During the period when Arnold Schwarzenegger was working hard to establish his foothold in America and to fulfill all his dreams besides bodybuilding, he had to consume a large amount of calories, and up to 250 grams of protein per day.

However, it was not easy for him to meet his daily intake through meals. But he found a different way to fill the gap, which the seven-time Mr. Olympia revealed during his appearance on Theo Von's podcast in June 2025.

He said, "I was never a big eater. If I had a little steak and some two scrambled eggs, I was perfectly fine. I was full."

However, that was not sufficient to satisfy his protein or caloric requirements because his intense workout routine demanded more food intake. As a result, the Austrian Oak met his protein intake by taking protein shakes.

He added, "But let's say in the morning, steak and eggs, or scrambled eggs, or something like this. I always had to take protein drinks in between meals, because I could never eat enough to get my 250 grams of protein, because I weigh 250 pounds. And the idea then was to have every kind of pound of body weight you have, you should have one gram of protein."

According to Stanford Medicine, the newly revised dietary guidelines recommend 1.2 to 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram for adults.

As Arnold Schwarzenegger used to train five hours a day, he fulfilled his protein intake by consuming:

• A snack including mixed nuts, followed by
• A skinless chicken breast at lunch
• After lunch, he used to consume another snack, having cheese
• Post workout, Schwarzenegger used to drink a protein shake with 25 g of egg protein and 25 g of milk protein mixed
• At dinner, Schwarzenegger consumed 8 Oz of lean beef
• For carbohydrates, he used to eat fruits and bread and drink a lot of milk

So, a typical day for the Austrian Oak was filled with more than 2,700 calories, including:

• 27g of carbohydrates
• 90 g of fat
• 256g of protein.

While that many calories were needed at that time, his diet approach has changed completely following three open-heart surgeries.

Arnold Schwarzenegger's current diet

According to a March 2, 2024, YouTube video on Health Reveal, Arnold Schwarzenegger has switched to a mostly plant-based diet, avoiding red meat.

According to NAD aging science, apart from his plant-based diet, these are the foods that the bodybuilding legend currently eats:

• Three to four whole eggs every morning
• Throughout the day, his favorite food product is oats
• Protein shake including a raw egg, protein powder, almond milk, a banana, and cherry juice
• For snacks, Schwarzenegger still prefers multiple servings of fruits and vegetables throughout the day.

He also said, "I would say that I hate cow's milk. I drink almond milk."

Over the years, Schwarzenegger’s eating habits and diet have changed for overall health reasons.

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Written by

Supradeep Dutta

Edited by

Yask Kotak