Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a sport that demands a lot of exertion from your body. It’s a sport that’s heavy on energy, particularly for people who are on a ketogenic (keto) diet. This is because, when you’re on a keto diet, the only source of energy that your body can efficiently use is fats.

Some people may find it difficult to continue doing MMA on keto, and eventually, give up on one or the other. Fortunately, though, combining the two isn’t a problem when you understand the workings of keto and how your body responds to it when you fight.

To keep things simple, your body has three major sources of energy in the form of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. All of these come from your diet and are used by your body for energy. The carbs go first, followed by proteins, and at last, when these first two sources are depleted, your body starts using its stored fats for energy. It is then that you can proudly say that your body is on keto.

While on the keto diet, you must strictly refrain from consuming excess carbohydrates and proteins, so your only energy source is the stored fats. But for a high-intensity sport like MMA, you need a lot of energy. So how do you combine MMA and keto?

To resolve this, here are a few foods you should eat, and a few foods you should not, while you are on a keto diet, to ensure you can continue to do your favorite mixed martial arts. Also, you can explore keto-friendly foods on a page like this one .

Best foods for MMA on keto

All food items that have low or no carbohydrates are generally considered suitable for MMA on the keto diet. These foods will give you the required energy for your training and fights, but do not elevate your blood sugar levels significantly.

Worst foods for MMA on keto:

These are the foods you should strictly avoid on a keto diet because they can kick you out of ketosis, which means that your body starts using glucose for energy again instead of fats. These no-go foodstuffs include carb-rich foods and processed items like artificial sweeteners, carbonated drinks, milk, some fresh as well as dried fruits, grains, wheat, and some oil products.

These were some foods that you won’t eat while doing keto and mixed martial arts. There might be some of your favorite foods here, but the effort of avoiding them is worth it to get slim, healthy and fit!

To summarize, you can be creative with what you eat to recreate your best-loved recipes on keto. Make sure to keep eating both healthy and interesting meals, because compliance is essential to see the benefits of the keto diet while doing mixed martial arts.

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