After retiring from competitive strongman, 2016 Europe’s Strongest Man (ESM) Laurence “Big Loz” Shahlaei transformed his physique via significant weight loss. An integral part of that process was the diet he followed which is more what one might expect from a bodybuilder maintaining a caloric deficit than of a strongman needing to maintain high energy levels for heavy lifts in the gym.
On June 29, 2022, Big Loz took to his YouTube channel to share a full day of eating, revealing to his 124,000 subscribers what he consumes each day that has thus far amounted to a weight loss of 40 kilograms (88.2 pounds). While he says there is still work to be done on his weight loss journey, the aesthetic gains are apparent, from more muscle definition to visible abs. Check out Shahlaei’s full day of eating in the video below:
[Related: Check Out Jujimufu and Joey Szatmary Train the Bazooka Deadlift]
Breakfast
The first meal of the day is pretty simple for Big Loz. The combination of 100 grams of oats, a single scoop of whey protein, and 300 milliliters of skim milk. On days when Shahlaei is feeling hungrier, he will throw in a banana or four squares of sea salt dark chocolate into his breakfast for additional carbohydrates and to up the flavor of the dish. He pairs his oats with a black coffee.
This breakfast is half the amount of oats Shahlaei would consume during his competitive strongman days. Years of consuming large amounts of food have made eating his current day-to-day diet easy to “polish off no problem.” His breakfast rounds out to 604 calories.
Meal Two
The second meal of the day for Big Loz is as simple as his breakfast. It consists of rice, mince, and peas with curry powder prepped the day before. The dish of 250 grams of steak mince (five percent fat) and two packets of microwave Basmati rice (165 grams), and 100 grams of boiled peas total 598 calories.
Making food easy is really important to someone like me.
Shahlaei is a believer in diet colas. He says he will sometimes have up to three diet Cokes per day as it helps him keep out highly caloric beverages from his diet that don’t offer any nutritional value. Avoiding those empty calories is critical for sustaining weight loss over the long term.
View this post on Instagram
[Related: Chieck “Iron Biby” Sanou Raw Deadlifts 400-Kilogram (881.9-Pound) Double In Training]
Meal Three
Big Loz cooks his third meal: chicken, pasta, spinach, and plum tomatoes with pesto. The amounts of each are as follows:
- 100 grams of Fusilli pasta
- 150 grams of chicken
- 15 grams of pesto
The fruits and veggies are so low in calories from Big Loz’s point of view that even though his nutritionist recommended a certain amount of the spinach and tomatoes, he more often than not eyeballs how much of both to add to his meal. Much of Shahlaei’s diet evolution has come from managing portion sizes while still making meals that taste good and that he enjoys eating. He finds balance in his diet but makes more health-conscious choices when he goes out to eat and swaps those nights out with one of his higher-calorie meals during the day.
Even when I’m traveling…rather than eating what the hell I want, I try to make smart choices making sure my calorie intake is still very similar to what it would be at home.
Although Shahlaei’s weight loss goal is 100 pounds, that is more of a short-term target to keep himself disciplined. The long-term goal of his weight loss is an overall healthier lifestyle now that his competition days are behind him.
I want my whole life to be well-balanced rather than it being about being absolutely shredded.
Meal three was 613 calories, bringing his daily total to 1,815 calories.
View this post on Instagram
[Related: Strongman Jacob Matthew Finnerty Sets Block Press World Record of 386.6 Pounds]
Pre-Workout & Post-Workout Meals
Shahlaei still trains in the gym. He has even returned to compete in sanctioned powerlifting events on occasion. He is allotted two bagels with 30 grams of jam for his pre-workout meal. That will fuel him for his 30 minutes of cardio and shoulder training. His post-workout meal is a basic protein shake of one scoop of whey in water. His pre-workout is 523 calories, and his post-workout is 91 calories.
Meal Four
Shahlaei’s final meal of the day consists of 400 grams of mashed sweet potatoes, 227 grams of sirloin steak, and 100 grams of broccoli seasoned with salt and garlic and topped with mustard. This is the dinner Shahlaei eats five to six times a week if he isn’t ordering takeout. The meal totals 930 calories bringing his daily total to 3,615 calories after his late-night snack of four more dark chocolate squares.
Featured image: @biglozwsm on Instagram
