The World's Strongest Man says the week before competition he gains 22 pounds by eating cake, burgers, and pasta

• Tom Stoltman is the two-time reigning World's Strongest Man.
• Stoltman told GQ he eats 13,000 calories a day the week before a competition.

The two-time reigning World's Strongest Man said he eats pancakes, burgers, and pasta to fuel up the week before competition.

Tom Stoltman told GQ he gains up to 22 pounds, or about 10 kilograms, by eating a 13,000-calorie-a-day diet, which he said helps him prepare for intense 6,000- to 7,000-calorie-burn workouts.

"We eat for fuel — we're not eating for quality. We're eating to use it to be the most effective we can for lifting weights," Stoltman said.

The 28-year-old Scotsman defended his title in May 2022; he's the 10th athlete to win World's Strongest Man twice. He also holds the record for lifting the heaviest Atlas Stone, which weighed 630 pounds.

Stoltman said that the week before a competition, he begins his day at IHOP, where he consumes a stack of pancakes topped with fruit and honey. He has a smaller snack a few hours later, then eats a burger and fries for lunch. For dinner, Stoltman said he usually has pasta and chocolate cake for dessert.

Stoltman said that his high-calorie diet helps give him energy for workouts, but it can take a toll on him physically.

"I don't enjoy it," he told GQ. "By the end of the week, I've put on 10 kilograms, I can hardly walk and I'm not sure how I lift."

Stoltman posts regular training and dieting videos on his YouTube channel with his brother, Luke Stoltman, who is also a strongman competitor. He told GQ he's going to take a break from strongman competitions but hopes to compete next year to defend his title.