The Canelo Alvarez Diet Plan

Now that the hype of the Mayweather vs McGregor fight is over, boxing fans can focus their attention on the mega fight Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez (49-1) against Gennady ‘GGG’ Golovkin (37-0). The undefeated Kazakh and one of the best pound to pound fighters in the world are set to face each in other in a highly anticipated fight on 16 Sep. As part of our series on athletes’ diets, we will take a look at the Canelo Alvarez diet plan.

Boxers like Alvarez don’t just become the best in the world by luck or just natural talent. They put in the time, hard work and dedication to achieve the elite level of skill needed to be on top. A big part of their preparation for every fight is the food that they eat. They have to be very careful about their calorie consumption, mostly because of staying in their weight class.

The other benefit of restricting the diet is that only healthy nutrients are allowed into the body. Providing much-needed energy to the boxers and giving their muscles the fuel that is required for training and the fight.

Restricting Diet

A starch-less, low-calorie diet is just what the doctor ordered for fighters. Making weight is a big part of training camp and carelessness in the diet can cost the fighters dearly. When a fight is coming up, like it is for Alvarez, fighters have to restrict their diet.

Carbohydrates are kept out of the meal plan, for the most part. Canelo hardly eats bread or rice when in training camp preparing for a fight. He is only allowed to eat bread or rice once per week, strictly.

Such a diet plan allows Alvarez to trim weight off for fights and build lean muscle. He eats a lot of proteins and only allows himself to snack on fruits and vegetables. Hydration is also important. Plenty of water going into the training camp is important. But if weight cutting is required the water consumption is lowered significantly.

Duration of Diet

The period for this ultra-restrictive diet is at least 2 months leading up to fight day. Alvarez believes that feeling full while you train or fight can be a huge disadvantage. One of the reasons why he follows this diet plan all through the training camp.

According to Alvarez eating before training can weigh you down and lead to a sluggish performance. You will tire more quickly and have less energy.

After the fight, however, is a different deal altogether.

After the Fight

When the fight is over, Alvarez forgets about his diet restrictions for a while and eats whatever he is craving, tacos, sushi or anything else his heart desires. But this is only temporary, as soon as he signs up for another fight, he goes on the restricted diet again.

Canelo Alvarez Diet

All beginner, amateur and pro boxers pay attention. Your diet plan should look like the one given below. Keeping it simple will help you focus more on the training because you don’t have to sit and make a plan for what you are going to eat every week.

Breakfast

• Have a healthy breakfast, egg whites fried in, preferably, olive oil.
• A piece of ham.
• A glass of fresh fruit juice.

Lunch

• Grilled or smoked chicken piece.
• A side of vegetables like carrots, broccoli, etc.

Dinner

• Only a glass of protein shake. No other forms of carbs.

Snacks

• Only fruits and vegetables; apples, grapes, Jicama, carrots, etc.

The lack of dinner will unnerve some boxers and they may think that this diet isn’t enough to fuel their workouts. But that is how Canelo Alvarez does it.

The diet has enough calorie and protein count to help you train for any upcoming fight. It will also help you keep your weight in check. If you are trying to go up a weight class, then that is a different story. So give this diet a try when you are training for your next match and see if you can achieve the same type of success as Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez.

Check back with us soon because we will be doing a piece on the diet plan of Gennady Golovkin in our next post here.