The MMA Digest

Rumble on the Rock Grand Prix Champion Jake Shields adheres to a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet, consuming dairy products and eggs. Skill, dedication and a myriad of other factors have helped Shields become a top ranked welterweight in the world; but his diet is also a key ingredient to his success as well. Shields touches on the dietary component of his regimen and gives insight from a vegetarian’s perspective.

http://www.jakeshields.com/

When training for a fight, what will you eat on a daily basis?
My diet is not super-strict, but for breakfast I’ll try to get some oatmeal with some fruit in it or something or I might have some eggs, get some protein from eggs, have some egg whites and make an omelet with some vegetables and stuff. And I try to snack a lot by eating nuts and I’ll eat whatever, eat sandwiches, Mexican food. But usually about 3 weeks before a fight I’ll quit eating dairy, but otherwise I eat dairy.

What are your main protein sources?
Probably eggs and I eat beans and a little bit of soy nuts and milk and a little bit of tofu, and usually that’s enough but if I feel I need more protein I might make some protein shakes with whey protein.

You’re a vegetarian and you’re a fighter, do people look at that strangely and have some misconceptions about you?
A few people but not really, some people are surprised but nothing too strange.

Why did you become vegetarian?
I don’t eat meat for several reasons, I just don’t think it’s healthy and plus I’m just not into eating animals, I just don’t think it’s morally the best idea in my opinion.

What do you avoid eating towards your peaking phase in training?
Try not to eat too much refined sugar, I try to cut out fattening foods like cheese, and obviously not eat a pizza and stuff like that, sour cream and that kind of stuff. Other than that I just kind of eat whatever. I’ll eat breads and don’t cut out that when I’m cutting weight.

How do refined sugars impact you?
They kind of bring your training up and down, so it’s good to cut them out. I’ll eat sugar, but from fruit and stuff like that.

What are the best foods for you too keep your energy levels optimal?
I think as long as you have a well rounded diet, I think it’s good to get a mix of things. I think that’s a problem when people go vegetarian, they cut out too much stuff, but you realize most things you can eat but just need to substitute them without meat.

What is the last thing you eat before fighting?
I don’t eat much the day of the fight, after the weighin I eat a lot that night. Usually I wake up and have a small breakfast with some oatmeal and carbohydrates. And usually two hours before the fight I’ll eat energy bar that have basically just nuts and fruits in there. I definitely don’t want to be full when I fight, I’d rather be hungry that full.

http://www.jakeshields.com/

When you’re cutting weight, what are you ingesting then?
It’s all about cutting calories, I try to eat as clean as possible by eating tons of fruits and vegetables when it gets closer to the weighins because it’s hardly any calories. I’ll cut the bread back a little bit, but the stricter I am depends on what weight I’m at.

Do you take any supplements?
I actually don’t. Every once in a while I’ll add a protein shake in if I feel I’m not getting in enough protein, but other than that I pretty much try to get everything I need through eating. I think it’s really important just to get a balanced diet, a lot of people go vegetarian and just eat a couple of things. I think you just have to make sure that you’re getting a lot of different foods in your system. Make sure you get your proteins, carbs fats, rounding it out.

When you’re not training are you eating pretty healthy still?
(laughs) I try to but I go through phases. Usually the more weight I cut the worse I’ll eat afterwards—kind of the purging. Usually a couple of weeks after a fight I’ll go eat crap—pizza and ice cream, all the stuff that’s bad for you, but generally I try not to eat it. After about two weeks I get sick of it and don’t want to eat it anymore and go back to a healthy diet.

Do you have cheat days when training?
Actually, yes. If I’m training really hard, your body will start feeling weak and stuff so on a Wednesday or Thursday I’ll just go out and eat whatever I want and try to get some energy back.

Would you recommend any foods that have benefited you cardio-wise?
Whenever I’m eating lots of fruits and vegetables and whole wheat breads and as clean as possible, I definitely feel good. When I’m cutting out cheeses and some of the oils, and not necessarily fats because I’ll still eat olive oils and nuts and stuff like that. But I’ll just as clean as possible and less processed foods.

Strength-wise some might assume you’d be lack in that department because you don’t eat meat. What are you thoughts on that?
That’s the one thing I hear people say, but I’m strong and I have no problem gaining weight so that’s a total misconception. I think people might think that because of the protein but you can get protein in other ways.

Bananas are known to be good for muscle repair, do you incorporate them or any other foods in your diet to achieve that end?
I eat bananas and stuff. I don’t make sure that I eat them, I might eat them once a week, but eat them occasionally. There’s nothing I totally incorporate in, I just try to have a well balanced diet.

Do you feel you have any advantages as a fighter in being a vegetarian?
I think so—it’s easier to cut weight, not eating all the meat, especially red meat because I don’t think it sets well with all people and just sits in their gut and not feel good. So a lot of times I think I’m running cleaner and I think it gives me more energy and it’s easier for me to make weight.