Even UFC fighter Megan Anderson isn't immune from the bacon craze
UFC fighter Megan Anderson has provided another showcase for “Athletes: they’re just like us (sort of).”
Ahead of UFC Rochester on Saturday, ESPN’s Marc Raimondi featured Anderson’s 25-pound weight cut and training regimen that includes a common vice.
UFC fighter’s Sundays are for bacon
Anderson (9-3), the former Invicta FC featherweight champion, eats an overall healthy diet, nutritionist Tyler Minton told ESPN, that consists of lean meats, fruits, rice and potatoes four times a day. During the six-to-eight week training period, she eats it in smaller portions.
Then there’s non-training Sundays that dive deep into unhealthy territory.
Anderson's one vice in the offseason is eating a pack of bacon every Sunday, Minton said. That practice, of course, has to go once a fight is scheduled.
During training she eats more than 3,000 calories over the course of six meals per day. Outside of training weeks she likely eats even more, especially given a diet of a pack of bacon on Sundays.
Anderson will take on Felicia Spencer at UFC Fight Night 152.
Anderson’s excuse to eat the bacon
Unlike many who gorge out on America’s obsession, Anderson might have an excuse to partake. Minton told ESPN Anderson is so well-conditioned, her metabolism is incredibly high. That’s why even though she eats less calories during fight week, she’s still eating a lot so that her metabolism stays high enough to keep her training from suffering, he said.
A pack of bacon once a week is a fitting treat since it’s not the worst thing for a diet. It’s high in protein, which is good, but is also high in saturated fat. Baking it in the oven on a rack that keeps the bacon away from the grease is a healthier, albeit less appetizing-for-most option.
A pack of bacon is approximately 14 slices amounting to seven servings. It would be about 980 calories, 700 from fat, and more than 84 grams of fat.
For a person on a 2,000-calorie diet it’s more than 126 percent of the daily recommended fat intake scarfed down in minutes. It also provides 56 grams of protein, more than that recommended for a person on a 2,000-calorie diet and a nice portion of what Anderson would need.
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