Foods to do mixed martial arts (MMA) on keto
Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a sport that demands a lot of exertion from your body. It’s a sport that’s heavy on energy, particularly for people who are on a ketogenic (keto) diet. This is because, when you’re on a keto diet, the only source of energy that your body can efficiently use is fats.
Some people may find it difficult to continue doing MMA on keto, and eventually, give up on one or the other. Fortunately, though, combining the two isn’t a problem when you understand the workings of keto and how your body responds to it when you fight.
To keep things simple, your body has three major sources of energy in the form of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. All of these come from your diet and are used by your body for energy. The carbs go first, followed by proteins, and at last, when these first two sources are depleted, your body starts using its stored fats for energy. It is then that you can proudly say that your body is on keto.
While on the keto diet, you must strictly refrain from consuming excess carbohydrates and proteins, so your only energy source is the stored fats. But for a high-intensity sport like MMA, you need a lot of energy. So how do you combine MMA and keto?
To resolve this, here are a few foods you should eat, and a few foods you should not, while you are on a keto diet, to ensure you can continue to do your favorite mixed martial arts. Also, you can explore keto-friendly foods on a page like this one.
Best foods for MMA on keto
All food items that have low or no carbohydrates are generally considered suitable for MMA on the keto diet 到會服務. These foods will give you the required energy for your training and fights, but do not elevate your blood sugar levels significantly.
- Non-starchy vegetables: The problem here is that starch is converted to glucose in your body, which kicks you out of ketosis. As such, only those vegetables that don’t contain much starch are good for your keto diet. Naming a few of my favorites, I would recommend spinach (high in iron), radish, kale, cucumber, bell pepper, broccoli, zucchini, and last but not least asparagus. Eat these without a worry!
- Avocado: Don’t forget this one. It is a complete and multipurpose food for you. When I say multipurpose, this means you can have avocados in many fun ways, whether it’s a salad, a spread, or even a dip. Avocados are rich in fats and lower in carbs, so what else do you need?
- Seafood: Top of the list among protein sources is seafood because it contains high-density lipoproteins that we call good cholesterols, or say omega-3 fats. Seafood not only supplements the fats but also has zero carb content, which makes it the best fit for a ketogenic diet. Other than this, you can have meat obtained from purely grass-fed animals, whether it’s beef, lamb, or goat.
- Drinks: Keeping yourself hydrated is the most important part of any kind of physical training, and the same goes for MMA. As such, the best bet to combine mixed martial arts and keto is to drink mainly water. However, you can have some other carb-free drinks, including black coffee, herbal tea, coconut milk, or black tea. These won’t disturb your diet in any way.
- Home-made organic items: Foods that are free from additives, like artificial flavors or preservatives, are safe to consume when you are training in mixed martial arts on a ketogenic diet. The only rule is to make sure it is home-made organic.
Worst foods for MMA on keto:
These are the foods you should strictly avoid on a keto diet because they can kick you out of ketosis, which means that your body starts using glucose for energy again instead of fats. These no-go foodstuffs include carb-rich foods and processed items like artificial sweeteners, carbonated drinks, milk, some fresh as well as dried fruits, grains, wheat, and some oil products.
- Sugar or sweeteners: Anything sweet means an abundance of carbohydrates, so a person on a ketogenic diet should avoid consuming sugar in any form. This is whether it’s honey, maple syrup, products with added sweeteners like yogurt, juices, cookies, or really any other packaged food with a sweet flavor enhancer.
- Grains: Grains of all kinds contain a heavy amount of carbohydrates that can mess with a ketogenic diet. These grains include rice, cereals, rye, oats, corn, and even wheat. These are not the right choices if you are opting for keto for martial arts.
- Starchy vegetables: Starchy vegetables like corn, beets, sweet potatoes, green peas, carrots, turnips, etc. are all items that you should avoid while on keto for martial arts. This is because your body breaks down the starch into glucose to provide instant energy, and thereby stops using fat as fuel.
- Fruits: Clearly, fruits are good for your health, although on the keto diet, you don’t get a free hand here. This is because most fruits have a high amount of carbohydrates, which makes them tasty yet bad for keto, as they increase your blood sugar levels. Here we’re talking about your favorite mangoes, bananas, dates, pineapple, and raisins.
- Milk: YES! Milk is a serious culprit if you’re on keto for martial arts. Although milk contains calcium and potassium which are essential for your bones and teeth, it also contains a high amount of sugar. For reference, say, 1 glass of whole milk contains 12 grams of lactose sugar. However, fortunately, you don’t have to completely avoid milk, and you’re allowed to cheat sometimes. On these occasions, it’s better to have low-carb almond or coconut milk instead of the high-carb ones.
These were some foods that you won’t eat while doing keto and mixed martial arts. There might be some of your favorite foods here, but the effort of avoiding them is worth it to get slim, healthy and fit!
To summarize, you can be creative with what you eat to recreate your best-loved recipes on keto. Make sure to keep eating both healthy and interesting meals, because compliance is essential to see the benefits of the keto diet while doing mixed martial arts.
