Fight Camp Nutrition: Macros and Meals for Combat Athletes

In fight camp, your diet has to solve two opposing tasks at once: give you the energy for the hardest training weeks of your season — and at the same time bring your weight down toward fight weight. That takes more precision than “eat healthy.”

The three numbers that run your camp

1. Calories: a moderate deficit

If you need to lose weight, you typically sit 300–500 kcal below your maintenance. More aggressive than that, and the quality of your training sessions drops — and it’s the training that wins the fight, not the weight loss.

Your maintenance depends on sex, size, and training volume. A 75 kg male athlete with 6–8 training sessions per week often sits around 2,800–3,200 kcal; with a deficit, then, about 2,400–2,700.

2. Protein: the foundation

• 1.8–2.2 g per kg of body weight per day. In a deficit you’re at the high end — protein is what protects your muscle mass while the weight comes off.
• For a 75 kg athlete: 135–165 g of protein daily.
• Spread it across 3–5 meals; 30–40 g per meal is a good anchor.

3. Carbohydrates: your fuel — periodize them

Carbohydrate is the high-octane fuel for sparring, pads, and intervals:

• Hard training days: 4–6 g per kg of body weight.
• Light days/rest days: 2–3 g per kg.
• Place them strategically: a carb-rich meal 2–3 hours before training and again right after.

Fat gets the rest of the calories — typically 0.8–1 g per kg. You shouldn’t go under 0.5 g/kg for an extended period; it affects hormone production, among other things.

A typical day (75 kg, hard training day)

• Morning: Oatmeal with skyr, banana, and berries — carbs + protein for the day’s first session.
• Lunch: Chicken, rice, and vegetables. A classic for a reason.
• Before training (2 h before): Rye bread with cottage cheese, or a banana and a skyr.
• After training: Protein shake + fruit, or a proper meal within 1–2 hours.
• Evening: Salmon or beef with potatoes and vegetables.
• Throughout the day: Water to thirst + planned intake — hydration governs both performance and your weight curve.

Three practical principles

1. Log your food, especially at the start. Most people underestimate their intake by 20–30%. You can’t manage what you don’t measure — that’s the whole reason we built a food log with an AI photo scanner into MyFightPrep.
2. Let the scale drive your adjustments. If your morning-weight trend falls too fast (over ~1% per week), eat a little more; if it stalls for two weeks, cut 200 kcal.
3. Fight week is its own phase. There the focus shifts from fat loss to water, salt, and glycogen — read our guides to weight cutting before a fight and to water loading.

Important

All the numbers here are general starting points, not medical or dietary advice. If you have a medical history, are under 18, or need to cut a lot of weight, do it together with a professional.

With MyFightPrep you log meals in seconds (take a photo — the AI estimates calories and macros), track your macro targets, and see your weight curve against your fight date — free.