Seeking advice on primal fuel for fighting page

[Steve]

Hello Everyone!

I would really appreciate anyone's advice regarding my current training and diet. First a little about me. I started the PBP last December and started at 265 lbs at 6'. I am now 186 lbs and still 6'. I am guessing that I have about 10-15 more lbs to go. I am pretty much like anyone else that has lived by the primal blueprint, my life is very different then it once was.

I have joined Karate after a 15 year departure and started sparring once a week. I am still pretty low carb, eating a lot of different greens for my carbs, and I have also played around with carb refeeds. I am still trying to lose my spare tire while reach certain fitness goals. This is where I would appreciate some advice.

I have 2-3 regular karate classes throughout the week that I get through ok. On sparring nights, I feel like I am going to drop dead from a heart attack. I do really good in my matches but can hardly breathe and tire extremely easy. I am guessing that it has to do with my fasting and low carb/low cal diet.

I am looking for some advice about how to fuel for this day as well as post workout meals. I am thinking that I could refuel with sweet potates or white rice along with fruit but I am wondering if I should go straight into my low carb way of living for the rest of the week until my next sparring event which takes place on Friday's.

Should I fuel that day or the day before? With what? I enjoy the PBP way of living and am not interested in straying from that.

Thank you everyone for your time and interest.

[PaleoAP]

Assuming you've got your sleep/lifestyle issues in order, the lack of energy is most likely due to your caloric deficit. Training at a high intensity is extremely difficult if you're operating under a caloric deficit. I'm assuming you intermittent fast every day? You might try dropping it in only a few times a week on rest days. If you're IF'ing and restricting calories daily you shouldn't be doing much more than some simple strength training and low level cardio like walking. Limit the IF, train relatively low carb, carb refeeds PWO. Should set your training and weight loss straight.

[jfreaksho]

Some of this is plain conditioning. Sparring is incredibly intense, and usually lasts for a couple of minutes. Some fighters are known for having good conditioning, and letting the other guy tire out before moving in.

Building your overall endurance is going to help. Walk. Walk fast. Run slowly. Sprint. Swim. Bike. You need your body accustomed to moving fairly hard for minutes on end with no breaks.

[Dirlot]

I would suggest that eating low cal is not a good idea if you are undertaking heavy exercise.

You don't say how old you are but I would guess mid 30-40 that and 15 years off means you will not be as fit or recovering as fast as you did that long time ago.

[counterpuncher]

Try to practice relaxing as you spar.
In other words, don't tense up, as this will cause you to tire in a very short amount of time.
Your ability to relax while sparring will come as a result of repetition, and when you get better at it, you'll be able to notice more things about your opponent, (tendancies, weak spots, ect), as you're sparring instead of simply reacting to what he throws at you.
As far as carbs are concerned, I'd steer clear of fruits, as the rise and fall of energy from the sugar is pretty quick.
Eat lots of veggies, and a sweet potato 2-3 hours or so before your sparring session should give you a nice, steady supply of energy. Not the caffeine/ephedrine sort of crazy energy, but a calmer, steadier type of energy that will serve you well in sparring.
Keeping your carbs around your training/sparring sessions, and staying with your low-carb style at other times is a good strategy. I do that as well, and it works for me. If you feel run down, don't be afraid to have a sweet potato, or more veggies. And don't be afraid of salt either. We lose a ton of sodium through sweat during intense sessions, and not replacing that will cause you to feel run-down.
Also, as stated above, conditioning is major here.
I would work some sprints, or hill sprints, into your routine. They will allow you to train anaerobic endurance, which transfers over to sparring types of workouts very well.
Good luck, and have fun.
And remember, sparring is all about learning and practice, not who can beat the other's head in. Check your ego at the door.
I practiced karate for a while before I started boxing, and although I like boxing much more, I did enjoy my time spent practicing karate, and I learned a lot from it.

[Steve]

Thank you everyone for your advice.

Yes, my sleep has never been better and I have been fasting leangains style, only eating from noon to 8 or 9 at night. Sometimes only eating dinner.

Lots of great advice. This week I am going to try and keep it very low carb with no fasting. I will eat sweet potatoes for post workout meals but I am wondering about fueling before hand.

Counterpuncher said to eat carbs 2-3 hours before the sparring, I thought that would lead to a crash? I can definitly try it, but I have read to save the carbs for post workout. Is 2-3 hours before hand good?

Thanks again everyone, I will update with how I feel. I do believe that jfreaksho is right, a lot of it is just plain conditioning but I would like to be nutrionaly sound and still lose weight while getting fit.

Thanks!!

[counterpuncher]

Counterpuncher said to eat carbs 2-3 hours before the sparring, I thought that would lead to a crash? I can definitly try it, but I have read to save the carbs for post workout. Is 2-3 hours before hand good?

For me, it would lead to a crash if the carbs were composed of more "quick" carbs, ie; fruit, white rice, ect....
I like to load up on veggies or half of a sweet potato because the carbs are slower and provide more of a steady supply as opposed to the sudden hit that comes from quicker digesting carbs.
You'll have to experiment to find what works best for you.
Post workout for me means carbs and protein. Meat, fish or poultry with generous veggies and a sweet potato.

[Steve]

I didnt know that white rice is considered a quick carb but it makes sense. I will do some experimenting this week. It certainly felt like I was going in on an empty fuel tank in past sessions.