Putting the Marcos together for MMA and BJJ Nutrition/Diet Plans
So here we are in the final instalment of the macro series!
If you have read through the last 3 instalments you will have a much better understanding of what protein, fats and carbohydrates do and which ones are best for which purpose. If you have no idea what I’m talking about then I suggest you go back and read the previous three blogs and have your mind blown (well as much as one can have their mind blown by macronutrients).
In this article I will cover how to combine all the macro nutrients into one sensible nutrition plan. Obviously the entire scope of such a topic can fill books so this will be a very basic over view. The point of any great, intelligent nutrition plan is to give you a good starting point on which to make adjustments based on the results you see.
Before we go into more details it always has to be mentioned that every individual is different and that everyone should talk to their Doctor, Coach or consult a professional before you under take any major changes to your lifestyle (especially if you are a little new to all of this). Nutrition is a very individual thing and each person responds to everything a little different. There is no cookie cutter plan that will work for everyone. The best thing you can do is to try things and adjust based on the results you get (this is the real magic of a nutrition plan).
As previously mentioned in other articles, foods can be broken down into protein, carbs (carbohydrates) and fats. It is the manipulation of these that will give us the results that we require. So let’s take a look at them and see what they do specifically to our bodies (guns and gut ladies and gentlemen).
I’m not going to go through exactly what macros do what as most of you will be bored since I went through them all in the past article. What I am now going to focus on are certain key factors that you can use to put it all together.
Before I go through the macro set up we have to look at one major factor that governs your success above nearly all others. Calories.
While WHAT we eat can be important, how MUCH we eat still play the biggest part in whether we are losing, gaining or maintaining our weight. I know there are a lot of plans out there at the moment that say you don’t have to count calories. There is nothing wrong with these plans and some get great results. Remember it is the full picture that we need to look at, don’t be distracted by the latest miracle programme, the basic principles must always be adhered to in order to get the most from any nutritional plan.
Ok so what are the starting points on calorie intake? Firstly we need to take a look at what your goals are. Are you looking to drop a weight class? Are you looking to gain muscle and power in the off-season or just maintain a certain weight over a period of time. When you have a definitive goal then we can take the next step in setting up a programme.
Let’s have a look;
· For losing weight I recommend 10 calories for every pound of body weight. So a 165 pound (75kg) person would take in 1650 calories every single day and then adjust from there.
· For gaining muscle, I recommend 20 calories per pound of body weight. So our 165 pound client would ingest 3300 calories a day then adjust depending on results and other factors (quality of gains, muscle and strength gains vs fat gain etc).
· For maintaining what you have I recommend 15 calories per pound. So a 165 individual would take in 2475 calories a day.
Within these calorific breakdowns we need to ascertain what macro nutrients (protein, carbs, fats) that will make up our intake (see previous articles). Below I outline the basic starting point for losing fat, gaining muscle and maintaining. Again, and I can’t stress this enough, these are only starting points and it is the adjustments and knowing what to adjust and when to do it that makes the difference to a successful nutrition plan.
Ok, so what are we looking at;
Losing fat
· Protein is a minimum of 1g per pound of body weight. So our 165 (75kg) pound individual will take in 165g of protein EVERY SINGLE DAY.
· Carbs will be set at 0.5g per pound. So the 165 pound person will take in 82g per day.
· With fats, the 165 pound person will take in 0.5g of fat per pound (82g every day).
Gaining Muscle
· Protein is a minimum of 1.5g per pound of body weight. So our 165 (75kg) pound individual will take in 247g of protein EVERY SINGLE DAY.
· Carbs will be set at 1.5g per pound. So the 165 pound person will take in 330g per day.
· With fats, the 165 pound person will take in 1.5g of fat per pound (247g every day).
Maintaining current weight.
· Protein is a minimum of 1.5g per pound of body weight. So our 165 (75kg) pound individual will take in 247g of protein EVERY SINGLE DAY.
· Carbs will be set at 1g per pound of body weight, per day. This will give us 165g everyday.
· With fats, the 165 pound person will take in 0.25g of fat per day (41g every day).
Again, these are just the basics of setting up a plan. The full scope of having the optimal diet is different for each individual and is well beyond the scope of this article series. The idea behind this series is to give you the starting blocks of knowledge so you can go out and try things, experiment, read, learn and find out what works for you. This may look like a lot of numbers and hard work figuring out what works for you, but nothing worth having comes easy.
Now the second most important thing to look at for individuals is nutrient timing. I like to have my clients have the majority of their carb intake around their workouts and training sessions. For most this means a solid pre, intra and post schedule of fast digesting carbs and easily digested protein (very important to use products that digest and leave the stomach quickly as not to cause stomach upset and give the body all it needs around training). Then based on their allowance they may have a meal containing carbs before or after training (this is down to how an individual responds as some train and recover better with carbs before training. I like to use fast acting carbs that are digested quickly in these meal (like white rice). For other fast acting carb sources please see last months article on carbs.
I keep fat out of meals during this period and use lean, easily digested protein at this time as well (things like turkey, chicken breast, lean pork loin etc). This is very important as it allows the body to quickly put the nutrients to work and help the body recover. This is down to the fact that fat slows down digestion when added to a meal.
As for protein and fat I like to keep them both in every meal out side of the training window. Protein and fat should be divided up equally between meals. This is because protein and fat help you feel fuller for longer and make a much more satisfying meal. Plus as we know, protein helps the recovery of muscle and other tissues in the body, and correct fat intake helps with hormone production (things like testosterone for recovery etc).
It is also worth mentioning the point of eating a large variety of foods to help make sure you get in all the adequate nutrients. Try to have a lot of different coloured vegetables, eat a few pieces of fruit a day and rotate you protein sources (look outside the box for things like fish, Bison and other wild game).
When learning a new skill from driving a car to learning an instrument and setting up a quality nutrition or weight plan, it is always worth using a professional to help remove the stress and to get you started. However hopefully using the last 3 blogs and this one you will be able to put together a great starting point for your nutrition that will help you train harder, recover faster and turn you into a beast on the mats!
As always I welcome comments in a well thought out manor and questions. Feel free to drop me a line.
Stay healthy,
Mike.
