One year ago, Jinder Mahal, made a choice that would change his life forever. The former WWE jobber had been released by the company, but instead of wallowing in despair, he decided on a lifestlye change that would ultimately lead him to becoming the WWE Champion.
In a recent interview with GQ magazine, Jinder opened up about the diet that changed his life.
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“It started almost exactly a year ago. June 1st. I wasn’t signed back to WWE and I was eating a bunch of junk food and drinking too much beer. One day I just decided I was going to quit drinking, focus on my health, and start dieting again. One of the very first things I did was I contacted a meal prep company. It’s called Nutrition Solutions. So I quit drinking, got the Nutrition Solutions going, and just started training hard again. Two months later, I was signed back to WWE.”
Mahal revealed that his life originally started to change when he decided to quit drinking.
“I don’t think it was a coincidence. I was away from WWE for two years. I didn’t really care, and nobody cared about me. But as soon as I started caring about myself and putting in the effort in the gym and with my diet, quit drinking, two months later I was back in WWE.”
“I’ve given up alcohol. And honestly, I feel great. I don’t miss it at all. Now, not drinking for so long, I’ve realized how horrible it really makes us feel. I’ve never felt better. I’m not even tempted to drink because of how good I feel. Having a drink now would probably give me the worst hangover in my life. I don’t need it. I’m more focused on my career and I see everything moving in such a positive direction that I’m not even tempted. I don’t want to drink. I don’t want to eat junk food.”
As for what exactly Mahal eats now, the champ gave specifics on his new regimented diet.
“I actually started being more consistent with my meals. Before when I was hungry, I would eat a big meal and then not eat for a couple of hours. Maybe have a snack. But what I do now, what’s made the biggest change in my physique, is I eat every two hours and I eat the same portion mealโabout 350 to 400 calories, about 30 grams of carbs, and 30 to 40 grams of protein. I eat a meal with that same breakdown every two hours.”
“When you’re constantly feeding your body like that, it knows that it’s going to be fed again in two hours. So it doesn’t hold any fat. Your body starts to hold fat basically when you’re inconsistent. You might eat a big meal and then the body thinks, “I’m not going to get fed for six more hours,” but then maybe an hour later you eat again. So the main thing has to be consistency. If you eat every two hours, your body doesn’t really hold much fat and it actually speeds up your metabolism. I actually eat more throughout the day now because I’m having seven or eight meals, but I’m leaner because I’m eating those meals so consistently that it speeds up my metabolism.”
The new physique has caused many to accuse Mahal of using PEDs to get an advantage, but Jinder says he’s built his body on hard work and knowledge.
“I don’t think people realize the hard work that goes into it. Nobody sees the work I’m putting in the gym. Nobody sees me doing cardio first thing in the morning. Nobody sees me lugging around that suitcase. And just generally, people don’t have that much knowledge about diet and the effects that diet alone can have on your body. If you see a bodybuilder before they’re in competition shape to when they get into competition shape, that’s all dieting, carb cutting, and macronutrients. I mean, you can totally transform yourself just by cutting carbs and even something as simple as drinking a gallon of water a day. The average personโlike, 90 percent of the average populationโis dehydrated. That’s another thing that I do now, which has been a huge key.”
“I drink two gallons of water a day. I’ve already drank one gallon by the time I finish my workout, and then I drink another gallon for the rest of the day. Every morning or every night, I go to the gas station to buy two gallons of water. I always have a jug of water with me. You can see it even when I walk into the arena, I’ll have a jug of water with me.”
Jinder will defend his WWE Championship against Randy Orton at June 18th Money In The Bank pay per view.