Kerri Waldron
Anthony Joshua doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to his strict training camp diet. In the leadup to his highly-anticipated fight against Daniel Dubois, the heavyweight boxer is once again packing on the calories.
Past reports have estimated that Joshua consumes a whopping 4,000 to 5,000 calories each day in the leadup to a major fight. The 34-year-old devours a varied diet crafted by nutritionist Mark Ellison, who additionally serves similar roles with Manchester United and the Olympic GB team.
In some instances, Joshua will even go completely vegan during a training camp in an attempt to eat “just fresh” foods as opposed to meats and fish. Discussing his go-to foods ahead of his 2018 bout versus Joseph Parker, he said: “Food like avocado, falafel, some veg, some rice.”
When it comes to breakfast, Joshua often opts for fruit, eggs, porridge and yoghurts. “Then we go on to jacket potatoes, tuna, mayo, beetroot with a handful of veg,” he previously divulged.
“In the evening, I’ll take some chicken, rice with mashed potato with a lot of veg as well. I make sure I’ve got a lot of water and in between sessions I’ll have my protein shakes.”
Like most people, Joshua conceded that he helps himself to a cheat meal on occasion. But the Watford native has found ways to ensure that they don’t blemish his diet.
For example, when Joshua eats chocolate, he makes sure that it is gluten free with no sugar and natural honey. By doing so, he told Men’s Health: “You’re still treating your sweet tooth, but doing it in a more orderly fashion. I think I can have cheat meals now, but I can be clever about them as well.”
After now boxing for nearly two decades, Joshua has learned to prioritise his health and nutrition intake. “I just didn’t take it as serious as I do now, nutrition is so important. I used to be in the gym after a session and we would chill out for maybe two more hours,” he said.
DON’T MISS:
“But if you look at the time when I started training, the minute I finish, [so when] I hit my last punch, I haven’t eaten all that time and I’m staying in the gym for another two hours after I’ve showered and had a chat with everyone. Probably about five hours that I’ve had no food. I used to lose a lot of weight.
“That’s another thing, I used to associate losing weight with getting fit. So I used to cut out the benefits of nutrition. But if you wanna get fit, you have to feed your body and fuel your body. It’s like a car.
“You can’t expect it to go a long distance without fuel. I can’t expect to be fit enough to go a long distance without the right fuel. So that was actually a myth that I had in my head where it’s like, oh, because I’m lighter, I’m fitter. So, pushing myself and that [means] eating right. I believe in that.”
Source: bing.com
