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Hello everyone,

I have been preparing for a jiujitsu tournament that will take place on March 29th. I have been mostly Paleo for a while; eat lean protein with every meal, and no grains except for occasionally a bowl of morning muesli (oats, nuts, seeds, dried fruit). I have to lose several kilos in order to make my weight class, so for the past couple weeks I have been monitoring my diet strictly and trying to only get my carbs through vegetables (with every meal) and sometimes fruit (post-workout). I felt great for the first 10 days of eating like this and exercising vigorously (6 conditioning Crossfit type Metcons per week, 3 days of BJJ grappling) until just a couple days ago.

I can literally feel the low amounts of energy and power in my legs as I walk up stairs, and my overall energy is just down. Luckily it is the weekend, so I haven't missed out on any workouts or anything. Anyways, I got online last night and started reading about glycogen in the muscle tissues and how they must be replenished, but how?

Basically my question that I'm asking is how can I replenish my glycogen stores and get that fuel back in my body, yet still try and lose fat for this competition. I'm not anti-carbs, by any means, just looking for some direction...

Thanks

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4 Answers

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Eat rice or a potato or something.

IN MY OPINION:

Fight at a weight you can comfortably compete at. I see lots of amateur (and some pro) fighters get this idea that they need to drop to a lower weight class only to have this sort of thing happen to them.

I could tell you horror stories about guys who got married to the idea that they would do so much better if they could just drop to a lower weight class, only to go through hell making the weight and then underperforming and getting beat down.

Your best bet for March 29 is a slow and steady weight loss program followed by a mild dehydration prior to weigh-ins. Don't kill yourself.

Some people handle the weight cut better than others. It was hell on me.

What is this, a BJJ tournament?

Anyway, this is only one man's opinion, but I have decades of experience in combat sports and I feel like I know what a fighter goes through trying to make weight.

edited: (PS - I looked and saw your name on Sherdog as an amateur MMA fighter. For what it's worth, I've been in the corner for UFC fighters several times.)

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Thanks, Chump! Yeah I have fought MMA before and done the whole 24-hour cut. It sucks and for this I am approaching the comp with a different mindset. I've also done BJJ comps where I've had to dehydrate, and it is a shitty feeling because unlike MMA where you have 24 hours to rehydrate/refeed, you weigh in and then get straight on the mat. I've been doing pretty slow and steady, still eating a good amount and losing about 1 kg a week. Yeah this is the Pan-Ams in Irvine, CA. I fought in them last year as at ~194.5, but had to dehydrate. This year's goal is to be naturally that weight. – Corey.Ambrose Mar 11 2012 at 2:02
Good luck! Have you ever looked into that Dulce Diet that some fighters are following? I've never even given it a look. – Anonymous Chump Mar 11 2012 at 2:12
I've looked into it a little bit, but haven't found much. Was going to buy it but for the $40 bucks or whatever, doesn't really seem worth it. The reviews I have read mostly said it focuses on simple diet guidelines, such as focusing mainly on lean protein and veggies. There are enough free websites out there (like this one) that I think are much better AND user-based. Sure, fighters get ripped and down to weight with Dolce, but I think it's more of a MMA style cut, not a fat cut. Not sure, but anyone who reads this and disagree, please share your opinion on it! – Corey.Ambrose Mar 11 2012 at 3:18
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I'm training for a muay Thai fight on the same weekend. I've found that pre-workout fruit and a post-workout sweet potato don't hamper my weight loss at all. Peri-workout carbs are unlikely to be stored as fat. I vote for adding a bit of white rice, potato, sweet potato, fruit, or dextrose before and/or after intense training sessions.

Also, have you taken any days off? Your problem may be overtraining, not insufficient glycogen. If you might be overtrained, a few good nights of sleep and 2-3 days off from hard training might get you back where you need to be.

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Yeah I have been getting good rest. I have a good friend who is a S&C coach and have been corresponding to set up a good program. Just so you can get a glimpse, here's what it looks like: Mon, Wed, Fri: BJJ (1.5 hr drill, 1 hour spar), Mon, Tue: 2x a day doing SHORT metcons. Generally 5-12 minute AMRAPs with lots of burpees, hillsprints, sandbag tossing, etc. Thursday, Friday: 1x a day WOD. Usually 6x3 minute rounds of similar workouts as above. Every day in the weightlifting gym is began with 12-15 minute row to warm up and mobilize. I take Saturday and Sunday completely off. – Corey.Ambrose Mar 11 2012 at 2:07
And on Wednesday my only activity is the BJJ. Definitely feel like it's the perfect amount of work, and rest/recovery. Just need to tweak my diet a bit. The plan is to gradually increase intensity and decrease volume leading up the fight. The last week will be mostly peaking and drilling, recovering my body from the last months. Badass on the fight, where at and what organization? I love muay thai. Thanks for the feedback! – Corey.Ambrose Mar 11 2012 at 2:08
Def could be a bit overtrained, but I'd say that's almost expected and the next couple weeks will be getting me back to my peak. – Corey.Ambrose Mar 11 2012 at 3:19
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Well I cut weight as a wrestler for 16 years, your gonna feel a bit crummy cutting no matter what you eat. Its good your starting 6 weeks ahead to cut. I feel like training lowish carb and a bit weaker is almost necessary. You get to eat after weigh ins?

I would personally get within like 2 kilos of my weight class and just wring the rest out in sweat and water the day before. Thats how I always did it...but, now I would make that 2 kilos my walking around weight so I would not have to cut at all except for wringing out the water.

EDIT: Just read chumps post and your comment that you have to get right on the mat. That kinda sucks :). We use to at least have an hour or so after weigh in to get some fluid and quick carbs in. Thats where I felt training low carb might give you an edge. Guess I would do whatever I could to keep my strength up....probably gonna have to be a calorie counter in that case. Good luck!

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Yeah man, sucks but I guess it's more fair that way. Usually have about 10-20 minutes between each fight, so I'll be able to get food in. I was kind of thinking that for these couple weeks I would get as close as possible and if worse comes to worse, just sweat out a couple pounds to get right on. Just out of curiosity, what type of food would you eat after you weighed in and before/during your competitions? – Corey.Ambrose Mar 11 2012 at 3:22
Ahhh, lets just say in my day I was not as enlightened about nutrition as I am now, but these days if I was competing after some dehydration I'd hit the gator aid and some boiled potato to refill both liver and muscle glycogen if I had less than an hour to mat time. We use to have breaks of up to 2 hours between matches on tournament days before like semis or finals so I would be sure to have an actual meal with a bit of protein at that time, keeping to quick startches and some butter and stay hydrated. – JayJay Mar 11 2012 at 3:51
When I was competing heck my in between meals were a quick sandwich and more gator aid, or if right before mat time we'd hit the honey sticks too. Actually the honey sticks were probably a decent idea, and I might still use those today. – JayJay Mar 11 2012 at 3:53
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Eat carbs. You need carbs with that work load. Sweet potato, potato, rice, whatever. What the Chump said.

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 Trust the chump! – Anonymous Chump Mar 11 2012 at 1:47

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