Jess Battison
Sport star and celebrity diets can seem pretty intense, I say as I write from the desk contemplating a takeaway for dinner rather than the healthy meal prepped and waiting in the fridge.
From Chris Martin having one meal a day to Mark Wahlberg’s strict routine and meal plan, we have to consider the diets of those who want to stay bigger as well - like Big Show, of course.
The American professional wrestler – whose real name is Paul Wight – has held championships in heavyweight wrestling and was part of the World Wrestling Federation (later the WWE) from 1999 to 2021 as Big Show.
Big Show is, well, big. The 51-year-old was born with acromegaly, a disease causing accelerated growth – by age 19 he was listed at 7ft 1inches.
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At his peak of his WWE career, he weighed 36 stone (504 pounds)
Wight told talkSPORT of the high calorie diet that kept him so imposing during his wrestling career.
“Probably my calorie intake back in the day, but understand it’s a lot of empty, bad calories because I used to just eat whatever I wanted in massive amounts, I’d probably say somewhere around 13 to 18,000 calories a day,” he said.
Wight went on to say that in a typical McDonald’s order he could get through three to four Big Macs, fries, a shake and apple pies. Oh and ‘probably a fish sandwich in there too’.
He added: “It was nothing to go to Taco Bell and get like 20 tacos.
“You can do that when you’re younger and you’re still going to be big but as you get older you realise, ‘I can’t really eat like that anymore.’ Now I feel I eat like amounts; I have about 10oz of protein, a small portion of carbs and some veg. [I] try to eat halfway decent.”
According to the America Food and Drug Administration, the estimated daily calorie intake needs for a man between ages 19 to 25 with a moderate activity level is 2,800 calories, increasing to 3,000 for the more active level.
On the us McDonald’s site, a regular Big Mac ranks in at 590 calories.
After recovering from hip surgery in 2018, Wight has transformed his figure into a more lean, muscular physique. The star has a strict fitness regime and certainly doesn’t seem to be tucking into 20 tacos at Taco Bell on the regular.
He’ll sometimes post Instagram snaps of the gym, which he previously captioned: “Little better everyday.”