So my real question is how do you know what weight class you should be shooting for? I've been training hard for a month now and have gone from about 175 to 165. I'm 5'10" and was in ok shape when I started boxing (meaning I started conditioning before I started going to the gym). My coach said I should shoot for 152 (welter) but I can't seem to slim under 164.

Here's my typical diet:

wake up have a banana or a pear

wait 2-3 hours have celery/peanutbutter or a glass of tomato juice

wait another 2-3 have 1-2 chicken drumstick/turkey or 1 pb&j sandwich

drink a glass of water/tomato juice/cranberry juice in between

dinner whatever i feel like, which usually consists of egg whites and more fruit , veggies and chicken, or rice veggies and eggs.

I do 200-300 crunches 50-100 pushups a day and recently have only been running 2 miles every other day. I also work with 2lbs free weights for punching speed.

Since I just started I have a hunch I'm just hitting a wall and either just need to keep working through it or simply increase my workout... but sometimes I worry cuz I don't know how to tell what weight class I should be in.

oh, also once a week I allow myself to eat something bad... like 1 cheese burger or a slice of pizza or a burrito

First of all how old are you? If you are under 18 you shouldnlt be dieting like this. You are a kid, you need nutrients in all food groups. You need to eat foods like Salads, Chicken, Pizza, Greasy ass KFC. All that shit. There is no point in dieting you are not going to improve your conditioning by starving yourself like Kate Hudson. Lol you are going to be a bone rack by the end of this. Man it is funny seeing misinformed athletes doing this kind of shit.

"you are not going to improve your conditioning by starving yourself like Kate Hudson."

lol i'm 24 and what you're saying is exactly how i feel. I feel like an anorexic beauty pagent queen. So what are you saying? If you guys think I'm being too severe with my diet what do you think I can lighten up on.

Dietting is part of boxing i guess. Making weight is difficult.

Listen, if you train hard and diet all week. At the weekend you can treat yourself and it wont matter.

Im taking off the pounds too at the moment, its tough and i'll admit, over the weekend i've been off the diet... eating chips..lasagne .. chocolate. But even so.. i train that hard, that come Thursday (when they weigh me to track my progress) i've proberbly lost a couple of Lbs.

Every weekend, treat yourself to something. You'll be just fine, dont worry. By the way...a 5ft 10 Welterweight? Jesus...that is ****ing skinny. Tell your coach you can't make the weight without starving yourself and get yourself towards middle weight.

152 at 5'10" is doable, and not necessarily unhealthy. I'm aiming for the high side of Middleweight at 5'9", but I'm giving myself until January to get there. (Down from 205 to 170, took about 6-8 months, been at this weight for about a year, now.) I like the way I hit and move at 170, I just have some more midsection fat I can burn if I stick to my guns.

But enough about me.

One More, you are definitely hitting the wall. When you starve yourself for a period of time, your body stops producing the enzymes that break down fat. You need to do some serious research about sports nutrition; what you are eating -- in particular, how little you are eating -- is not healthy for a competitive athlete.

Today, I had:

Breakfast (post-run): 1 can of tuna in olive oil, 1 slice toast, 2 cups black coffee
Snack: beef jerky, 1/2 bag (30g protein)
Snack: organic green tea with sugar (35 calories), 2 bananas, 1 bag snap peas
Lunch: Pho with shrimp, heavy on the vegetables. I left about half the noodles.
Snack: other half bag of beef jerky
Post-work: chicken breast, 3 apricots, 1 lite beer (Miller Chill)

I will most likely eat:

Pre-boxing -- driving to the gym: small apple, handful of Tums (keeps me from puking during hard workouts)
During boxing: 1/2 gallon water, probably a couple pieces of candy (Starbursts) if I start to bonk out
Post-boxing, before bed: protein shake, chamomile tea

Following that strict of diet with an deficit that large with defenitley slow down your metabolism causing you to burn less and less calories each week, causing a halt weight loss.Also Leptin a very important fat burning horomone is lowered during periods of starvation which is what your body would classify your diet as.Research Leptin and carbohydrate refeeds,refeeding with a high calorie meal or day in low gi carbohydrates will raise Leptin and metabolism causing you to lose weight faster.

And depending on your schedule I would increase your roadwork to longer runs and more times a week.I find if u feel like its draining to much from your skills and conditioning training do your roadwork at night when all other training has been completed.

152 at 5'10" is doable, and not necessarily unhealthy. I'm aiming for the high side of Middleweight at 5'9", but I'm giving myself until January to get there. (Down from 205 to 170, took about 6-8 months, been at this weight for about a year, now.) I like the way I hit and move at 170, I just have some more midsection fat I can burn if I stick to my guns.

But enough about me.

One More, you are definitely hitting the wall. When you starve yourself for a period of time, your body stops producing the enzymes that break down fat. You need to do some serious research about sports nutrition; what you are eating -- in particular, how little you are eating -- is not healthy for a competitive athlete.

Today, I had:

Breakfast (post-run): 1 can of tuna in olive oil, 1 slice toast, 2 cups black coffee
Snack: beef jerky, 1/2 bag (30g protein)
Snack: organic green tea with sugar (35 calories), 2 bananas, 1 bag snap peas
Lunch: Pho with shrimp, heavy on the vegetables. I left about half the noodles.
Snack: other half bag of beef jerky
Post-work: chicken breast, 3 apricots, 1 lite beer (Miller Chill)

I will most likely eat:

Pre-boxing -- driving to the gym: small apple, handful of Tums (keeps me from puking during hard workouts)
During boxing: 1/2 gallon water, probably a couple pieces of candy (Starbursts) if I start to bonk out
Post-boxing, before bed: protein shake, chamomile tea
omg, pho! I just moved up to oregon from cali (san jose) and I miss pho like no other...

omg, pho! I just moved up to oregon from cali (san jose) and I miss pho like no other...
The stuff you guys are telling me makes me feel a lot better about boxing in general. I think if I had to eat the way I had up in my head for a much longer period of time I may have gotten burned out quickly... I mean, of all the ppl I know I LOVE to eat the most out of all of them. And this diet thing, although a good test of will, has made me a little irritable (due to the fact that it's almost like fasting... and if any of you have ever fasted before you know you get irritable).

I'm going to loosen up on my meals (portion wise, not fatty or sodium wise) and increase my roadwork like floyd suggested. I didn't realise that I might be doing more harm than good cutting down on food so much. Thanks so much guys!

you feel bad about an orange but you eat bananas.. ??? you know that an orange is nearly a negative-calorie and bananas are fat-filled, right?

and dump the rice and bread. maybe try a south beach diet meal replacement bar in the morning 200 cals, 20 grams of protein, pretty cheap too.

you feel bad about an orange but you eat bananas.. ??? you know that an orange is nearly a negative-calorie and bananas are fat-filled, right?
I was just exagerating. But I didn't actually know that about oranges.

Where are you in Oregon that there is boxing? If you're in Portland, there should be KILLER Asian food everyplace you look.

I'm close to Portland, but the only time I go in is to box... I bet you're right, Fraidy. I should open my eyes and go look for a place or two. Foreman! I dumped bread and cut out all sugar (besides fruit) in my diet. I feel great and am now dropping from 162. I'm chinese... so... I HAVE to have my rice. I can't even express how much it's a part of me. BUT now I limit myself to one small cup per day no later than lunch.

Wow, I just learned that bananas actually help block fat. So, I think I'll start adding them to my weekly diet. [edit- an orange is still better for you, building muscle or losing fat]

Am I the only one who manages to seeminly eat thrice as many calories during the weekend days compared to the week days? Shit. Friday-Sunday has been killer, but it forces me to rest a little, which is probably good.. Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhh blah.

I'm close to Portland, but the only time I go in is to box... I bet you're right, Fraidy. I should open my eyes and go look for a place or two. Foreman! I dumped bread and cut out all sugar (besides fruit) in my diet. I feel great and am now dropping from 162. I'm chinese... so... I HAVE to have my rice. I can't even express how much it's a part of me. BUT now I limit myself to one small cup per day no later than lunch.

Refined sugar is probably the next thing I'm going to try and completely wipe out. I don't even eat much of it now, but no more Jiff PB (just the natural shit, which is good, but not Jiffy good), ha.

And rice is probably a better option than bread. do you eat jasmin or whole-grain (brown) rice? i guarentee that generic brown rice is better than generic wheat bread, but with bread you get more options (like a whole-grain, 50 cal per slice, 5 gr of fiber, decent protein, etc..) and much easier time fixing. anyways, i'd rather eat a bulk-load of veggies than 2 slices of bread.

but duh keep it up, other people being focused helps me being focused.

Those South Beach bars are great. I use them for lunch at work.