Eddie Hall has built his career around pushing his body to extraordinary limits, but the former World’s Strongest Man believes one of the biggest changes he’s ever made came long after retiring from elite Strongman.
Hall revealed that switching to a largely carnivore diet has transformed both his physical and mental health, admitting he once thought surviving on little more than meat would be impossible for an athlete.
Instead, he says the results have exceeded every expectation.
Speaking to Rob Moore, Hall reflected on the huge amounts of carbohydrates he consumed during his competitive strongman days, explaining that eating massive quantities of food was simply part of the job.
“For years and years, especially in the Strongman days, I would consume loads of carbs,” he said.
He recalled meals that would be almost unimaginable for most people.
“For my lunch, I would have half a kilo of steak and getting towards a kilo of pasta sometimes, a kilo of rice. It was ridiculous.”
Dessert wasn’t exactly small either.
“For pudding, I’d have like half a family cheesecake.”
Looking back, Hall admits there were two reasons for eating that way: “I think both. To get big, carbs is the way. You want to put size on and mass.”
Those eating habits helped him reach the top of the sport, but they’re now firmly in the past.
Today, Hall follows what he describes as a predominantly carnivore diet built around meat, eggs and dairy.
“I’ve started doing the carnivore diet, which has been absolutely phenomenal for me,” he explained. “Now I’m in my later years, I would say the best hack is just eating meat. Just the carnivore diet – meat, eggs and dairy.”
According to Hall, the impact has been dramatic: “That has honestly been a game changer for me. It has absolutely transformed my life mentally and physically.”
The 2017 World’s Strongest Man winner says the benefits extend far beyond simply changing his body composition.
“I’m sleeping better,” he said. “I’ve got so much more clarity. I’m remembering things more. All my blood markers have improved. Every single one has got better. I feel better. My inflammation is better. I’m not as sore. I’m not as laggy. I’ve got more energy.”
Hall believes changing his body’s primary fuel source has made a noticeable difference to both his daily life and his athletic performance.
“I’m performing just off fats, so my energy levels are actually better. My cardiovascular is stupid compared to what it used to be,” he said.
Despite weighing close to 200kg during his strongest years, Hall says his fitness is now at a level he never expected.
Hall admitted he would have dismissed the idea entirely during his competitive career.
“If somebody had told me in the Strongman days you could eat nothing but meat and be super strong and fit, I’d be like, f*** off. There’s no way.'”
“But now I’ve done it, and I’ve cut the carbs out. It is a game changer.”
While Hall describes himself as following a carnivore diet, he admits he isn’t obsessive about sticking to it every single day.
“I’m not super strict on it,” he said. “Sometimes I’ll do Monday to Friday, nothing but meat.”
At weekends, he allows himself a little more flexibility without returning to his old eating habits.
“If I want a bit of sourdough with my eggs for breakfast, I’ll have some sourdough,” he explained. “If everyone’s having a takeaway, I’ll have a takeaway.”
“But I’ll keep the carbs right down, and I still feel good.”
For Hall, the key is balance rather than perfection.
Alongside meat, eggs and dairy, he also includes fermented foods in his diet.
He said: “I eat quite a bit of fermented foods. It has to be live cultured sauerkraut and live cultured kimchi. I eat sourdough bread sometimes because it’s live cultured. Anything that keeps your bacteria good.”
Red meat remains the foundation of his nutrition, despite longstanding debates around its health effects.
He still uses supplements, but says almost all of his nutrition comes from whole foods.
For someone who once relied on mountains of pasta, rice and cheesecake to fuel the strongest body on the planet, Hall believes his current approach has delivered something even more valuable.
He finished: “What man doesn’t love steak?”
Featured image credit: Rob Moore / YouTube / Eddie Hall / Instagram
