ladbible homepage
ladbible homepage
  • iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK
    • US
    • World
    • Ireland
    • Australia
    • Science
    • Crime
    • Weather
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV
    • Film
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • Netflix
    • Disney
  • Sport
  • Technology
  • Travel
  • Lifestyle
  • Money
  • Originals
    • FFS PRODUCTIONS
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Archive
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content Here
  • SPORTbible
  • Tyla
  • GAMINGbible
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • FOODbible
  • UNILAD Tech
Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's insane 8,000 calorie diet he had to keep up to maintain his former physique

Home> Entertainment> Celebrity

Updated 19:50 2 Sep 2025 GMT+1Published 16:23 2 Sep 2025 GMT+1

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's insane 8,000 calorie diet he had to keep up to maintain his former physique

Staying that big isn't easy, it takes a lot of fuel

Joe Harker

Joe Harker

google discoverFollow us on Google Discover

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson has been strutting his stuff with a leaner physique after he lost a decent amount of weight to appear in The Smashing Machine.

The movie has him playing MMA fighter Mark Kerr and while they're both big fellas, it's reckoned that The Rock shed about 60lbs for the role.

He's still a big guy, as you'd expect from him playing an MMA fighter, but not quite the size we've come to expect from Dwayne Johnson.

A wig and some prosthetics have helped him look pretty different for The Smashing Machine, which has been getting some good critical buzz ahead of a cinema release next month, while people have been appreciating his new look.

Advert

The Dwayne Johnson we've come to know is a veritable giant of a man and to reach that size takes a lot of exercise and one hell of a diet.

Even having lost a lot of weight Dwayne Johnson is still huge (Gisela Schober/Getty Images)
Even having lost a lot of weight Dwayne Johnson is still huge (Gisela Schober/Getty Images)

Back in his wrestling heyday, he said he would consume up to 8,000 calories a day, four times the recommended intake for a grown adult, and he remembered that he was 'eating many pounds of food per day, including a lot of cod'.

For breakfast, The Rock told Delish he tended to have cream of rice or oatmeal along with buffalo and eggs when he woke up, he'd also add fruits like papaya and blueberries into the mix.

Once he'd crushed the first workout of the day, he'd have a meal of something starchy such as rice or sweet potato, along with a dollop of protein in the form of chicken or steak.

His third meal of the day would be rice and assorted greens with chicken or buffalo, and throughout the rest of the day he'd be eating fish - which was usually cod or salmon - and then before bed he'd have a balance of carbs, protein and greens to give him the right sort of diet to transform into muscle.

That is a lot of food, and for a man who eats big on his diet he also eats big on his cheat days, which he absolutely loves as he can head somewhere that does a damn good cheeseburger and follow it up with 'some sort of sugar blast'.

He reckons he was eating as much as 8,000 calories a day at his largest size (Matt Winkelmeyer/WireImage)
He reckons he was eating as much as 8,000 calories a day at his largest size (Matt Winkelmeyer/WireImage)

However, that's only viable one day a week as the other six were for workouts and salmon, lots of salmon.

The Rock also experimented with his own energy drinks by mixing powdered caffeine to powdered amino acids and powdered carbs.

On his Instagram, he's shown that he also consumes peanut butter and supplements his diet with coconut oil and fish oil to provide some fat.

The quantities at which he's eating certain foods are impressive, as his meat or fish in each of his meals is said to be at least eight ounces.

In a typical day, Healthline reports he might be eating two eight ounce steaks, another eight ounces of chicken, almost 30 ounces of fish, 24 ounces of potato and finishing the day with a 10 egg omelette.

This goes into fuel for his gym sessions and helps maintain the mass of muscle he carries around with him, even if he's slimmed down for The Smashing Machine he'll still be eating very sizeable portions of food.

One sympathises with his toilet.

The Smashing Machine releases in cinemas on 3 October.

Featured Image Credit: Alessandra Benedetti - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images

Topics: Dwayne Johnson, Celebrity, Food And Drink

Joe Harker
Joe Harker

Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

X

@MrJoeHarker

Recommended reads

Private investigator says four common signs suggest your partner is cheating on youGetty Stock Images Jury in tears and family leave courtroom as tragic audio of seven-year-old girl’s kidnapping playedWise County Sheriff's DepartmentTop 10 celebrity earners on OnlyFans as Shannon Elizabeth joins platform(Christopher Polk/Variety via Getty Images)The Boys creator 'weary' as Homelander breastfeeding scene compared to Trump postsPrime Video

Advert

  • Fans are rediscovering this brilliant series and it’s set to be your next binge watch
  • Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's unrecognisable transformation for new film leaves fans stunned
  • The Rock makes devastating admission about family after showing off transformation for new film
  • Why The Rock was left in tears after 15-minute ovation for new biopic with 100% Rotten Tomatoes score

Choose your content:

2 hours ago
3 hours ago
4 hours ago
  • Prime Video
    2 hours ago

    The Boys creator 'weary' as Homelander breastfeeding scene compared to Trump posts

    The scene sees Homelander compare himself to Jesus, which has drawn comparisons online to Trump's controversial posts

    Entertainment
  • Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images
    3 hours ago

    Sylvester Stallone turned down $360,000 for Rocky script and had to sell his dog due to contract demand

    Stallone will be the focus of an upcoming biopic about his rags to riches story that mirrors Rocky

    Entertainment
  • (Instagram)
    3 hours ago

    Hailey Bieber's honest sex life admission about husband Justin as she addresses threesome

    Hailey Bieber revealed her preferences when it comes to her intimate relationship with husband Justin

    Entertainment
  • Instagram/leahhalton
    4 hours ago

    ‘Most beautiful woman at Coachella’ responds to people trying to ‘slide into DMs’

    Leah Halton's inbox has exploded since her army of admirers bestowed the title upon her

    Entertainment