Neeraj Chopra’s diet: Why Olympic champion became a non-vegetarian and a salmon lover!

For top-level athletes, fitness is sacrosanct and India’s Neeraj Chopra is no different.

As someone who took up the sport to fight his obesity as a child, Tokyo 2020 Olympics javelin throw champion Neeraj Chopra follows a strict diet and discipline to maintain his fitness.

Here’s all the details about Neeraj Chopra’s diet and fitness routines.

The Neeraj Chopra diet

In modern sports science, body fat percentage - a system which determines what percentage of someone’s body is made out of fat - is an indicator of overall fitness. However, the ideal body fat percentage for different types of sports may differ.

For example, bodybuilders try to maintain a body fat percentage of around 3 to 5 percent during competitions as that is considered the ideal range to make their muscles and striations pronounced. Body fat percentage under that is considered unhealthy and dangerous.

For activity sports, a slightly higher body fat percentage is recommended as the extra fat, as long as it is within a healthy range, helps give athletes more energy and explosive power. For male javelin throwers, the ideal body fat percentage is 10-10.5 percent.

Neeraj Chopra tries to maintain a body fat percentage of 10 percent. It requires a strict diet to achieve and maintain.

Neeraj Chopra tries to keep his diet simple. A wholesome breakfast, which fuels his training sessions, is key.

"When it comes to diet, emphasising natural foods such as fruits and salads is paramount," Neeraj Chopra says.

"Personally, my morning routine includes a breakfast before training, consisting of fruits, yoghurt, oats, three-four egg whites and two pieces of bread. Additionally, I have juice or coconut water and dry fruits."

Bread and omelette, especially, are his favourite and the javelin star had previously stated that he could eat these any day of the week.

At lunch, it is usually curd and rice for Neeraj, along with pulses, vegetables, grilled chicken and salad. In between training sessions and gym, he snacks on chia seeds, dry fruits, especially almonds, or a banana and washes them down with some fresh juice.

"During training, I consume items like bananas, juice or coconut water," he adds. "Post-training, I prioritise a protein shake within 15 to 20 minutes."

Dinner mostly consists of soup, boiled vegetables, and fruits. "After evening training, I take in protein-rich foods," he clarifies. "For dinner, I avoid carbs, opting for vegetables, salads, and various sources of protein. Before bedtime, I have milk, dates, and sometimes jaggery.

Neeraj Chopra diet plan

"The diet changes a bit daily but mostly follows this pattern," he pointed out. "This athlete's diet can be adapted for normal individuals who seek a healthy lifestyle. It's essential to avoid oily or fried foods and sweets, and focus on natural, nutritious options. Fitness is crucial for everyone and adopting a well-planned diet is beneficial."

Overall, Neeraj Chopra’s diet seems fairly heavy on fruits and protein, the macro-nutrient which help build muscles as well as keep body fat at a healthy range. He also uses protein supplements to meet his daily needs.

Salmon fish has been a recent addition to Neeraj Chopra’s diet chart and is fast becoming his choice of protein intake.

“It's supposed to be good for you. I've started eating it recently. If I have to eat non-vegetarian food, I'll prefer having some grilled salmon,” he told ESPN.

Is Neeraj Chopra a vegetarian?

As his diet chart suggests, Neeraj Chopra is a non-vegetarian.

Interestingly though, Neeraj Chopra was a strict vegetarian up until 2016. Things changed during a training camp in Portland, USA.

With very limited options for veg food at the place, Neeraj Chopra was losing weight and decided to include non-veg in his diet to curb that. It suited him and stuck around his diet.

Neeraj Chopra’s cheat meals

In the world of nutrition, the concept of cheat meals is pretty common.

Strict diet is often hard to maintain and becomes monotonous after a while. Cheat meals are designed to give the diet a break to allow them to eat whatever they like, in moderation, occasionally.

It makes a diet more sustainable in the long run.

Cheat meals are not that common for Neeraj Chopra, who tries to maintain his diet as religiously as possible.

But during the rare breaks, Neeraj Chopra likes to indulge himself in churma, a Haryanvi delicacy made of crushed roti (Indian bread), sugar and ghee, or some sweets, especially kheer (sweetened rice with milk).

One of Neeraj Chopra’s guilty pleasures is the popular Indian street food called golgappas, also called pani puri or puchka. It’s a crispy fried thin wafer with a filling of spiced mashed potatoes served with either sweet or tangy flavoured water.

“I think there is no harm in eating golgappas. It’s mostly water and most of your stomach gets filled with water. The papri is quite big but the amount of flour is very little. It’s mostly water that’s going inside of you. There is some amount of spice but that's another matter,” Neeraj Chopra says.

Neeraj Chopra admittedly loves home food but isn’t fussy about it as he stays away from home a lot due to training and competitions.

Besides, Neeraj regards himself as a decent cook and considers ‘namkeen chawal’ (salty rice) as his speciality. People also call it veg biryani.

Neeraj Chopra’s weight loss journey after Tokyo 2020

Possibly one of the most challenging phases of Neeraj Chopra’s diet journey came after winning his historic gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in August.

Post Tokyo 2020, Neeraj Chopra was out of action for a good few months. It was a much-needed break, which also helped him recuperate from injury.

Once Neeraj Chopra resumed training in December, he had put on almost 12-14 kilos and weighed 97kgs. His body fat percentage, too, reached around 16 percent, almost 60 percent over his ideal range. Lots of felicitation dinners and lunches after his Tokyo exploits had taken their toll.

To get back into shape, Neeraj Chopra travelled to the USA with his coaching staff and trained in California’s Chula Vista facility.

“It was almost like starting from zero because there was a four-month gap,” Neeraj Chopra’s long-time physio Ishaan Marwaha told the New Indian Express.

The first thing Neeraj Chopra did to facilitate a quick weight loss was cut out sugar completely from his diet.

Neeraj Chopra’s dietician Mihira Khopkar also reduced his carbohydrate intake whilst increasing protein consumption for five weeks.

Chicken, salmon, eggs and a lot of salad were the basic sources of protein for the Indian athlete with protein supplements just as an add-on. For carbohydrates, there were potatoes.

Cardio, especially running, helped Neeraj Chopra accelerate his weight loss as well but the progression was tough.

“It was difficult for him also because he has not run with that kind of weight… It was tough for him to start running long distances initially. Then we kept on increasing the distances of his runs upto 5K,” Marwaha said.

Neeraj Chopra lost about two kilos in the first couple of weeks and started to get leaner once he resumed weight training.

The regimen has made Neeraj Chopra stronger and a better thrower. Upon his return to competitive action at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Finland in June, Neeraj Chopra recorded a throw of 89.30m to better his own national record.

Just 16 days later, Neeraj Chopra further improved his best to 89.94m at the Stockholm Diamond League. He also won a historic silver medal at the World Athletics Championships 2022 in Oregon in July.