Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson has brushed off stabbings on HBO’s Game of Thrones, became the world’s strongest man in 2018, and has been trying his hand at boxing since 2021. Before his upcoming March 19 fight with Eddie Hall at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium in the United Arab Emirates, Björnsson let Men’s Health in on the precise diet he lives by when he’s getting ready for some gloved pugilism.
During his 10-year career as a professional strongman, Björnsson had the hunger of three grown men, consuming up to 10,000 calories per day — more than three times the caloric intake a typical active man would require. To get in boxer shape, Björnsson pared down his food intake and monitors the amount of food he consumes down to the gram and the ounce. “Now, when I’m doing boxing, my meals are more specific,” he said.
His first meal of the day as a strongman consisted of six eggs, six slices of bacon, a glass of orange juice, and a hefty amount of water. But, his boxing diet consists of eight ounces of beef tenderloin, two whole eggs, 110 grams of oatmeal, 150 grams of berries, and one glass of orange juice. The beef tenderloin is his meat of choice because it’s a “leaner meat, not as fatty.”
For his second meal, he’s once again devouring eight ounces of beef tenderloin, but this time he’s adding 100 grams of greens such as zucchini and spinach, along with 140 grams of rice. There is some flexibility in his strict diet, as the amount of rice he eats varies depending on his performance and what his body is telling him.
His focus for the third meal is carbs as he loads up on eight ounces of cod fish and 100 grams of greens, this time paired with 300 grams of potatoes.
After his fourth meal of the day, consisting of eight ounces of salmon, 140 grams of rice, and 100 grams of greens, Björnsson likes a little taste of his Iceland home. The dessert he dines on in the evening is Icelandic delicacy Thor’s Skyr, which he praises for being high in protein and full of probiotics to help with gut health. Björnsson is an admitted ice cream lover, so to satisfy his sweet tooth, he adds 100 grams of berries and 30 grams of nut butter to the Thor’s Skyr. This is a much healthier alternative to Bragðarefur, an Icelandic desert Björnsson adores that mixes ice cream with three candies.
The calorie counting and precision get thrown in the trash on his cheat day and he leaves all of his food decisions for the day up to his stomach. “On my cheat day, I would eat anything my stomach desires,” he said. “Sometimes it’s ice cream, sometimes pizza, sometimes burgers, sometimes sushi. Whatever I desire, I eat.”
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