Dropping over 100 pounds is no easy feat. To do so following a strongman career as one of the greatest to ever compete with a body mass of 400-plus pounds is a life-committing endeavor. That’s what Hafthor “The Mountain” Björnsson has done since leaving the sport of hurling kegs and lapping stones for a pair of boxing gloves. The 2018 World’s Strongest Man‘s (WSM) diet transitioned from 8,000 calories per day during his strongman training to a much leaner diet of smaller portions (read: fewer calories) of rice, veggies, chicken, fish, and occasionally red meat.
In preparation for his anticipated boxing match against 2017 WSM champion Eddie Hall in early 2022, Björnsson reserved an Airbnb with his coach, Billy Nelson, in Glasgow, Scotland. Part of that move is filling the fridge with the foods fit for his diet. Björnsson and Nelson took to The Mountain’s YouTube channel to share a video of their trip to Costco. Check out everything Björnsson puts in his shopping cart below:
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The first stop in the Costco for The Mountain is basmati rice, potatoes, and oats with berries to pair with it like blueberries and strawberries. For his breakfast, Björnsson includes 100 grams of blueberries and 50 grams of strawberries in his oats. After that, they’ll dive into getting all the proteins — fish, steak, and skyr — in which he’ll mix in berries.
There is some leniency to the kinds of potatoes Björnsson can enjoy. Regular and sweet potatoes are interchangeable in his current diet, though he favors regular. Also, in the produce aisle with the berries is a bevy of spinach that Björnsson added to the shopping cart. Although he spent a long moment holding raspberry and white chocolate muffins tenderly in his gigantic grip, he did not put them in his cart.
A large container of eggs got the thumbs up from the 2018 WSM champ. Almond butter also got the nod as it is sometimes mixed into his last evening snack before bed. Björnsson reiterated that his cheat day is on Sunday as he walked past the pizza stand.
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After checking out at Costco, Björnsson and Nelson pop over to the Tesco Extra next door to pick up more berries, sauces, and chicken stock for the rice. Björnsson cooks his rice with chicken or beef stock to give it a bit more flavor. To their surprise, the stock was sold in cans, making them look more like beer — a different aesthetic from the boxes they usually purchase.
If you are competing… you know how important it is to stay on point with your diet.
Nelson reached for a box of Heineken, though it is more so for him as alcohol is not part of Björnsson’s boxing diet. Björnsson preps all of his meals ahead of time as multiple training sessions a day can leave him tired and uninterested in cooking. Although Björnsson has gotten relatively lean already, we’ll see how conditioned his physique is when he steps into the ring with Hall for their bout tentatively scheduled for March 2022.
Featured image via Hafthor Björnsson’s YouTube channel.
