What to Eat the Night Before a Boxing Match
Proper diet during a training camp and a weight cut is a significant challenge. It can often be tempting, especially after the pressure of a strict diet for an entire camp, to splurge on the meal the night before the fight, since the training and weigh-ins are over. But for the best performance in the fight, you can eat specific types of foods that will help.
A bowl of whole grain pasta. (Image: manyakotic/iStock/Getty Images)Carbohydrates
Although carbohydrates are considered a food type to eat in moderation for non-fighters, this is not necessarily the case for boxers. Due to the intensity of training, carbs are an important portion of a healthy diet due to the energy they provide. This is particularly necessary the day before a fight. Healthy sources of carbs such as whole grain bread or wheat pasta give you the best results.
Protein
Although boxers typically cut back on the intensity of their training during the last few days before a fight, the strains a weight cut places on your body still slow your muscle recovery. Once you have rehydrated and re-energized, eating lean protein give your body the building blocks to repair and strengthen your muscles, preparing you for the next day's bout.
Sodium
Significant amounts of sodium are generally something to be avoided by competitive athletes. Although the body does need sodium to function, many prepared foods already contain significant amounts of sodium, making more unnecessary and potentially unhealthy. During many weight cuts, though, it is common to cut virtually all sodium from the diet to aid in weight loss. Since sodium helps your body retain water, eating a meal the night before the fight that contains some sodium will help you recover from the weight cut.
Water
Particularly after a challenging weight cut, the single most important thing you can do to enhance your performance the next day is to rehydrate. Drinking plenty of water will help improve virtually all of your body functions' efficiency, making you faster and stronger and helping your cardio last longer during the fight the next day.
