Tyson Fury has employed a nutritionist to help him fight the fat as he is determined to compete in boxing this year.
- Tyson Fury is training in Marbella and consuming 3,500 calories a day as he attempts to get in shape before his anticipated return to the ring this year.
- The heavyweight boxer has enlisted the help of a nutritionist so that he can fight the fat he has built-up since his last fight — a 2015 masterclass against Wladimir Klitschko.
- Fury is on a strict ketogenic diet and has already lost four stone, according to his nutritionist.
Heavyweight boxing contender Tyson Fury plans to fight the fat, get in shape, and take on world champion Anthony Joshua when he returns to the ring this year.
Fury struggled with depression and saw his weight balloon to 27 stone (378 pounds) while he battled a protracted anti-doping charge last year, according to The Telegraph.
He is now free to box once again and, in a bid to get in shape, Fury has enlisted the help of nutritionist Greg Marriot.
Marriot has given Fury a diet plan that includes seven meals a day, "eggs and lean bacon," and a daily intake of 3,500 calories.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Marriot explained how he intends to get Fury's weight back down to 18 stone (252 pounds).
He said Fury has "lost nearly four stone" already. "But it's not just about the weight, you have to be mentally right as well. A happy fighter is a dangerous fighter. Killing yourself in the gym after a protein shake is not the right thing to do."
What is more important, Marriot argues, is the right weight loss plan. In the future, Fury will "need to be on 5,500 calories a day." Right now, he's on a ketogenic diet of 3,500 calories a day, training in Marbella at the MTK Global headquarters in Spain.
"A ketogenic diet consists of high fats, minimal carbohydrates, and some protein," Marriot said. "Tyson is on seven meals per day. In the morning he'll have low-carb rye bread, avocado, eggs, and lean bacon. No sugars, like tomatoes."
Every now and then, Fury will be allowed a cheat food. For the unbeaten Manchester-based boxer, that cheat food is an English classic — Marriot says Fury's cheat food is fish and chips.
"If he sticks to the plan [Fury is] allowed treats," Marriot said. "If you do this diet right, you can have a cheat meal. If it's done right, you can get away with eating as much rubbish as possible within a three hour window, and it actually burns fat. But you can't do that every weekend!
"Everyone thinks dieting is doom and gloom and you can't eat anything but, the way I work, you can. You need to feed the mind, and you need a healthy mind before you fight."
The heavyweight championship landscape has opened up since Fury's last victory — a 12-round boxing masterclass against Wladimir Klitschko in 2015.
In the years since Fury's last outing, Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder, and Joseph Parker have all emerged with at least one version of the heavyweight title.
In the past, Fury invaded a ring to trade verbal blows with Wilder but he has focused more recently on an all-British match-up involving Joshua.
For Marriot, Fury may have an advantage here as the 29-year-old is not as muscle-clad as Joshua, a fighter who could be zapped of energy because of his bulk.
"Tyson wants to be 18-and-a-half stone," Marriot said. "I looked at Anthony Joshua, when he fought Carlos Takam, and being so musclebound will take energy from you.
"It's hard for Joshua to take muscle off. It's not about being the bigger man, it's a fitness game. To put on the show that Tyson wants, you have to be light so you can move for 12 rounds."
Fury won the WBA, IBF, WBO, IBO, and The Ring heavyweight championship belts when he scalped Klitschko in Germany in 2015.
He now vows to reclaim those belts when he returns to the ring this year.