Muay Thai Diet: How Fighters Eat

Muay Thai Diet

Muay Thai martial arts are physically demanding and require that you supply your body with the proper resources to excel. As you will learn, a combination of protein, fruits, and vegetables among other food is essential to keep a Muay Thai body type. Please consult your physician and dietitian before following any Muay Thai Diet. 

The Muay Thai Body Type

For many grappling kinds of body types, the users of that art tend to be very bulky, because brawn is going to matter a lot more. The goal for them is going to be achieving a caloric surplus. This is when you eat more calories than you burn, which allows them to put on muscle.

Muay Thai and other kinds of hand-to-hand combat are much different, however. The goal is to have a slim-muscular build. The amount of protein may get higher than what you consume right now, but other kinds of foods may be left out.

With Muay Thai, a slim body type is incredibly beneficial because of the fast movements. Having less muscle mass is also going to let you have more control over your arms and legs, while still letting you perfect your techniques. Just because you’re going to look skinnier than other people don’t mean that you can’t hit hard.

Your calorie intake is important to keep track of, so you should get a scale and do some measurements. You should take your weight to multiply that by 15 and that will tell you how many calories you should eat.


Protein is incredibly important for any kind of athlete. Chicken breasts seem to be the most popular kind of protein because they are known for putting on a lot of muscle in a short period of time.

If you’re short and skinny, it’s natural to put on a substantial amount of muscle fast. However, if you’re tall and a little overweight, it’ll take much more time to achieve the aesthetic associated with martial artists. Having a high protein diet is seen as preferable for a lot of athletes because they enjoy eating those foods for a long period of time.

Having protein as your main source of energy is going to make you feel fuller, and a lot less likely to eat over your calorie limit. Optimally, you want to eat as many grams of protein as the number of pounds you weigh each day. Not everyone likes chicken, some people on a vegan diet.

There are still a lot of great sources of protein such as nuts, Greek yogurt, and kale. Getting your protein in is one of the most important things you need to do to build your muscle and stay lean.

Fruits, Vegetables & Grains

Grains are associated with carbohydrates, which are much better in other kinds of diets but aren’t great for an athlete. Not necessarily because it’s bad for you, but it can create a lot of bad eating habits.

Even if you were to eat a large amount of rice for dinner, you wouldn’t feel full when you have a fast metabolism. In fact, you would still get nowhere close to being where you need to be to meet your calorie goals. Some grains are great as a complement to other kinds of foods. Toast with peanut butter and banana slices is good because of the other nutrients that you are getting aside from grains.

Fruits and vegetables are one of the most overlooked aspects of getting the body of a fighter. Most prioritize getting large amounts of protein into their diets, but the fruit is also important. Bananas, berries, mangos, and tomatoes are incredibly helpful for keeping your endurance over months and even years.

What makes them great is that they are going to give you many calories, but they aren’t going to fill you up unless you eat a large amount of them. Smoothies and a salad work as a great compliment to your breakfast or your dinner.


Fats are important for maintaining hormonal levels and you need fat to some extent. Most people talk about fats like all of them are bad, but what they really mean is to look out for saturated and trans fats.

You can’t have too much because that will slow down your metabolism and ruin your endurance. Fats like avocados are great for you because they are unsaturated and compliment whatever kind of dish you are eating. They also work well in boosting your metabolism and making you want to eat more healthy foods.

There are also foods like nuts and salmon, which have protein and good fats for you. These are going to work to help you to get to your calorie goal a lot faster and you can eat nuts as a snack when you’re not in the kitchen. The choice of fat you use can be important for your calories.

Most people use cooking oil because the taste is neutral and often crisps up whatever they are eating. You can try butter and duck fat, but those tend to be a bit fattier and not give you the taste you want.

Your proteins are important when getting into a slim-muscular build. You want to make sure that most of your calories come from chicken, Greek yogurt, beef, nuts or whatever kind of protein you choose to eat. This is great for cardio and building up your endurance for your fighting. Even if you don’t lift much, protein is very important for staying in shape.

However, that should not distract you from eating your fruits and vegetables which are mandatory for your nutrition. Make sure to put in some fats to maintain your hormonal levels. You want to stay in the range of 10% to 20%.

Related article: Most Effective Muay Thai Combo


Taking a drastic change in your current diet can be detrimental to you if you don’t know what you’re doing. There are a lot of changes that can happen to your body when you raise your metabolism. We are not professional dietitians, just people who want to share knowledge about being in shape for Muay Thai. Everyone’s body is different, so if you’re serious about going into this, you should speak to a dietitian, nutritionist or physician after reading this guide. We are not liable for any detriments to your health. This article was created with the intention of educating others.