First, a big thank you for sitting down with us today...
Q: Perhaps if we start with an easy one, when did you guys first get into fighting?
K: I started training boxing at the age of 15 (2006) and haven’t stopped since. My youngest memory of fighting (or at least what I believed to be) was watching WWF (wrestling) when I was 8 years old. At the time I believed it was all for real and was so into it! It was definitely what sparked my initial interest.
A: I was 16 years old when I started martial arts, and I started by learning MMA. I started fighting at 19 years old in a French tournament - it was amateur boxing.
Q: And when did you both realise you wanted to take it full time as Professionals?
K: When I started training I knew immediately that I wanted to fight, although at the time it was just more of a dream. I never actually believed I could make something out of it. So, when I finally took the plunge it was a pretty awesome and unbelievable feeling.
A: I joined the Monaco Boxing National team at 19 and it was then that I had a goal to turn professional in Boxing.
Q: How have your respective diets changed over the years as part of your lifestyles? What did you struggle with?
K: I understood early on about how nutrition and training would go hand in hand. My brother started boxing before me and was a passionate cook, so I picked up some basic diet tips from him. It was when I turned professional in MMA that I was exposed to the lifestyle of other professional fighters. I was lucky enough to see nutrition practises on both extremes (good and bad) and learnt a lot through trial and error myself. I would say I have come a long way for the better, and have recently completed a certification in ‘Sports Nutrition’ just to take my passion for nutrition a little further.
A: I have become a lot more consistent with good eating and what used to be ‘diet’ for me has turned into lifestyle changes - for example, there are things I have totally cut out of my diet or eat a handful times per year. My nutrition goals at one point were with a purpose to lose weight, but now I am in a place where I am driven to eat with both my well-being and overall performance as an athlete in mind.
Q: How do you prepare for a fight? How do you ensure you meet weight?
K: PPE - Plan, Prepare, Execute. I believe that with nutrition plans and weight loss, there are no shortcuts - or at least none that won’t have a negative effect on your health or performance. It is crucial for me to make a plan months in advance of a fight. One key detail here that I believe is often overlooked is how an athlete should eat when outside of fight camp. We call this period ‘off season’ or ‘maintenance’ and I believe the choices I make in this time will ultimately manifest during fight camp/fight night.
A: I don’t struggle with making weight for my fights and I believe it’s because I am diligent about eating well. Ultimately, I have a good lifestyle in and out of fight camp. I am particular about keeping the discipline with a good diet no matter what, and in fight camp I refine and cut certain things out totally.
Q: When did you first come across Nutrition Kitchen?
K: I came across NK when my boyfriend and team mate Abdou found the profile on Instagram. He subscribed to the meal plan and, soon after, I did too. At the time we had a goal to lower our walking weight (fighting term for your average/daily weight), and to lose fat/gain muscle. We are both instructors and the teaching schedule together with training, made good food preparation difficult to achieve. I would spend 2-4 hours a week doing food prep in the evenings and it was exhausting. Signing up for NK not only made our lives easier in terms of convenience, but the quality and variety was something I hadn’t been able to achieve consistently before.
A: Yeah, as Kirstie mentioned I discovered NK whilst browsing on Instagram. It was the first meal prep plan I had come across in Singapore and the dishes in the photos looked delicious. I told my team about them and soon after a few of us were on the plans. I am now aware of some other meal plans in Singapore, however, the quality and consistency of the food has kept me coming back to NK.
Q: How has Nutrition Kitchen been able to replace your previous diet? Has your preparation become easier?
K: The amount of time and stress that I have saved has been fantastic. I pretty much have a back-to-back schedule 6 days a week and being on NK plans saves me time from buying groceries, cooking & cleaning. NK has delivered meals that I would not be able to recreate without being in the kitchen every evening. As an athlete, recovery is just as important a component as nutrition, and now that I save 4+ hours a week from not having to meal prep, I get to put that into my recovery. This has made a massive difference in my lifestyle and performance.
A: I used to do very simple meal prep or just order food when I didn’t have the time - because my schedule is back-to-back morning to evening with teaching personal training, teaching classes and doing my professional boxing training, I would often have to order food delivery. I find that the good stuff ended up costing a bomb with delivery fees every day, and also there were some days I would be too busy to think about ordering! The convenience and variety of NK has made my life so much easier and allows me to focus on my work and training.
Q: You both spend some of your time coaching as well, would you recommend NK to your own clients?
K: We both recommend NK to just about all our clients. I do respect that everyone has their own personal preferences/lifestyle choices, but I believe in what NK has to offer and have been spreading the word about it since trying it the first time a few years back.
A: Yes I would, and in fact I have recommended it to a handful of them who are already on the NK plans, all of whom are very happy and have been on them for some time now!
And finally, some quick fire questions!
Favourite NK dish
K: Balinese Fish or Thai fish cakes
A: Beef Bolognese or the Salmon dishes
Sporting idol
K: Amanda Serrano or Terri Harper (female boxers)
A: Saul Canelo Alverez
Favourite movie
K: Big Fish by Tim Burton
A: The Mauritanian or Inception
Favourite book
K: The Art of World of Warcraft (I used to want to be a digital art creator for games!)
A: l’économie de la connaissance (French book)
Proudest achievement
K: Fulfilling my goal of becoming a professional fighter
A: Making my family proud for going after and achieving my dreams