium foil

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°c
2. Lay out 2 sheets of Aluminium foil, one on top of the other, and place salmon in the centre
3. Scatter tomato, brussel sprouts, broccoli, carrot, asparagus, garlic, and red onion, in no particular order or structure on/around the salmon
4. Drizzle olive oil over all ingredients
5. Sprinkle with salt and pepper (optional: add chilli flakes)**
6. Wrap foil around ingredients with opening squished closed, pointing upwards
7. place on baking tray and leave in oven for 45 minutes, or until cooked
8. let stand for 5 minutes before eating, add salt and pepper to taste**

*If you are getting very close to your fight where you have to dehydrate yourself to reach weight, you may choose to leave the salt out of the recipe, as salt causes some water retention.