Diet is key to any workout. This section will help give you some insight into eating and tips to go along with our pro-conditioning. From time to time we will have guests from around the world on the Hit Boxing™ site that will pass on their valuable insight. "Remember, the following articles are examples only, and any diet or supplements you are considering should be evaluated by a reputable physician and a licensed dietician or nutritionist.

Tips & Examples:

Eating Out Tips- In today's society eating out has become a way of life. Here are a few tips to consider for the next time you decide to eat out.

1. Don't arrive at the restaurant starving. Eat a little salad or soup before arriving at the restaurant. That way you wont be as hungry.
2. Order a salad with light dressing or lemon juice as a 1st course. It will keep you from filling up on bread.
   
3. Seafood and chicken breast are usually the leanest of the lean, but watch out what they are prepared in. Avoid heavy sauces.
   
4. Eat your seafood or chicken grilled.
   
5. Avoid pan-fried, deep-fried and seared foods.
6. Avoid cream soups.
7. If ordering pasta-light on tomato sauce and order an appetizer portion.
8. Watch drinking before you eat. A few glasses of wine can lower your willpower. Next thing you know you are eating everything on the menu.
9. If you have to have dessert go with a sorbet or sherbet. If you must eat something heavier be sure to share it with everyone at the table.
10. Remember not all diets work for everyone. You have to learn what works for you.

We would like to introduce you to Richard Chiang.
Richard is at the top of his field, bringing you the best information on evolving technology in nutritional supplements and diet. He will also explain their potential affect on your workout.
Remember, you have to ultimately evaluate what’s right for you. It is always a good idea to consult a physician before taking any supplements, staring any diet and or exercise program.

About the Author
Richard Chiang received a Bachelor of Science in Biology and his Master of Science in Human Nutrition from Kansas State University, emphasizing his research on dietary supplements. He currently develops web pages and online courses for KSU and is Ringside Boxing's nutrition consultant. Richard regularly works out at Kansas City Golden Gloves, holds a Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do and enjoys art, and more than anything, he likes to watch boxing.

If you are interested in obtaining Richard's consulting services for Nutrition for Boxers, he can be contacted here. r_chiang_@hotmail.com

Low Carbohydrate Diets, Are They Good for Boxers? - By Richard Chiang
Low carbohydrate/high protein weight loss plans are more popular than ever and have sparked yet another heated debate among scientists, nutritionists, and trainers. A substantial number of researchers insist that these diet fads are ineffective at best and at worst are considerably dangerous. On the other hand, there's some published research out there that supports the scientific basis for these diets (though a lot of this research is funded by corporations that market the diets), and I continue to hear them endorsed in health food stores, in gyms, and by personal trainers and fitness consultants.

I've also received mail from many individuals who've asked me whether or not I endorse this practice. Of course, those of you who've read my nutrition manual know that I recommend that boxers eat a relatively large amount of carbohydrates (about 50-60% total caloric intake). But can boxers use low-carbohydrate diets to lose weight quickly and still maintain optimum athletic ability?

First of all, let's examine the basis for these diets. Essentially, the idea is that if you cut down or cut out carbohydrate-rich foods (breads, rice, pasta, starchy vegetables, fruits, etc.) from your diet, you lower your overall calorie intake. In addition, you reduce the production of insulin in your body. Insulin is often referred to as the "hormone of storage" because it basically increases the storage of fat in fat cells (as well as the storage of amino acids in the muscle cells) whereas other hormones such as glucagon trigger the release of fat from the fat cells so the fat can be burned for energy. These hormones are balanced so if insulin levels are high, the level of the hormones that stimulate the fat burning process is low.

If the body is deprived of carbohydrates for a prolonged period of time (say a few days), it begins to form "ketone bodies" from fat, and the ketone bodies are used for fuel in place of carbohydrates. Hence, the body taps into its fat stores and burns more fat for energy. The result is an increased rate of fat burning and fat loss!

Sound too good to be true? Well you know the rule of thumb in the nutrition/health business: If it sounds too good to be true it most often is. And for boxers, the truth is that the detrimental side effects of low carbohydrate diets would probably hamper athletic performance.

First of all, the primary fuel your muscles need during high-intensity exercise/competition is muscle and liver glycogen, which is the body's stored form of carbohydrates. However, the amount of glycogen in your muscles and liver can be exhausted in a short amount of time. (The amount of time depends on how hard the muscles are working) Fat, on the other hand, is a virtually unlimited source of energy in the body used primarily at rest and during low-intensity exercise. Therefore, carbohydrate- not fat- is the limiting fuel source during intense, physical work.

Hence, if boxers don't eat enough carbohydrates, they would likely feel sluggish during training and may fatigue more rapidly during competition. In addition, carbohydrates bind to water in the body and so if carbohydrate intake is low, the body may lose a significant amount of water and thus may fatigue more rapidly. This may also cause a loss of muscle mass since cells need to be properly hydrated in order to grow. To make matters worse, a low intake of carbohydrates will result in the elevation of a class of hormones called "glucocorticoids" that tear up muscle tissue for fuel especially during the first few days of low carbohydrate intake.

Other possible side effects of a low carbohydrate diet include:

• Reduced ability to concentrate/reduced mental alertness
• Increased acid levels in the blood (resulting from increased number of ketone bodies released into the blood), which can be harmful to the body's tissues and organs
• Stomach distress due to the large amount of fat in the diet.
• Constipation due to low fiber intake.
• Increased risk of heart disease, which has been associated with large amounts of dietary fat.The bottom line is that low carbohydrate diets do in fact appear to help many individuals lose weight. However, I would not recommend these types of diets to athletes such as boxers who require a lot of carbohydrates to maintain energy during training and competition. Furthermore, there are many associated health risks involved with these diets. So the best way to lose fat is to lower overall calorie intake while balancing the nutrients in your diet. This means eating an adequate amount of carbohydrates while eating fewer calories. (Remember- all calories can be turned into fat- not just calories from dietary fat!) This way, weight loss can be more efficient while you maintain the energy needed to meet the rigorous demands of your sport.

All Calories can be Turned into Fat - By Richard Chiang
A young man complained to me once that no matter what he ate, he could not lose weight in spite of the fact he had bent over backward to eliminate as much fat from his diet as possible over the last several months. So to get an idea of what his dietary habits were really like, I asked him what he usually ate for breakfast. The young man informed me that for breakfast alone he typically went through a box of "fat-free" sugar cookies or an entire package of "low-fat" brownies! Obviously, the large amount of sugar contained in these foods contributes a significant amount of calories that can be converted into fat. So one of the first steps we had to take was to assess the calorie content of the foods this gentleman was eating to give him a better understanding of his nutritional status.

The first law of thermodynamics states that "energy is always conserved, it cannot be created or destroyed". So the bottom line is that if you take in more calories than you expend on a regular basis, you'll gain weight and vice versa. And it doesn't matter where the calories come from- all calories can be converted into fat if they are not used for energy because the body stores most of the energy it doesn't use as fat. Thus, "fat-free" does NOT necessarily mean "not-fattening". It is the excessive intake of calories, not merely dietary fat that leads to weight gain. In fact, fat itself is a necessary nutrient and most healthy individuals can obtain up to 20-30% of their daily calories from fat. But it should also be pointed out that in terms of calories, a little fat goes a long way because it is a dense source of calories (carbohydrates and proteins contain 4 calories per gram while fat contains 9 calories per gram).

I'm sure this isn't exactly news to most of my readers, but for some reason many individuals including athletes tend to underestimate the real number of calories they are actually consuming. For instance, I knew one athlete who was trying to lose body fat and insisted he was generally aware of the amount of calories he was consuming. Yet this individual went through at least 2 liters of soda a day while disregarding the additional calories he was receiving from this beverage. One serving of soda- about 8 fl ounces- contains about 100 calories so the above individual was receiving 800 calories a day from the soda alone! Considering that his calorie need was estimated at about 3,800 a day, there wasn't sufficient room in his diet left for nutrient-rich foods.

Because there are only so many calories you can eat before they are converted to fat, the idea is to obtain most of your daily calories from nutrient-dense foods. "Empty" calories (calories from foods that contain few other nutrients) tend to sneak into people's diets in small but significant doses at a time. A single pastry or a few small donuts may not seem like a lot, but the calories can add up pretty fast if you continue to snack here and there throughout the day. Also, be aware that the term "serving sizes" can often be misleading since people tend to consume more than the given serving sizes printed on many food labels. For instance, most people eat more than 1 cup of cereal in one sitting though 1 cup is often the suggested serving size printed on the food labels of cereal boxes.

Now I don't consider myself a compulsive calorie-counter meaning that I don't spend half my day reading food labels and worrying whether I'm accidentally eating the wrong foods. Eating a nutritious diet does not mean one has to eliminate all conceivable joy from eating, and having to count every single calorie eaten every single day would pretty much do just that for most people! I think it's a good idea to spend just a few days performing a thorough dietary analysis (a registered dietitian can help you do this) to estimate your daily calorie intake and learn the calorie content of foods you typically eat so you can accurately gauge what your calorie intake is.

Thereafter, you'll be able to manage your diet without having to obsess with numbers and know how much room you have in your diet to enjoy your favorite "junk" foods. So the idea is to watch those calories, know the nutrient content of the foods you eat, and eat enjoyably but with moderation. After all, nutrition isn't simply about knowing what foods to avoid but how to keep the pleasure in eating without compromising your dietary goals!

Sports Supplements
L-Carnitine- The Facts and the Hype L-carnitine is a vitamin-like compound used in the body to help cells burn fat. It is found in certain foods such as beef and lamb. Some supplement companies claim that l-carnitine supplements can help the body burn fat as well as increase muscular endurance. By improving the ability of the muscles to use fat for fuel, l-carmine supplements may also help dieting individuals maintain muscle mass during low-energy intake (i.e. dieting).
L-Carnitine transports fat components (long-chain fatty acids) into the cell's "energy-producing" machinery (called "mitochondria). Increasing the amount of l-carnitine in these cells may increase the rate that the muscles can use fat for fuel thus sparing carbohydrate, which can be a limiting fuel for boxers.

This may also prevent the accumulation of lactic acid within the muscles since lactic acid is a product of carbohydrate breakdown. (Most researchers believe that lactic acid build-up in the muscles causes fatigue) Theoretically then, l-carnitine supplements can improve muscular endurance for boxers.

As discussed in "Nutrition for Boxers", it is very difficult to lose substantial body weight while maintaining muscle mass, and so boxers must often struggle to make weight while preserving muscle strength. Because l-carnitine provides the muscles with fat as a fuel source, it may help prevent the body from tearing down muscle for fuel, which typically occurs during low-calorie diets.

But as attractive as these theories sound, actual studies using human subjects have reported that l-carnitine supplements do not improve athletic endurance. The body is capable of producing a sufficient amount of l-carnitine from amino acids, and l-carnitine is found in certain foods (such as beef). It appears that raising the body's l-carnitine levels to greater than normal levels does not increase the rate the body can burn fat.

However, some studies performed on animals have reported that l-carnitine supplementation decreases fat mass while increasing lean body mass. Thus, some researchers have still not ruled out the possibility that l-carnitine can benefit some humans (particularly older individuals and those who have a less efficient l-carnitine mechanism). Whether l-carnitine can benefit athletes such as boxers remains to be seen at this point. Updates on L-carnitine will be posted here at this website as research continues to explore the potential uses of this supplement.

The Power of Antioxidants - By Richard Chiang
One of the hottest topics in nutrition/medical science today is the use of antioxidants to help prevent and treat several diseases as well as improve exercise and sports performance. Antioxidants are substances that neutralize dangerous substances produced in the body called "free radicals". Free radicals are formed during a chain reaction usually when oxygen reacts with certain substances in the body. Free radicals produce more free radicals, which destroy body cells and tissues.

It is now believed that many diseases such as Parkinson's disease, certain types of cardiovascular disease, and some cancers are either directly or indirectly caused by free radical formation. Also, studies show that strenuous exercise can increase the amount of free radicals in the body resulting in fatigue and many of the effects associated with over training. Since boxers must constantly train at a heavy intensity, they may be more susceptible to free radical damage.

Fortunately, it appears that the body improves its natural defense against free radicals as it adapts to heavy exercise. Therefore, well-trained athletes tend to become more resistant to free radicals. Yet, it is possible that this "natural defense system" for some individuals may not be sufficient to neutralize the large amount of free radicals formed during exercise. Many sports nutritionists are now recommending that athletes take antioxidant supplements and to eat certain foods that are known to have antioxidant properties. In particular, vitamin E is a very powerful antioxidant that is currently being investigated as a treatment for many diseases believed to be at least partially caused by free radicals. Many athletes consume between 400-800 IU (international units) of vitamin E as a dietary supplement.

It is possible that antioxidants help reduce a boxer's chances of developing neurological disorders by minimizing the predisposing factors associated with these disorders. It is also possible that antioxidant supplements be used to accelerate recovery between workouts to enable fighters to train harder. Of course, much more research needs to be conducted to explore these possibilities, but it appears that there are health benefits to taking vitamin E supplements and other antioxidants. (Though- as with any supplement- individuals should not exceed the recommended dosages and should consult with a physician before using any dietary supplement.)

Lose the Fat -Without Losing the Energy - by Richard Chiang
Recently, I was working with a young fighter who was about to make his pro-debut. This fighter had difficulty making weight and asked me to plan out a diet that would help him lose several pounds before the day of the fight while providing enough energy to get him through his workouts. To assess the fighter's dietary needs, I performed a three-day dietary analysis in which we examined the foods he ate over a typical, three-day period.

To my surprise, this fighter was receiving less than half the calories he needed to maintain body weight. Because this fighter was eating so little food, he was deficient in several nutrients. Not surprisingly, this fighter complained of chronic fatigue though he was successfully losing weight.

Muscles require a steady supply of carbohydrates to build a fuel source called "glycogen" needed to prevent fatigue during competition. A sufficient amount of vitamins and minerals are needed to synthesize and repair tissues and to carry out metabolic functions. Insufficiencies in any nutrient can significantly impede athletic performance.

This presented a dilemma. On one hand, the fighter I was working with needed to lose enough weight to achieve the desired weight limit. On the other hand, he would obviously need to increase his energy levels before the fight. The day of the fight was only a short time away, and so intense dieting was the only option at this point.

Boxers can avoid this dilemma by adopting a healthy dieting plan as opposed to losing a substantial amount of weight shortly before the fight. The key is to lose weight gradually- no more than two pounds per week. Boxers who need to cut weight should plan several weeks (or longer) in advance of competition and determine the amount of calories needed each day to lose weight at the desired rate. By approaching weight management in a calculated manner, fighters can lose the appropriate amount of weight while still maintaining energy that is crucial to performing well during competition.