“I shoot for six meals a day,” Shields said. “Some days end up being a little more. Some days may be a little less. I don’t like to go very long without eating.”

Day 2

Shields doesn’t like soda and will drink coconut water or 100 percent juice drinks throughout the day.

Day 3

Shields tries to focus on eating small meals before training. Carb-based meals, but not greasy foods like Thai takeout, usually make the cut.

“I cook my own food. Sometimes my brother cooks my food,” Shields said. “I’ve thought about hiring a chef for before a fight. I’m thinking about getting a vegan chef and trying it out.”

On weekends, when he’s going out t o clubs with friends, there aren’t a ton of late-night eating options. He’ll get pizza or Mexican food, but such snacks will be cut out around the eight-week mark before the fight.

Fitch’s average day

Jon Fitch’s wife Michele, whose own change in diet was the impetus of Fitch’s current routine, does most of the family’s cooking and food shopping.

She noted two key challenges. The first is getting food with no preservatives, which means constant shopping, since most of the food purchased is going to be good for about only three days. She checks the Internet to find food in her area.

The second challenge is to get Jon enough calories, because as a hard-training professional fighter, he burns a lot of energy, particularly now that he’s in the home stretch of his preparation for his fight with B.J. Penn, and has to maintain his weight and strength levels.

“He eats nonstop,” she notes. “I wake up in the morning and the snack tray is empty.”

Michele Fitch said Jon’s typical day will start with two glasses of water, and a big bowl of oatmeal with raw honey or hazelnuts. Fitch also will have a protein shake, using plant-based protein.

After his first workout of the day, he’ll eat sandwiches with organic vegetables, and a vegetarian dish like tofu.

Before his evening workout, Fitch will have a meal with brown rice, Quinoa, a high-protein green, with almond butter, blueberry jam with bread, grapes, Brazilian nuts and raw cashews.

After his evening workout, he will have what Michele Fitch calls his “Popeye meal,” a noodle dish with spinach, zucchini, garlic, onions, olive oil and sometimes mushrooms.

All meals also contain a variety of fruits, as the goal is a three-to-one ratio between fruit and protein. Fitch aims for 90 grams of protein per day.

For the rest of the night, he will continue to snack on whatever organic foods are in the house, finishing with a light meal before bedtime.