His daily nutrition is designed to enhance his strength and endurance, reflecting the same dedication he devotes to the field. Here’s what fuels the diet of the world-class athlete, from dusk to dawn.

Neeraj’s diet includes a mix of proteins, carbohydrates, healthy fats and vitamins, to cater for his training and competitive routines.

Reportedly, he aims to maintain his body fat percentage around 10% through a diet high in fruits and protein. He starts his morning with either juice or coconut water, followed by a breakfast of three to four egg whites, two slices of bread, a bowl of dalia and fruits – which fuels his training sessions.

For lunch, his usual meal includes curd-rice, pulses, grilled chicken and salad. When it comes to dinner, he takes in protein-rich foods after his evening training and avoids cabs. He prefers having soup, salads, boiled vegetables and fruits. 

To conclude his day, he consumes milk, dates, and sometimes jaggery before bedtime. Additionally, to keep himself full in between meals, he snacks on fruits and drinks fresh juice. 

“During training, I consume items like bananas, juice or coconut water. Post-training, I prioritize a protein shake within 15 to 20 minutes.”

In an interview, he revealed that he adhered to a vegetarian diet until 2016, but later incorporated non-vegetarian options, including salmon. 

“I’ve added salmon fish to my diet. 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 also mentioned that drinks a lot of fresh juice after his workouts. 

“For my recovery, I have a lot of fresh fruit juice. It can’t be packaged. I’ll usually have a couple of glasses of fresh juice after my workouts.”

Even though he maintains a strict diet most of the time, he allows himself an occasional cheat meal. He really likes delicacies like churma, golgappas and sweets. 

“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 you. There is some amount of spice but that’s another matter. If you are talking about golgappas, there’s about as much flour as would be in a couple of rotis. Even if you think you are eating a lot, you are mostly filling yourself with water. Of course, I wouldn’t suggest you have them daily but I think it’s ok for an athlete to have a few golgappas once in a while.”

Now, who doesn’t like sweets? In a conversation with ESPN, the javelin champ revealed that he treats himself with sweets after his win. 

“If after I win I want to have a cheat meal, I’ll usually eat something sweet. I usually restrict the amount of sweets I eat normally so when I get the chance to have a cheat meal, I’ll usually eat a lot of sweets. I don’t even care what kind of sweets they are.”

After The Tokyo 2020 Olympics, the athlete had put on about 12-14 kilos and weighed 97kgs and his body fat percentage reached around 16%. Later, he was trained in California’s Chula Vista Facility.

Ishaan Marwaha, Neeraj Chopra’s physiotherapist, said that he started everything from scratch again after his months-long break. 

“It was almost like starting from zero because there was a four-month gap. 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 up to 5K.”

There’s a lot that goes into being an athlete, beyond just physical training.