A diet regiment for an older fighter,looking to maintain weight

[Trainer Monkey]

Im 6'5" and looking to stay under 185
Sounds weird I know,but youd have to see my build
Any suggestions?
Cause I accidentily got down to 174,and got a bit sick.so Im on shaky ground

[Chris Nagel]

If the weight that you have lossed is on account of taking a huge calorie cut then there's part of the reason why you've been getting tired and feeling sick. You can't jump right into into a program over night, you have to gradually settle into it so your body can adapt.

I think that achieving right balance is spacing your exercise so your metabolism will maintain a higher level. Do a routine in the morning to bring it up, another in the early afternoon and one in the late afternoon. You can also space out different exercises throughout the day which helps keep you active, and gives you muscles more time to recover.

On another note, instead of eating 3 small meals and a few snacks, it's better to eat 5-6 meals if you can manage. It helps if you plan your meals in advance so that you can have an extra sack with you whereever you go. You'll be hungry less, your body won't hord your body fat, and you'll be able to maintain your higher energy levels.

Also regarding carbs and protein, don't cut to much of either. I can understand that you don't want to gain weight, but if you sacrifice to much of carbs or protein your body will start eating itself. A lot of people believe that eating more protein will just end up in big muscles and unneccessary weight gain. Although you don't want to take in excessive amounts of protein, you should get enough protein. The amino acids will help recovery, and not just building muscle. The big thing with gaining muscle it's more toward what kind of exercise you're doing that trigger growth, more so than what you put down your food pipe.

Now Hopkins should be if not already an inspiration. Does he starve himself? Does he count his exact calorie intake? No, he controls how much he eats, and he eats what his body needs. I don't believe that he takes protein shakes, not even when he was moving up in weight to take on Tarver. He takes his proteins from lean meats, he also eats lots of fish. He also gets a lot of carbs from raw fruits.

[Trainer Monkey]

Thanks for the advice Chris,Ill CC ya when it lets me again
Problem isolated and destroyed
It was Protein,plain and simple
Since I carry such a low body fat percentage,the sudden massive increase in physical activity ment I was burning through what few fat stores I have,very quickly,forcing my body to turn to,well muscle,and with no increase in the very building blocks,it was just chewing me up and winding me down.
Did a whey protein shake yesterday,and one today,and other then residual stifness,I feel great.

[Trainer Monkey]

Though I swear as god as my witness,Im going through the Brushfork Armory like the hand of god,because I want a double whopper and a large order of fries,and I cant have one
Someone has to suffer for this crap,I mean other then I am right now

[Chris Nagel]

Mmmm, if you could find some steak you'd be okay.

[Trainer Monkey]

Mmmm, if you could find some steak you'd be okay.

Damnit Im an American whose never had to watch his weight before,I want absolute crap,its the American way
I even made a very nice stew tonight,and couldnt have thirds
Wanted thirds
Couldnt have them
Someone needs to pay very dearly for this
I know Im eating,and being healthier,but Ive been up to a healthy and hearty 210 before,so this a struggle
Oh well,nobody said being a boxer was easy,if it was,every one could do it
so Im just bitching,because its a huge adjustment to be back in training after this long of a layoff,so dont mind me too bad

[Sharla]

I hate dieting too -

Not looking foreward to trying to get weight down again - only have to loose about 3 kg to get down to fight weight but it ALWAYS hurts.

Held it down too long last time and really struggled, lost muscle, upset my metabolism, became deficient on Fe and Ca.

Messy. In hindsight though it might not have been only that I wasn't eating enough but also eating at the wrong times. I didn't eat after my night workout because I thought it would make me fat since I finish late.

Went to a sports nutrition workshop the other day and they said most athletes don't pay enough attention to eating to recover from a workout.

According to the Australian Institute of Sport you're meant to eat at least 1g of carbs and 10 - 20 g of protein per kg of body mass within 1 hour after a workout. Might vary a bit depending on type of workout but I'd rather have too much than too little now. Is more important to do this if have another workout within 8 hours so if you do multiple sessions a day might need to be extra careful.