Diet plans are trending these days. People do not diet these days for health reasons, but they do diet for becoming like someone they like or admire. Celebrity Diet plan is the most viral trend going around. So how a footballer who is 2nd ranked athlete on Forbes list does rank in this trend? Cristiano Ronaldo’s Diet Plan is searched by 131k people on the internet at a time. This number is small when compared to Akshay Kumar’s Diet Plan but needless to say Cristiano Ronaldo’s diet plan is much more difficult to follow.
Do you follow football? Even if you do not, you must be knowing Cristiano Ronaldo as being one of the best footballers to ever exist. His chiseled physique draws a lot of attention right from the teenagers to the people who are middle aged. He follows a very strict diet plan and thinks that it is the necessary element from which he draws his energy. Cristiano Ronaldo’s diet plan enables him to be fit and at the top of his game each and every time.
Are you eager to know what goes behind a diet of a person whose body fat percentage is 7%-8%/. A person whose muscle mass is roughly 51% of his weight. This stats will blow your mind when I will tell you that in general the average body fat percentage of athletes is around 14%-20% and Cristiano has managed to maintain just half of it. In average working men the body fat percentage is more than 25% which indicates obesity. So do you now want to know how Cristiano Ronaldo’s Diet plan works wonders for him?
Cristiano Ronaldo’s Metabolism
Cristiano’s body has a very rapid metabolism rate and adding to it the intensive training that he partakes every day, it increases his metabolism even further. The rigorous workout that he keeps doing in order to strengthen his muscles adds on to the rate of metabolism. If you are not from science background then in simple words metabolism can be summed up as body’s ability to burn the consumed calories.
For people with high metabolism it is a task to increase their weight or maintain a healthy weight. A higher metabolism rate makes you shed weight rapidly. To counter this issue Cristiano relies a lot on carbohydrates. This is one reason that his diet has major carbohydrates and lean proteins to offset the effects of higher metabolism and maintaining the adequate calorie requirement for his lifestyle.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s Diet Plan
There are 2 diet plans of Cristiano, one which he used to follow till last year and one is the current diet plan. Both have slight variations but the 6 meals in a day regime is common. To a person with high metabolism, this 6 meals regime provides an additional boost to the metabolism. It is quite unlikely that he must be eating the same things everyday so it is possible that he mixes and matches combinations from these 2 diet plans to keep things interesting.
Plus his personal chef, dietician and nutritionist must be coming up with the best meal preparations for him to not lose a track on the eating goals. If you are thinking of following any of these diet plans then you need to consider all these factors in account. Will you be able to follow a same bland diet for a sustained period? Could you sacrifice taste for health? Could you bring consistency and control for the sake of fitness? If answer to any of the questions is a yes, then keep reading you are soon going to have rest of your answers.
Meal 1: Breakfast
Earlier his breakfast used to consist of whole grain cereals with a little or no milk and 4 egg whites. To wash it down the throat, he used to drink freshly squeezed fruit juice. This provided him with 6 grams fiber, 70 grams carbs, 4 grams fats, Protein roughly around 25-30 grams and sodium 620 mg. Total kilocalories would become 420.
Recently he has changed his breakfast to suit his new training needs. Now the breakfast includes 10 slices of turkey ham, 4 cheese slices preferably mozzarella and around 225-250 grams of Greek yogurt. This increases the protein intake to 65 grams. Reduces carbohydrates to 15 grams, Increases good fats to 22 grams, sodium intake reaches 1625 mg for a total calorie intake of 470 kilocalories.
So all in all that is an increase of 50 kilo calories to kick start the day.
Meal 2: First Lunch
Previously the lunch number 1 used to include 1/4th cup boiled Pasta, 180 grams steamed broccoli, skinless chicken breast around 170 grams, Salads like lettuce or iceberg around ½ cup and a big baked potato around 300-350 grams. It supplied 12 grams fiber, 126 grams carbohydrates, 7 grams fats, 56 grams proteins and 664 mg sodium. With a total calorie intake of 845 kilocalories.
His new first lunch includes only 2 components and 2 condiments. Around 225 grams of skinless chicken breast boiled with spring salad mix around 2 cups which is drizzled with 1 tablespoon olive oil and a squeeze of 1 whole lemon. It has roughly over 5 grams carbohydrates, 22 grams of fats, 58 grams proteins, 1 gram fiber and 850 mg sodium. Accounting for calorie intake of 471 kilocalories.
To me this sounds a perfect way to break into protein sweats. Could you even imagine how difficult this can be for someone who is not used to eat so much at a time? Challenge yourself someday to eat this kind of lunch. Blandness will be defined in a whole new way to you. As an Indian it is going to be tough to eat this but for health reasons you need to sacrifice few things.
Meal 3: Second Lunch
Earlier he used to eat his lunch number 2 with 225 grams of canned fish which was either tuna or cod fish cooked in a very little oil. Along with this he had 2 slices of toasted multigrain breads and 1 cup of fresh juice. It accounted for total of 800 kilocalories which came from 68 grams carbohydrates, 24 grams of fats, 26 grams of proteins, 8 grams fiber and 380 mg of sodium.
Nowadays his second lunch consists of 1 can of tuna fish or cod fish, 2 fried eggs, 5 fresh green olives and 1 medium tomato. This is more of an umami flavored lunch which must be the best in taste from the rest of the meals. It gives him 307 kilocalories from 6 grams carbs, 14 grams fats and 43 grams of proteins with 756 mg of sodium and negligible amount of fiber.
I really can’t believe how a person as slim as him could digest these many calories till his 3rd meal of the day. This underlines an unsaid fact that his workout and training is really intense. Which allows him to digest and metabolize all these food stuffs quickly.
Meal 4: Post Work out meal
The old regime used to include 170 grams of skinless boneless boiled chicken and 1 cup of cooked white rice. It has 53 grams carbohydrates, 6 grams fats, 46 grams proteins, 1 gram fiber and 600 mg sodium. For a total calorie count of 482 kilocalories.
The new post work out meal now has 1 medium avocado, toasted multigrain bread 2 slices and 1 cup of freshly diced mixed fruits. It packs 93 grams carbohydrates, 32 grams fats, 7 grams proteins, 16 grams fiber and 290 mg sodium. All of these for a calorie intake of 640 kilocalories.
This signifies the importance of carbohydrates consumption after a proper burnout session. As his workout has only increased in intensity, the meal now consists of more calories from carbohydrates to reenergize the muscles.
Meal 5: Pre-Dinner meal or Dinner 1
A very simple meal consisting of just 1 medium apple and 1 medium banana. For 200 kilocalories of 52 grams carbs, 1 gram protein, 7 grams fiber and 3 mg sodium.
The new meal is rather heavier than the older version. It packs 625 kilocalories which come from 225 grams of cooked Salmon, 2 cups of spring salads mix, 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 whole squeezed lemon. It has 7 grams carbs, 44 grams good fats, 48 grams of protein, 1 gram fiber and 183 mg sodium.
From 200 kilo calories to 625 kilo calories, it makes you gauge how prolonged Cristiano’s workout sessions are. For the same reason the calorie intake has gone upwards.
Meal 6 Dinner 2 or Post Dinner meal
A year ago it was a time consuming meal, including 1 cup of cooked pinto beans and 170 grams of skinless boneless chicken breast cooked. It had 45 grams of carbohydrates, 7 grams fats, 57 grams of protein, and 15 grams of fiber with 1000 mg of sodium for a total of 485 kilocalories. I don’t know if it takes a stomach of real champion to digest this kind of last meal of the day. Especially after eating so much in an entire day.
Nowadays the last meal is a simple protein shake called the 2:2:2 shake as it consists of 2 scoops whey protein, 2 bananas and 2 cups of lean milk, all blended into a smoothie. This has 88 grams of carbohydrates, 14 grams fats and 55 grams of protein with 6 grams of fiber and 332 mg of sodium. All these nutrients for a calorie pack of 670 kilocalories.
Here again the calorie count has gone up in comparison to the old meal. I am just dumbfounded on learning these facts about Cristiano’s diet. Aren’t you feeling the same? Just thinking of this diet regime is giving me chills. Hats off to this champion who goes through it every day just to be at his physical best.
Macros of Cristiano Ronaldo’s Diet Plan
Macros are very important factors in the overall diet regime. A slight change in macros could lead to a big issue or benefit depending on how controlled or uncontrolled the change was. Diet overall counts for calories but to attain a specific type of body you need to ensure from where the calories does are going to come. For a leaner physique your calories should be coming from proteins for bulking up you will need calories from fats and carbs both along with proteins.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s diet plans are tailor made to suit his requirements which include his personal workout sessions, endurance training and other game training.
| Diet 1 | Diet 2 | |
| Carbohydrates | 414 | 216 |
| Fats | 48 | 148 |
| Proteins | 212 | 276 |
| Fiber (mg) | 49 | 25 |
| Sodium | 3274 | 4035 |
| Total Calories | 3232 | 3181 |
This is a whole picture of Cristiano Ronaldo’s diet plan. Going by the figures it is evident that Ronaldo has cut down on carbs and increased fats and proteins to maintain and sharpen his already lean physique. His calorie intake is around 3100-3200 kilocalories and for those who don/t know the calories and kilocalories mean the same. Now you know what goes in a diet of champion athlete.
Caution for Cristiano Ronaldo’s Diet Plan
No matter how strictly you adhere to Cristiano Ronaldo’s diet plan, you will always not get optimum results as there is always going to be a difference. You will have many reasons and excuses to give up. Even if you do not give up, you won’t be having the exact similar physique like him. So you should be knowing this well in advance rather than being crestfallen later on. That each person has different genetics and the diet plans can work to some extent but for better results you need to have a customized diet plan.
Cristiano having a net worth of $450 million has his own personal chef and a nutritionist and dietician. This team works together in creating the best meals for him even with the boring healthy stuff. This is something which an average working person might not be able to afford. Factors like this need to be counted before you decide to walk on this path.
Apart from diet, the amount of exercise that Cristiano Ronaldo does and the kind of training he undergoes, also plays a vital role in keeping him fit. So if you are planning to draw parallels then you should also try to replicate as many things as you could that Ronaldo is already doing. Just following Cristiano Ronaldo’s Diet plan won’t suffice. His physical activity is so rigorous that his has a cryotherapy chamber in his home.
It freezes his body between minus 160 and minus 200 degrees Celsius for around 3 minutes, as this helps in beating muscle soreness and reduces swelling, inflammation or sprains. For his workout routine you can check this post from fitandfunny.com.
So apart from the diet you will need to get as close as possible to his training and workout regime. All this fuss should be done only after knowing your metabolism. So be cautious and still if you think that you can pull this off then do go for it. I would be glad to publish your success story here on my website.
Closure:
Diet plans are not supposed to be followed from what you see of others. Rather you should try and make your own diet plan in consultation with a dietician or nutritionist. The sole reason being that each person has a different body type, metabolism and genetics. So what works out for others might not work out for you and vice-versa. To get best results and avoid frustration it is better to follow a diet that suits your body and works well for you.
Cristiano Ronaldo is the fittest footballer in terms of Physique and owing to his diet plan he has the same energy levels of a 20 years old at the age of 35 when most of the footballers think of retirement. For the love of game you need to make these sacrifices. These things make a player great.
With this I rest my case of the diet plans. Let me know if you need some more celebrity diet plans. You can write to me at foodie_khiladi@sh119.global.temp.domains or DM me at foodie_khiladi007. I will see you soon in my next blog soon, till then keep smiling and spreading the smiles. Share this diet plan with your health freak friends and check if they can manage to pull this feat. Comment below if you found this was insane. If you haven’t subscribed yet then do subscribe for more such content, it will encourage me to keep going.