WWE wrestlers are misunderstood. Yes, fights are choreographed and storylines curated, but that doesn’t mean the specimens performing are any less athletic than their muscular, lean physiques suggest.
Three-time champ Drew McIntyre epitomises that. At 6ft 5in and 19st 6lb, he approaches training and events just as any of the world’s best athletes do – with 100% dedication. That carries through to the Scotsman’s nutrition, where 6,000-plus calorie days and plenty of carbs help him cope with the demands of wrestling into his forties, and hopefully well beyond.
Men's Health: Is eating so much food difficult at times?
Drew McIntyre: I eat 6,200 calories a day – it takes a lot. I’ve just got to force it in sometimes, especially when I’m travelling, because I get very tired jumping from country to country and the jet lag suppresses any appetite. But back home, I’ve got a routine. It’s easier to stick to, but I find the more I eat, the more hungry I get.
MH: How important is it to fuel yourself correctly?
DM: Becky Lynch [an Irish WWE superstar] asked me if I had got bigger, more muscular. And I think I have. I didn’t realise how important diet was a few years ago – until I upped my calories and it made such a difference. And then I upped them again and it made an even bigger difference. In the past six months, I got a new trainer, and he said that I’m not eating nearly enough. He said I needed to eat more carbs. I never saw carbs as important, but they’re just as, if not more, important as protein, so he’s upped my carbs massively. Now, I eat five times a day and always have lots of carbs and protein with every meal.
MH: How are you able to stay on top of your nutrition while travelling?
DM: I mean, if you go to places like Burger King, you’re just asking for trouble. It’s tempting, especially when you’re on the road, and it’s so convenient, but there are so many healthy options these days. Especially in America, they have a lot of meal-prep stores. Places like Chipotle, where you can create your own burrito bowl with some meat and some rice, help keep it basic but still tasty.
MH: You’re now 40 – how has your nutrition changed as you’ve aged?
DM: I’ve always had a high metabolism, so I’ve not really followed a diet for the past couple of years. I could eat pizzas and burgers all day long, work out hard, and not gain any bad weight and still look good. But I was holding a lot of inflammation. I didn’t realise how much it was damaging my insides and keeping me in pain. For my diet, my trainer helped clean it up, increase the amount of food, increase the carbs, so I’ve got more energy. Things don’t hurt as much. I do a lot more mobility training than I’ve ever done in my life, and I feel better now than when I was 28 – that’s when I started getting some serious pains from the schedule and inflammation from the diet.
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MH: What was it like becoming WWE champion once again in January?
DM: Amazing – I won the WWE title twice before, but there was a pandemic so there weren’t any fans there. In 2024, I won the WWE World Heavyweight title at WrestleMania, but got screwed out of it five minutes later, so it’s the first time I can actually defend a WWE championship in front of fans. That was my dream as a kid. I’m the only Brit that’s ever won the world title, so it’s a dream come true.
Netflix UK & Ireland subscribers can watch Raw, SmackDown, NXT and all WWE Premium Live events as part of their subscription, including Wrestlemania on Saturday 18th April & Sunday 19th April.
Ryan is a Senior Writer at Men’s Health UK with a passion for storytelling, health and fitness. Having graduated from Cardiff University in 2020, and later obtaining his NCTJ qualification, Ryan started his career as a Trainee News Writer for sports titles Golf Monthly, Cycling Weekly and Rugby World before progressing to Staff Writer and subsequently Senior Writer with football magazine FourFourTwo.
During his two-and-a-half years there he wrote news stories for the website and features for the magazine, while he also interviewed names such as Les Ferdinand, Ally McCoist, Jamie Redknapp and Antonio Rudiger, among many others. His standout memory, though, came when getting the opportunity to speak to then-Plymouth Argyle manager Steven Schumacher as the club won League One in 2023.
Having grown up a keen footballer and playing for his boyhood side until the age of 16, Ryan got the opportunity to represent Northern Ireland national futsal team eight times, scoring three goals against England, Scotland and Gibraltar. Now past his peak, Ryan prefers to mix weightlifting with running – he achieved a marathon PB of 3:31:49 at Manchester in April 2025, but credits the heat for failing to get below the coveted 3:30 mark…
You can follow Ryan on Instagram @ryan.dabbs or on X @ryandabbs_
