Thelife- Zack George is the fittest man in the UK and he told Insider exactly what he eats to fuel his training.
- George consumes 4,000 calories a day, with a
diet focused on protein and whole foods. - During the off-season, he has a couple of cheat meals every week, but when preparing to compete he's strict with his diet to keep his weight down.
- George was "massively overweight" as a child and used to eat McDonald's after school every day.
- Now 29, he hasn't had fast
food for 10 years and prefers to eat meals like chicken with sweet potatoes and vegetables.
If you want to get fit, training is only part of the equation.
What you eat to fuel your body is just as important as what you do in the gym, and this is something Zack George knows better than anyone.
Having beaten all other British athletes at the 2020
But unlike many athletes, he wasn't always into sport and
In fact, George, who grew up in Leicestershire, UK, said he was "massively overweight" as a child, eating fast food after school every day and regularly consuming whole bags of candy.
Now 29, the gym owner and athlete has been on quite the fitness journey since then, and his diet is a far cry from that of his childhood.
George broke down his diet to Insider, explaining exactly what and how much he eats to remain at the top of his game.
Zack George consumes 4,000 calories every day
Many people are under the impression that fitness is about starving yourself, but this couldn't be further from the truth, as George's daily diet shows.
The
"It's a lot, but it's not as much as people think because of my size and the fact that I'm training for three to four hours a day," George said.
Despite how active he is, George has to watch his weight because being too heavy hinders his performance.
"I put on weight so easily," he said. "It's a good weight, it's muscle mass, but still, if I weigh 102 kg (225 lbs), it doesn't matter if it's muscle, it's too heavy.
"I think what really contributed to me winning the Open was that I went into it weighing 95 kg (209 lbs). It just makes a massive difference being able to move your body quicker and being lighter in general."
He has to watch his weight
Even though 4,000 calories may seem a lot to the average person (guidelines are 2,000 for women and 2,500 for men), George points out that there are athletes who may weigh 20kg less than him but eat more, because they're not as heavy.
"I really have to try to control my weight," George said.
This means that when preparing for a competition, he has to be very disciplined with his diet.
"During off-season, I just eat relatively well and I'll have one or two cheat meals a week," he said.
"But when I'm getting close to a serious competition, I'd be on a very strict diet. I wouldn't have any cheat meals or anything for about three months."
George eats the same meals Monday to Friday
George doesn't track his macros (where you aim to hit specific targets for protein, carbs, and fat), but that's because he knows roughly what's in everything he eats.
"I'm not someone who does it every day because I'm so used to eating certain things and getting what my body needs," he said.
"I pretty much eat the same every day so I don't have to worry about tracking every single day. My diet is very, very similar from Monday to Friday."
George said he's quite happy eating the same foods during the week, safe in the knowledge that his meals will be fueling his body in the right way.
Weekends are for cheat meals
Come the weekend, during off-season anyway, George relaxes and mixes things up a bit.
"On the weekends I can be a bit more experimental and I enjoy it a little more," he said.
"But in the week I just see food as fuel really, just for training, and then I really enjoy my food at the weekend."
Although he still has the occasional pizza takeaway, George said he hasn't had fast food like McDonald's or KFC for 10 years.
"I don't really ever fancy it any more, it's odd," he said.
"On my cheat meals, I normally have sweets and chocolate now, I don't tend to have fast food."
George's diet focuses on protein and whole foods
Here's what an average day on George's plate looks like:
- Breakfast: 100g porridge oats with raisins and honey, before training
- Post-workout: Protein shake
- Lunch: Two pieces of salmon with rice and broccoli
- Pre-afternoon training: 100g porridge oats
- Post-training: Protein shake with creatine
- Dinner: Chicken with sweet potatoes and kale
- Evening snack: Protein pancake.
He doesn't drink alcohol and keeps coffee to one a day in the morning.
Dinners vary most in George's day to day diet.
"My girlfriend's a good cook so she'll cook a variety of things, but it's always based around the protein source, which is usually white meat or fish like sea bass, tuna, or chicken," he said.
"Occasionally we have red meat like lamb."
And that protein is usually served alongside sweet potatoes, white potatoes, or rice, and vegetables like carrots, kale, or spinach.
If George is still hungry in the evening, he makes himself protein pancakes, simply using eggs, banana, and protein powder.
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