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Teri Tom, MS, RD, is a board member of the Bruce Lee Foundation and a certified Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do instructor under Sifu Ted Wong.
Teri is also a registered dietitian with a BA in communications studies from UCLA, a master's degree in nutritional science from California State University, Los Angeles, and a certificate in personal training from the National Academy of Sports Medicine. She specializes in sports nutrition and runs her practice out of the exclusive SportsClub/LA in West Los Angeles.
She has been Pac's nutritionist since the the pre-DLH fight.
Tom said she was challenged to build up Pacquiao’s body mass without compromising his speed and power when he decided to move up two weight classes to fight De la Hoya.
“Manny has a history of dipping into the 130s only several weeks into training which was fine when he was fighting at a lower weight but this time, we had to keep him heavy so he’d have some heft going into the ring with Oscar,” wrote Tom in her book “Martial Arts Nutrition.”
Tom said in Pacquiao’s diet, she increased the frequency of his meals and switched his supplements. She introduced a protein shake of about 20 grams in the morning before jogging and another 20 grams after his workout in the afternoon. There was also a mid-morning snack, usually an egg sandwich. The goal was to build his muscle mass.
Eating a lot of calorie-laden food at his favorite Thai restaurant beside the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles was not a problem in Tom’s program.
“When you’re Manny, you burn through calories like there’s no tomorrow,” said Tom. “My feeling is if he’s four to six percent body fat and losing muscle is a concern, I’m not going to quibble about the Thai restaurant and coconut sauces. It’s more important that he get those calories in and that it’s palatable to him and that he enjoys his food. A lot of people ask me about the four cups of rice he’ll have. Again, not a problem when body fat is coming down and we are preserving muscle.”
Tom said a careful balance of nutritional intake is crucial during Pacquiao’s training period. “Carbohydrate intake during extended bouts of exercise has been proved to improve performance,” she noted. “Carbohydrates are key to fueling your alertness and skill whether you’re training or competing.”
Tom's books: (with a foreward from Bruce Lee's daughter)
Martial Arts Nutrition: A Precision Guide to Fueling Your Fighting Edge
The Straight Lead: The Core of Bruce Lee's Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do
Jeet Kune Do: The Arsenal of Self-Expression (Paperback)
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