Hafthor Bjornsson 50kg Weight Loss: How “The Mountain” Transformed His Body

Hafthor Bjornsson, AKA Game of Thrones’ “The Mountain” absolutely transformed his body, going from a whopping 205kg down to a slim 145kg. 

A former strongman competitor, these days Hafthor trains as a boxer. To shed more than 50kg to compete, he had to completely overhaul his training regime and diet, cutting his daily calories from 10,000 to 4,000, and ramping up his cardio training to improve his speed, power and agility in the ring. 

Hafthor shot a video showing how he lost the weight:

His new ripped physique is a far cry from his massive frame that helped him win 10 of Iceland’s Strongest Man competitions.

The Mountain’s Weight Loss Diet 

Standing at a huge 6’9”, Hafthor has been open and honest about what he ate to lose the weight.

He currently eats the same five meals every day, aiming to eat “clean.”

• Breakfast: Two scrambled eggs, 200g of chicken (of which he’s not a huge fan), a portion of Thor’s Skyr (an Icelandic yogurt brand), 40g oatmeal, and 50g blueberries.
• Second Breakfast: 230g of red meat (tenderloin beef), 140g of white rice, and 100g of greens like spinach, zucchini, or green beans.
• Lunch: 230g of chicken, 200g of boiled potato (sweet or white), and 100g of greens.
• Dinner: 230g of salmon, 100g of brown rice, and 100g of spinach.
• Snack: Greek yogurt (250g), 100g of bananas, 30g of almond butter, and protein shake with one scoop of whey protein.

While this might look like a lot of food to most people, it’s much less than what he was eating when he was competing in Strongman events.

Before losing weight, Hafthro ate eight meals a day, and would sometimes wake up in the middle of the night to eat.

Thor also said he took “baby steps” on his weight loss journey, changing his diet every few months, gradually reducing his food intake without counting calories by making little changes like cutting juices and other sugary drinks, and reducing portion sizes.

Thor’s Once a Week Cheat Meal 

By eating cheat meals occasionally, Thor said he finds it easier to stick to his strict diet.  

“You can’t be a robot,” he said. “We’re all human, we all crave things.”

“It’s OK to go off the diet as long as you stick to it six days a week, or however you do it,” he said. 

“My personal preference is to eat healthy six times a week, and then have one day off,” he said. “You obviously don’t go super crazy and eat like a maniac, but if you want a pizza, have a pizza.”

Hafthor Bjornsson’s Workout Routine

Alongside a good diet, here’s how Hafthor workouts to maintain his ripped physique and power and agility for the boxing ring. 

Warmup

Jump Rope

10 to 12 minutes

Boxing Drills

Technical Sparring

6 to 10 rounds of 3 minutes

Conditioning Circuit

Ball Slams

1 minute

Burpees

1 minute

Plank Up-Downs

1 minute

Pushups

1 minute

Bike Fan Intervals

3 minutes

Abs Workouts

Around the World Situp

2 to 3 40 second sets

Medball Back-to-Back Partner

2 to 3 40 second sets

Situp to Ball Toss

2 to 3 40 second sets

Lying Partner Core Punch

2 to 3 40 second sets