All photos: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook.
The Rock eats a lot. He eats a lot of protein. He eats a lot of calories. He eats frequently, and he eats the same things again and again. His diet so diverges from the norm that it stirred up a publicity storm a few years ago. In fact, it’s basically a standard bodybuilding diet, with a few unique twists which we’ll discuss. Though most people don’t eat this way and have no reason to if they rarely enter a gym, if you want to maximize muscle and minimize bodyfat you should be eating in this general way. Forget breakfast-lunch-dinner, The Rock eats five to seven meals daily. This allows him to maximize his daily protein intake. We’re going to cut the difference and go with his six-day plan. Get your knife, fork, and spoon. Let’s delve into a typical day of meals for Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and analyze why he eats what he eats.
THE ROCK DIET: MEAL 1
10 oz Pacific cod
232 calories, 51 g protein, 0 g carbs, 2 g fat
2 whole eggs
148 calories, 13 g protein, 1 g carbs, 10 g fat
2 cups oatmeal
290 calories, 12 g protein, 51 g carbs, 5 g fat
TOTALS: 670 calories, 76 g protein, 52 g carbs, 17 g fat
Analysis: Fish for breakfast? We’ll get to the cod. It could be lean beef, chicken, or just more eggs or egg whites. This is a high-protein, no-sugar, complex carb meal to kick off the day. It provides an infusion of muscle-building protein after going without for the previous eight or so hours of sleeping. It also fuels his morning with the slow-burning, high-fiber carbs of oats.
THE ROCK DIET: MEAL 2
8 oz Pacific cod
186 calories, 41 g protein, 0 g carbs, 1 g fat
12 oz sweet potato
293 calories, 4 g protein, 68 g carbs, 0 g fat
1 cup mixed vegetables
54 calories, 1 g protein, 12 g carbs, 1 g fat
TOTALS: 533 calories, 49 g protein, 80 g carbs, 2 g fat
Analysis: This is a standard, muscle-building meal with just about 50 grams of protein. The sweet potato has 14 g of sugar, but, like oatmeal, is low glycemic. The vegetables provide additional fiber and nutrients.
THE ROCK DIET: MEAL 3
8 oz skinless chicken breast
246 calories, 52 g protein, 0 g carbs, 3 g fat
2 cups white rice
404 calories, 8 g protein, 88 g carbs, 1 g fat
1 cup vegetables
54 calories, 1 g protein, 12 g carbs, 1 g fat
TOTALS: 704 calories, 61 g protein, 100 g carbs, 4 g fat
Analysis: So we’ve come to the standard bodybuilding meal of chicken and rice. You’ll see that 8 oz. of skinless chicken breast has virtually the same stats as 10 oz of Pacific cod, so one can be swapped for the other. Rice is another good sugar-free carb source. In the brown vs. white debate, brown rice has a tiny bit of sugar that’s offset by its fiber content. It has a significantly lower glycemic index score than white rice. However, if you reheat cooked white rice after cooling it (as The Rock does with pre-made meals), it has about the same GI as brown rice. Brown vs. white comes down to taste and whether or not you want some faster acting carbs (once-cooked white rice) closer to your workout or slower acting carbs (brown or twice-cooked white) at other times.
THE ROCK DIET: MEAL 4
8 oz steak
572 calories, 62 g protein, 0 g carbs, 34 g fat
12 oz baked potato
320 calories, 7 g protein, 72 g carbs, 0 g fat
1 cup spinach salad
107 calories, 5 g protein, 11 g carbs, 5 g fat
TOTALS: 1009 calories, 74 g protein, 82 g carbs, 39 g fat
Analysis: A good ol’ meat-and-potatoes dinner. It’s the biggest calorie and fat meal of the day and nearly the biggest protein meal. We’ve seen some Rock meals where he has three baked potatoes with his steak, so he’s not afraid of the carbs either. This is just a meal for replenishing, making certain he has enough of everything to grow. Because his other meals are low fat and nearly devoid of saturated fat (aside from the whole eggs in his first meal), the 39 g. of fat, including 13 g of saturated fat in the steak, makes for a low to moderate daily intake when considering his calorie intake. While excess saturated fat should certainly be avoided, unlike trans fat, in moderation it does have some benefits, including, according to studies, testosterone production. Unless you’re trying to maximize bodyfat reduction, as before a bodybuilding contest, keep some saturated fat in your diet—but less than a typical, heart-unhealthy, American diet.
THE ROCK DIET: MEAL 5
8 oz Pacific cod
186 calories, 41 g protein, 0 g carbs, 1 g fat
2 cups white rice
404 calories, 8 g protein, 88 g carbs, 1 g fat
1 cup vegetables
54 calories, 1 g protein, 12 g carbs, 1 g fat
1 tbsp fish oil
122 calories, 0 g protein, 0 g carbs, 14 g fat
TOTALS: 766 calories, 50 g protein, 100 g carbs, 17 g fat
Analysis: Cod again. The Rock, who spent much of his youth in Hawaii, is clearly more of seafood buff than a fowl fan. And rice and veggies again. (By the way, if The Rock has a seventh meal, it’s probably going to be cod, rice, and veggies again.) The one addition here is the tablespoon of fish oil, which is high in omega-3 fatty acids, the so-called good fats, as well as vitamins A and D. Fish oil is typically taken to assist joint and heart health. All of the cod he eats will also keep his body stocked with omega-3 fatty acids.
THE ROCK DIET: MEAL 6
shake with 30 g casein protein and water
150 calories, 30 g protein, 5 g carbs, 1 g fat
10 egg-white omelet with 1 cup onions, bell peppers, mushrooms
190 calories, 41 g protein, 8 g carbs, 0 g fat
1 tbsp fish oil
122 calories, 0 g protein, 0 g carbs, 14 g fat
TOTALS: 462 calories, 71 g protein, 13 g carbs, 15 g fat
Analysis: Because this is the last meal of the day, The Rock aims are very different from the day’s first meal. Now, he’s going to be sleeping. He doesn’t need energy, and he won’t be burning many calories. Excess carbs now might be stored as bodyfat. Therefore, this is his lowest carb (and calorie) meal of the day, mostly just enough to call his egg whites an omelet. And other than trace amounts, he’s also limited his fat intake to the omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil. Meanwhile, he’s cranked up the protein and included casein, which digests much slower than whey, replenishing his muscles throughout the night as he sleeps.
THE ROCK DIET: DAILY TOTALS
Calories: 4144
Protein: 381 grams
Carbohydrates: 427 grams
Fat: 94 grams (Saturated: 16 grams)
THE ROCK’S POST-WORKOUT SHAKE
The Rock has kitchens in his Miami and Virginia home gyms, each dubbed Iron Paradise. So, if he chooses, he’s always able to whip up pre- or post-workout meals to eat just before or just after training. Most such meals are premade, so all he needs to do is microwave. But he, or his cook, may make a post-workout smoothie of easily digestible protein (whey isolate), fast-acting carbs (dextrose), and other nutrients. He shared a sample recipe:
65-70 g whey isolate protein
1 apple
30 g dextrose powder
30 g electrolyte powder
5 g creatine
water
ice
THE ROCK’S CHEAT MEAL
And then there’s the cheat meals. The Rock’s Sunday cheat meals are epic. Pizza, sushi, bacon cheeseburgers (two) with fries, cookies, donuts, pancakes, and, especially, French toast—renamed Rock toast. Oh, and some of his Teremana tequila too. Cheat meals are controversial. There’s no metabolic reason to break your diet, but it can be beneficial psychologically. Cheating can be a welcome reward for sticking to your diet the rest of the time.
But, most of all, it just tastes great. As Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson knows life is too short to just eat cod and rice, cod and rice, cod and rice, although he certainly downs a lot of cod and rice. Judging by his Sunday Instagram posts, The Rock looks forward to cheating with gusto once a week (and sometimes more) and savors every fatty, sugary bite. He knows he’ll burn those calories in the gym and deflect bodyfat with his high-protein, low-sugar diet the rest of the week. As The Rock says: “Don’t cheat yourself, my friends ~ treat yourself. Enjoy your cheat meals today – you’ve earned them!!!”
Source: We used fatsecret.com for the nutrition stats.
