When you’re at the top of your game, your diet has to be on point.
You won’t see The Rock pigging out on takeaway in the run up to a new Hollywood role or David Haye stuffing his face with crisps before a heavyweight fight.
Although Usain Bolt has been known to gorge on 100 McDonald’s chicken nuggets every day in the run up to his triple gold at the 2012 Beijing Olympics…but the man’s a freak.
But for the most part, athletes, fighters and film stars have their diets strict, regimented and set in stone to help them achieve their goals.
What’s interesting however is how different those diets can be depending on their size, their body composition and whether they’re geared up for strength, power, endurance or just pure aesthetics.
Go Compare has put together a clever comparison infographic of 23 famous athletes and celebrities showing how many meals they eat, their daily calorie intake, how much meat they eat and what types of foods are on their plates.
https://www.instagram.com/p/-RVppSocYT/?taken-by=usainbolt
Obviously sitting right at the top of the list is strongman and actor Hafthor Bjornsson, who plays The Mountain in Game of Thrones.
The two-time Europe’s Strongest Man champion takes in 10,000 calories a day across eight massive meals. His foods are high in proteins for muscle growth, healthy fats to keep his joints in good nick and good carbs for explosive power. His breakfast alone of eight eggs, blueberries and an avocado probably isn’t far off the calories Gwyneth Paltrow eats in a day.
Quite surprisingly, Chris Hemsworth comes next in the calorie league table – consuming just shy of 6,000 in a day, presumably when he’s bulking up to play Thor.
He gets a good balance of healthy fats from salmon and eggs, while getting lean sources of protein like chicken and plenty of fibrous vegetables which help slow down digestion and keep you full.
That’s even more than WWE legend and Hollywood muscle man Dwayne Johnson. The Rock famously eats eight meals a day, but he eats 736 less calories than Hemsworth during an average day, according to the infographic.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BFadr_5oh4u/?taken-by=therock&hl=en
The Rock eats a shit load of cod as his main source of protein, which is high in protein, low in fat and has a good spectrum of amino acids.
You won’t find any refined carbohydrates in his diet either – his main sources are white rice, baked potatoes, sweet potatoes and oatmeal.
Former two-weight world champion boxer David Haye is the top vegan on the list, consuming 4100 calories a day – none of which come from meat or animal product.
Haye’s diet, which we look at in depth here, is full of plant proteins like pea and quinoa, as well as foods rich in nutrients for optimal performance like dates, walnuts and kale – so-called ‘Sirt foods’.
Way down the list – and even below The Queen of England – is gold medal-winning Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt, who only takes in 2273 calories in a day.
Former Team GB hurdler Sarah Claxton told JOE that sprinters only eat small, light meals so they don’t feel full and sluggish in training – while eating carb-rich foods like pasta and fruit which give them quick energy for their explosive bursts of speed on the track.
But most surprise of all is Conor McGregor’s calorie intake. It’s way, way down the list – even below the likes of Mo Farah and Jessica Ennis-Hill.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BKonFPsBW9R/?taken-by=thenotoriousmma&hl=en
According to the infographic, the UFC featherweight champion lives off a diet of 1603 a day which is well below the recommended daily allowance for the average man.
We know when he’s on a weight cut to get down under the 145lb limit he’s had to seriously limit his calorie intake, so it wouldn’t surprise us.
He could probably afford to be a little more liberal with the calories in the run-up to his recent victory over Nate Diaz at the 170lb welterweight limit.
As we heard from McGregor’s nutritionist Georges Lockhart though, ‘steaks for every meal’ is out the window and he’s back on a strict diet with things like sweet potatoes, vegetables and lean meats for optimal performance.
You can have a look at the full interactive infographic right here which lets you compare the amount of calories, the amount of meals or the percentage of meat in their diet…
Click image to open interactive version (via Gocompare.com).
Catch up with the latest episode of Football Friday Live right here…
