Fight Camp Nutrition: Meals & Macros for Fighters

Contents

Fight camp nutrition comes down to three things: a moderate calorie deficit that loses about 0.5–1 kg a week, high protein (around 1.6–2.2 g per kg a day) to protect muscle, and carbohydrates timed around your hardest sessions so training quality doesn’t drop (Ricci et al., 2025). Water, sodium and glycogen tricks belong to fight week only, not the whole camp.

Your diet in camp has to do two jobs at once: fuel the hardest training weeks of your season and bring your weight down toward your division. That takes more precision than “eat clean.”

Where should your weight be when camp starts?

Start camp close enough to your division that the cut stays gradual. The ISSN suggests keeping your off-camp weight about 12–15 % above your weight-class limit. They consider that range the upper limit of a suitable weight descent (Ricci et al., 2025).

If you walk around much heavier than that, you need a bigger deficit or a longer camp. The ISSN notes that fighters above 12–15 % need a bigger energy restriction, and doing that in less than 8 weeks raises the risk of low energy availability. That can hurt skill learning, concentration, motivation and recovery (Ricci et al., 2025). Sometimes the honest answer is a higher weight class. See how much weight you can cut.

Calories: how big should the deficit be?

Aim for a steady loss of about 0.5–1 kg per week, not a crash diet. That is the rate the ISSN says is commonly recommended for combat athletes. For more aggressive loss, you can use a larger deficit, but never eat below your resting metabolic rate (Ricci et al., 2025).

Slower tends to protect muscle. In a study of 24 elite athletes who also strength trained, the group losing about 0.7 % of body weight per week gained lean mass, while a faster group at about 1.0 % per week only kept theirs unchanged (Garthe et al., 2011). Our guide to fight camp calories and macros shows you how to set your exact numbers.

Macros for fight camp: protein, carbs and fat

Prioritise protein, keep enough carbs to train hard, and use fat as the adjustable part. These are the ranges from the research:

Nutrient	Target in camp (per kg body weight per day)	Source
Protein	1.6–2.2 g during weight descent	Ricci et al., 2025
Protein (weight loss in athletes)	1.6–2.4 g	Hector & Phillips, 2018
Carbohydrate	Do not drop below 3–4 g	Ricci et al., 2025
Fat	0.7–1.3 g, and not below 15–20 % of calories	Ricci et al., 2025

Protein. Higher protein during a calorie deficit helps you keep muscle while fat comes off (Hector & Phillips, 2018). Spread it out. The ISSN protein position stand suggests 20–40 g per serving, evenly distributed every 3–4 hours (Jäger et al., 2017).

Carbohydrate. Carbs fuel sparring, pads and conditioning. The ISSN puts general needs at about 3–5 g/kg on light days. It notes that the 8–12 g/kg used by endurance athletes is likely too much for a weight-class fighter (Ricci et al., 2025). Put more carbs on hard days and fewer on rest days.

Fat. Fat is often the lever that creates the deficit, within 0.7–1.3 g/kg (Ricci et al., 2025). Don’t cut it to near zero.

For a 75 kg fighter that works out to 120–165 g protein, at least 225–300 g carbohydrate, and 53–98 g fat a day, before fine-tuning to your calorie target.

Meal timing around training

Eat a proper meal 2–3 hours before training and refuel soon after. The ISSN recommends a meal two to three hours before the first session. For a quick top-up closer to training, choose high-glycemic carbs and keep fat and fibre low to avoid stomach trouble (Ricci et al., 2025).

After training, combine carbohydrate and protein. The ISSN gives ≥1.2 g/kg per hour of carbohydrate and 0.2–0.5 g/kg per hour of protein as post-session targets (Ricci et al., 2025). That matters most when you train twice a day and need to recover fast. Ready-to-drink shakes can help between sessions.

A sample fight camp day

This is an example for a 75 kg fighter on a hard two-session day. It is a meal structure, not a prescription. Portion sizes depend on your calorie target.

Meal	Example	Why
Breakfast (2–3 h before AM session)	Oats with skyr or Greek yogurt, banana, berries	Carbs + ~20–40 g protein
After AM session	Protein shake + fruit, or eggs on toast	Starts recovery quickly
Lunch	Chicken, rice, vegetables	Classic protein + carb base
Pre-PM session snack	Rice cakes with honey, or a banana	Fast, low-fibre fuel
Dinner	Salmon or lean beef, potatoes, vegetables, olive oil	Protein, carbs, most of the day’s fat
Evening (optional)	Cottage cheese or skyr	Tops up protein

On rest days, keep the protein at every meal and scale the carb portions down.

Hydration and supplements in camp

Drink enough to train well every day; save the water manipulation for fight week. Dehydration of as little as 2.5 % of body weight can impair performance. As a rough daily guide, the ISSN suggests about 1.5 mL of fluid per kcal you eat. Focus on fluids that contain sodium and potassium (Ricci et al., 2025). On 2,400 kcal that works out to about 3.6 litres, more on hot days or double sessions. Weighing yourself before and after training shows how much you sweat.

Supplements come after food, not instead of it. The ISSN position stand names creatine, beta-alanine, HMB and caffeine as supplements shown to support performance or recovery in combat athletes. For caffeine it cites 3–6 mg/kg (Ricci et al., 2025). If you are tested, check every product against your anti-doping rules before you use it.

What changes in fight week?

In fight week, the focus shifts from fat loss to water, glycogen and gut content. Fighters commonly reduce carbohydrate, fibre and sodium in the final days before the weigh-in. The ISSN notes that glycogen depletion can take off 1–2 % of body mass, with similar losses from a low-fibre intake below 10 g per day for 4 days (Ricci et al., 2025). Some also use water loading.

What does that look like on the plate? In the last days before the weigh-in, many fighters swap high-fibre foods (wholegrain bread, beans, big salads, raw vegetables) for low-residue options such as white rice, white bread, eggs, lean meat and fish, in smaller portions and with fewer carbs overall.

These are short-term tools, not a camp diet, and they come with trade-offs. Plan them with your coach, and plan the refuel just as carefully: see how to rehydrate after the weigh-in and the full week-by-week cutting plan.

Practical rules that keep camp on track

1. Log your food, especially in the first weeks. You can’t manage what you don’t measure.
2. Weigh in every morning, judge the weekly trend. Daily swings from water, salt and carbs are normal. Adjust intake in small steps when the weekly average moves too fast or stalls.
3. Don’t copy another fighter’s numbers. Energy needs depend on your size, training load and body composition. The ACSM recommends individual guidance from a sports nutrition professional (Burke et al., 2021).
4. Avoid extreme food restriction. In a survey of 637 combat athletes cited by the ISSN, 87 % reported food restriction such as skipping meals (Ricci et al., 2025), yet the effect of weight-cutting on performance is unclear, with studies showing negative or no effects (Barley et al., 2019). Steady beats extreme.

With MyFightPrep you log meals in seconds with the AI photo scanner, track your macro targets and see your weight trend against your fight date — free.

Important

The numbers in this guide are general starting points from sports-nutrition research, not personal medical or dietary advice. If you have a medical condition, a history of disordered eating, are under 18 or need to lose a lot of weight, work with a doctor or registered sports dietitian. Young athletes especially should not diet hard during growth. Stop and seek help if you feel dizzy, faint, unusually exhausted or unwell.

Frequently asked questions

What should a fighter eat in fight camp?

Build every meal around a protein source, add carbohydrates sized to that day's training, and fill the rest with vegetables, fruit and some fat. The ISSN suggests 1.6 to 2.2 g of protein per kg per day during weight loss and not letting carbohydrates drop below 3 to 4 g per kg per day.

What do fighters eat to cut weight?

During camp, fighters eat normal whole foods in a moderate calorie deficit: lean protein, rice, potatoes, oats, fruit and vegetables, aiming to lose about 0.5 to 1 kg per week. Only in fight week do some temporarily cut fibre, carbohydrate or sodium to shed water and gut content before the weigh-in.

How much protein does a fighter need per day?

Around 1.6 to 2.2 g per kg of body weight per day while losing weight in camp, spread over 3 to 5 meals of roughly 20 to 40 g each. A 75 kg fighter would aim for about 120 to 165 g a day.

Should fighters cut carbs during fight camp?

No, not across the whole camp. Carbohydrates fuel sparring and conditioning, and the ISSN advises keeping them at or above 3 to 4 g per kg per day during weight descent. Carb restriction, if used at all, belongs to the final days before the weigh-in.

Sources

This guide is based on the works below. Numbers in the text refer to them.

1. Ricci AA, Evans C, Stull C, Peacock CA, French DN, Stout JR, et al. (2025). International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: Nutrition and Weight Cut Strategies for Mixed Martial Arts and Other Combat Sports
2. Burke LM, Slater GJ, Matthews JJ, Langan-Evans C, Horswill CA (2021). ACSM Expert Consensus Statement on Weight Loss in Weight-Category Sports
3. Jäger R, Kerksick CM, Campbell BI, Cribb PJ, Wells SD, Skwiat TM, et al. (2017). International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: Protein and Exercise
4. Hector AJ, Phillips SM (2018). Protein Recommendations for Weight Loss in Elite Athletes: A Focus on Body Composition and Performance
5. Garthe I, Raastad T, Refsnes PE, Koivisto A, Sundgot-Borgen J (2011). Effect of Two Different Weight-Loss Rates on Body Composition and Strength and Power-Related Performance in Elite Athletes
6. Barley OR, Chapman DW, Abbiss CR (2019). The Current State of Weight-Cutting in Combat Sports