We’ve seen what Noah Ohlsen eats when he trains but we’ve always wanted a close look at the diet of the man who has won the title of Fittest Man on Earth™ more than anybody else: Rich Froning.
The 31-year-old Froning, who won the Reebok CrossFit Games in 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014, was recently interviewed by Men’s Health and revealed that, contrary to the association of CrossFit with high fat Paleo diets, the man follows a relatively traditional athlete diet: pretty low fat and lots and lots of carbs, between 200 and 500 grams per day depending on his activity level. He said that he used to fast between breakfast and 5pm until he realized that he was under eating: “I was not eating enough carbs.”
Last Friday, he was clocking in at 220 grams of protein — likely about a gram per pound of bodyweight — plus 425 grams of carbs and 50 grams of fat. That’s 3,030 calories.
Here are a couple of sample meals.
Breakfast
3 whole eggs
95 grams of egg whites
3.5 slices of whole grain bread.
Dinner
100 grams of sirloin
1 tablespoon of peanut butter
255 grams of apples
90 grams of sweet potato
60 grams of broccoli
He says he likes to have a bowl of Raisin Bran or Frosted Mini Wheats for a high carb, relatively low fat dessert.
His diet template comes from Renaissance Periodization, home of BarBend expert Dr. Mike Israetel, and what’s interesting is that his carbs are split into three categories:
Healthy Carbs (eg. Whole grain bread, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, fruit)
High GI Carbs (sugary cereal, Nutrigrain bars, white bread with jam, fat free frozen yogurt, white potatoes, low fat baked goods)
Workout Carbs (Gatorade, Powerade, lemonade, fruit punch, Kool Aid, juice)
He eats five to seven meals each day — he eats more on workout days — and he’s given an allotment of lean protein, veggies, healthy fats, and one or more of the carbohydrate categories. It’s interesting to note that he’s not exactly told to focus on or avoid particular foods, rather to choose from categories of foods to make up the day’s calories and macros. Whatever happens, he hits is micronutrients with at least five cups of vegetables per day.
The emphasis on micronutrients and food categories makes this not quite as laissez faire as a standard IIFYM diet, but it’s good to see that even the most elite athletes on Earth still have a decent variety of foods to choose from to make up their calories and macros.
Featured image via @richfroning on Instagram.