Boxing food rankings
How we score 2,591 foods
This resource scores every food a boxer might eat on a few things that actually matter in a fight camp, all from official UK Government data. Here is exactly how it works, with nothing hidden. The full method: the source dataset, the three normalised component measures, the per-goal scoring formulae, the price data behind the value rankings, and how diet labels are derived. No score is recomputed in the browser.
Where the data comes from
Every food comes from McCance & Widdowson's Composition of Foods Integrated Dataset (CoFID) 2021, the open nutrition dataset published by Public Health England (UK Government). It is the standard reference for what is in British food. The scoring model that ranks the foods was built by Jon Francis (June 2024) and we consume its scores verbatim: nothing is recalculated when the page loads. Both the dataset and these rankings are used under the Open Government Licence.
The three building blocks
Every food is reduced to three measures, each on a 0 to 100 scale, then combined for each goal.
- Protein per calorie. How much of a food's energy comes from protein. High is good for holding muscle while calories stay low.%Protein per kcal = protein kcal / net kcal per gram, using Atwater factors (protein 4, fat 9, carbohydrate 3.75).
- Nutrient density. How many vitamins and minerals you get per calorie, with points removed for too much salt, saturated fat and sugar.Sum of capped %RDI across 25 encouraged nutrients, minus %RDI of sodium, saturated fat, sugar and alcohol, clipped at zero and normalised.
- Satiety (fullness). How filling a food is likely to be, worked out from protein, fibre and water against how calorie-packed it is.A weighted model of protein (0.35), fibre (0.30), water (0.20), energy density (0.10, inverse) and fat (0.05, inverse), normalised.
Satiety is an estimate. It is modelled from the known drivers of fullness (protein, fibre, water, low energy density, low fat), not measured directly.
The goal scores
Each goal mixes the building blocks differently, so the same 2,591 foods re-sort for whatever the week demands. These are the exact formulae.
- All-Round Nutrition
- The best all-rounders: loads of protein for the calories, packed with goodness, and they fill you up.Super Score = %Protein per kcal x Nutrient Density x estimated Satiety (each 0-100, product normalised).
- Making Weight
- Best for fight week: lots of protein, very filling, not many calories.Cutting Score = %Protein per kcal x estimated Satiety. Rewards lean, satiating, low-energy-density foods.
- Fight Fuel
- Fast, easy carbohydrate to top up your energy tank for fight day.Fight Fuel = carb share of calories x carbohydrate density (capped at a normal-food level) x ease of eating (lower satiety) x a food-quality factor, so refined sugar and condiments do not dominate. Favours carb-dense, easy-to-eat whole-food carbohydrate for fuelling around competition.
- Bulking
- Best for eating enough between camps: lots of protein without filling you up too fast.Bulking Score = %Protein per kcal / estimated Satiety. Rewards protein-dense foods that are easy to over-eat.
- Max Protein
- The purest protein hits: the biggest share of calories coming from protein.%Protein per kcal = protein kcal / net kcal per gram (Atwater factors 4/9/3.75).
- Lean & Nutritious
- Most protein and vitamins per calorie, fullness aside.Goodness Score = %Protein per kcal x Nutrient Density (capped %RDI of 25 nutrients, minus sodium/sat-fat/sugar).
What is in, and what is out
The rankings cover 2,591 edible foods. Two groups are deliberately left out so they do not distort the lists: 155 "weighed with shell or bone" entries (which understate nutrition per gram), and 61 herbs and spices (condiments eaten by the pinch, not portioned foods, which otherwise dominate per-100g rankings). Where a food has several preparations, the rankings show the best-scoring one per food so you see different foods rather than many versions of the same one.
The prices
The best-value rankings add official UK price data, all under the Open Government Licence: ONS Shopping Prices Comparison Tool average prices for January 2025 (the most recent per-item food prices the ONS publishes), and DEFRA Family Food for the financial year ending 2024, used for dried pulses and oats and where the ONS only lists a single-serve pack. Prices are UK averages, so we frame them as relative value: the order, which food is better value than which, stays steady even as absolute prices drift.
The diet labels
The vegetarian, vegan and dairy-free filters are classified from each food's group and name: meat and fish are excluded for vegetarian; dairy and egg as well for vegan; dairy for dairy-free. It is a coarse guide, not a guarantee. Home-made and processed dishes can contain hidden animal ingredients that are not in the food name, so always check the label.
Honest limitations
- Satiety is modelled, not measured. Treat it as a guide to how filling a food is likely to be.
- Diet labels are a food-group guide, not a guarantee for processed or composite dishes.
- Prices are UK averages for relative comparison, not the price in your shop today.
- This is general information for boxers, not medical or dietary advice. For a plan built around you, speak to a registered dietitian or your GP.
Food data from the UK Government CoFID 2021 dataset; prices from the ONS Shopping Prices Comparison Tool and DEFRA Family Food. All used under the Open Government Licence.
Back to the interactive rankings, or start our free 10-week boxing nutrition course.