When should you eat before a fight?

[lanzarote]

When should you eat before a fight?

I have a fight (my first fight so will be nervous as hell)in a few weeks and it will be about 8.30 pm

Normally i eat dinner about 7pm smallish pasta vedgy dish.

I wont want to do that then tho.

My lunch is at about 1pm.

So what to do to do What does everyone else do?

Any tips appreciated in advance.

[Joachim]

Not too soon at least an hour or two before you fight. You dont want to feel full. But you dont want to be hungry either. as long as you arent stuffing your face you should be good. and carbs would be a good idea as well.

[rockymarciano1]

dont go into a fight dehydrated because the punches will do more damage.

[RightHooker]

Will you be able to make whatever weight you need to if you have food in you?

If you can (lucky you!) than just eat whatever is comfortable (no new foods). If the fight is at 8:30pm I'd have my last meal at probably 5:30 and then something like an energy bar, banana etc at around 8.

But I'm never in that situation, I'm always weighing in partially dehydrated and on an empty stomach and then stuffing myself lol.

[shyboirank#1]

eat pizza and blueberrys give you lots of energy

[I3C727]

dont go into a fight dehydrated because the punches will do more damage.

i really hope people dont believe everything they read on this forum

[TheNegation]

I personally do this and I know a lot of professinal fighters do this also is Whole Wheat Pasta and a Protein Shake probably 2-3 hours before the fight.

So essentially consume complex carbs with some kind of bio-available protein source.

I know the guy in my sig and avatar does the same thing

[RightHooker]

i really hope people dont believe everything they read on this forum

Me too. But what he wrote is actually true.

When you are dehydrated, the amount of fluid inside your skull protecting your brain is reduced which makes you more vulnerable to concussions.

Dehydration leads to changes in the volume of compartments within the cranium that could put sportsmen and women at risk of brain damage after head injuries, according to a team of UK researchers (‘The effects of dehydration on brain volume – preliminary results’, International Journal of Sports Medicine 2005; 26:481-485).

In adults, the cranium (the part of the skull that encloses the brain) is a rigid bony vault of fixed size, with a constant volume that is the product of the volume of the brain, the intracranial cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in a compartment known as the subarachnoid space, and the intra- cranial blood. The brain is suspended within the sub-arachnoid space, which surrounds it with a protective cushion of fluid. The brain itself contains fluid- filled cavities known as the cerebral ventricles, which communicate with the subarachnoid space.

The aim of this pioneering study was to investigate the relationship between dehydration and changes in the volume of the brain and the cerebral ventricles in six healthy male amateur rugby union players.

The subjects underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of the brain before and after a period of exercise designed to cause significant dehydration, while samples of blood and urine were taken before and afterwards to assess the degree of dehydration. One of the subjects (control) undertook a further series of MRI scans to enable the researchers to assess day-to-day fluctuations of brain and ventricular volume in a normally hydrated healthy person.

They found that the subjects lost between 2.1% and 2.6% of their body mass from sweating during the exercise. They also found a correlation between the degree of dehydration and the change in ventricular volume, with changes in the latter much larger than those seen in the normally hydrated control subject.

‘Changes in the volume of the brain, the intracranial CSF (especially the subarachnoid space) and the intracranial blood may influence the outcome of closed head injuries,’ the researchers explain. ‘After an impact to the head the brain will travel further within the cranium before it meets the skull if the subarachnoid space is enlarged than in the normally hydrated state. Consequently it will accelerate to higher velocities and this may increase the likelihood of contusion injuries after blows to the head such as those sustained in boxing, football and rugby’.

Although the researchers acknowledge that their study was too small to be definitive, they conclude that dehydration causes changes in the volume of intra-cranial compartments that may put sportsmen and women at increased risk of brain damage from contusion injury (bruising) and internal haemorrhage after head injuries.

‘Some sportsmen and women, eg boxers, rugby players and footballers, are especially vulnerable to serious head injuries whilst dehydrated.’