When it comes to getting into superhuman shape to play a shredded comic book hero, nutrition is just as important— and just as challenging—as those body-transforming workouts. Fitness YouTuber Aseel Soueid learned that for himself, when he recently attempted to follow the incredibly strict diet that Hugh Jackman adhered to while he was preparing to play Wolverine.
Just one day on the Wolverine diet consists of six meals, which add up to almost 4,000 calories. And if that didn’t already sound like a lot, Aseel has to eat them all within a window of just eight hours, because Jackman also did intermittent fasting while he was training to play Wolverine.
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Coming off of a 16-hour fast at 2 p.m., Aseel’s first meal of the day is two fried eggs and a cup of oats with blueberries. Almost immediately after finishing breakfast, he starts preparing his next pre-workout meal: a 280-gram sirloin steak with sweet potatoes and steamed broccoli, and a Greek salad on the side.
After a weight training session, it’s time for meal number three: 170 grams of skinless chicken breast fillet, brown rice and salad. “This is definitely where things are going to get a little bit tough in terms of being very full because of the small eating window and all of the clean food,” he says.
The fourth meal comprises two servings of mixed nuts and a whey protein shake, and is rapidly followed by meal five: 170 grams of cooked tilapia, steamed broccoli, avocado, and more Greek salad. The sixth and final meal is simply two more servings of mixed nuts.
“It honestly felt like I ate over 5,000 calories today, just because when you pair up intermittent fasting with a ton of wholesome, filling and nutritious clean meals, it’s going to feel like you’re eating a lot more than you actually are,” he says, adding that it’s important to figure out what caloric intake and macro split looks right for you if you decide to try intermittent fasting yourself.
This article originally appeared on Men’s Health US.
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