I Tried Cristiano Ronaldos Diet for a Week

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He may be one of the most celebrated players in football history, but Cristiano Ronaldo is renowned for his dedication to the game and his body off it. The 36-year-old rattles off an incredible 782 career goals, five Ballon d’Ors and became the leading European Championship scorer of all time. Nevertheless, behind all this success is a brutal lifestyle – particularly the way he eats.

But I was a soccer reporter and had grown tired of writing about Ronaldo and his training habits, trophies, or supercars. The only next logical step was to see what eating like Ronaldo is actually like and that meant for an entire week. Clearly, it wasn’t easy and I almost wonder if they’d recommend this to anyone who doesn’t have a personal chef or mad amounts of time on their hands.

Here’s a breakdown of Cristiano Ronaldo’s diet plan based on the article, organized into a data chart format:

Meal	Time	Food Items	Description
Breakfast	Morning (8:00 AM)	Ham, Cheese, Yogurt	A protein-packed meal to start the day.
Midmorning Snack	Mid-morning (10:00 AM)	Avocado on Toast	Simple and healthy snack to keep energy levels high.
Lunch 1	Early Afternoon (2:00 PM)	Chicken Caesar Salad, Olives (no dressing)	A light, protein-rich meal to sustain energy.
Lunch 2	Late Afternoon (4:00 PM)	Fish (Smoked Haddock), Boiled Eggs, Salad, Olives	Another protein-based meal, focusing on lean fish and fresh vegetables.
Dinner 1	Evening (6:30 PM)	Steak, Asparagus	A hearty post-workout meal for recovery.
Dinner 2	Late Evening (9:00 PM)	Steak or Fish (Tuna, Cod, Haddock), Grilled Asparagus	A second light dinner to end the day, still high in protein and healthy fats.
Drinks	Throughout the day	Water, Fruit Juice	Stays hydrated with water, avoiding sugary drinks like Coca-Cola.
Snacks	Occasional	Nonalcoholic Beer	Occasionally indulges in a non-alcoholic drink for relaxation.

The Ronaldo Diet: 6 Meals a Day

Six-meals-a-day Full Of Protein, Healthy Fats And Plenty Of Fresh Produce The diet Ronaldo follows is one that can fuel the intense training sessions and delivers six meals per day filled up with protein to help build muscle tissue, alongside plenty of fresh vegetables. A breakfast of ham, cheese and yoghurt marks the day. For a midmorning snack? Avocado toast. The lot provides lunch in two sittings, a chicken salad initially followed by fish with eggs at the second. Dinner? Dinner x2 — Usually fish (or steak) and veggies.

All up, this diet amounts to around 3,200 calories per day – well over the average caloric needs for us all – unless you work out as much as Ronaldo does.

Ronaldo: The Real Costs of Living Out Ronaldo’s Grocery List in My Cart

I started by shopping. Cristiano Ronaldo does not tai, ke a cheeky visit to Marks & S pencer lik,e I do Because thats where your bo y bought all the items ifor my week with in thee diet of six-packing like him. Basic staples like rib-eye steaks, smoked haddock, chicken fillets and some natural yogurt would be good also with avocados, eggs (free-range), all sorts of veg.

I had just forked out £85.93 ($121) and figured that would cover me for the week, right? I wasn’t. Not even close.

Day One: The Meals Are Delicious, But I’m Already Full

I started my day with ham and cheese, as well as yogurt followed by the avocado toast midmorning. I must say the breakfast was really nice and took no time to prepare- all good so far. But then the two lunches happened.

For the first course, a chicken Caesar salad was perfect to start with as it is both light and refreshing. The latter, a smoked haddock fillet with boiled eggs had me feeling rather full. The truth is, I already had two more dinners left to complete.

I was drained after I cooked, sat down and ate two servings of steak with asparagus. The meals themselves were simple, but the fact I was cooking twice as much as usual ate up a sizeable part of my evening. I thought when I was watching him: How does he find the time as well? – but then, of course, he doesn’t cook for himself! His personal chef does.

Working Out on a Stomach Full of Food: Not as Fun as It Sounds

Naturally, Ronaldo loves to eat A LOT and does not only consume it all but he also works out a lot. Following my second-sandwich lunch, I went to the gym and tried a uh… Ronaldo inspired workout including squats, lunges & endless ab exercises.

But exercise on a bellyful of smoked haddock and eggs? But this takes the cake when compared to any other aspect of sentiment discomfort. All the Enrique Iglesias and Latin beats on Ronaldo’s ride playlist couldn’t get me out of this uncomfortable moment.

The Real Challenge: Time and Energy

I was second-guessing my life decisions by Day Two. I continued with my regular breakfast and midmorning snack, but exchanged the meals for salads and cod instead of dinners. There was no question the food was good, but they served it to you in such quantity! It was draining my day of time that I spent cooking and eating.

Day 4: Six meals, all that cooking and my regular work made Day Four a chore. I was not prepared for the amount of time I would be standing in my kitchen chopping, cooking and cleaning up. I still had two full days to go, and it was starting already feel like a second job.

The Breaking Point: I Caved on the Last Day

Six days in, I was done. The Champions League finals were happening and as any true blue fan, I would never eat haddock while watching the game. But I succumbed to temptation and cracked a beer anyway – real ale, not Ronaldo’s no-alcoholic stuff.

By the end of my week, I didn’t make it to meal #21 but still came out with a pretty good understanding of what goes into making yourself plate after power-athlete’s sized plate. Spoiler alert: It’s so much more than just clean eating.

Closing Thoughts – The Good, Bad and Why I Probably Won’t do This Again

Positives of the diet included feeling far less lethargic without sugars and alcohol. In regards of the breakfast, especially one that was remarkable. Not only was it a welcome break from my usual cereal, but ham cheese and olives will have to be something I add in going forward.

Big problem – for most people, this lifestyle is simply not practical to live with all that food you must prepare ahead of time spending hours in the kitchen a weeklijk and the bill. But with 3,200 calories per day of food and no training sessions to burn that off I actually gained some weight. Yet over $100 a week on groceries is far from affordable.

I lost happiness in food. I had to eat, but eating was a chore now. We eat for enjoyment, not just to fill our bellies.

My advice for anyone wanting to try this diet: you need more than his meals if you want to look or play like Ronaldo. Unless you too are a world class athlete, and unless you can/want to follow his diet — well that’s just ridiculous.

I Tried Cristiano Ronaldos Diet for a Week – Here’s Why It’s Not as Glamorous as It Sounds