Sylvester Stallone's Rocky III Eating Habits Had A Dangerous Impact On Him

By the time "Rocky III" was released in 1982, most Americans knew and loved Rocky Balboa, the film's titular hero who rose from being a poor, unknown underdog in Philadelphia to the heavyweight champion. Masterfully portrayed by Sylvester Stallone, Rocky was an unmistakable character; fans knew his face, his mannerisms, and his simple, slightly slurred way of speaking. But they had never seen him looking the way he did in "Rocky III." Yes, the character was always fit, as most professional boxers are, but Stallone took his physical training to a different, even dangerous level, to prepare for his third round of playing the Italian Stallion.

In a 2017 Instagram post, Stallone admitted that he was basically running on empty while filming "Rocky III." He claimed that he ate small oatmeal cookies made with brown rice for breakfast, along with up to 25 cups of coffee a day. He'd also eat a couple of scoops of tuna fish, with the goal being to drop fat, increase endurance, and build lean muscle. Not one proper Philly cheesesteak in sight, despite Rocky's roots. As a result, the actor transformed into what could be considered an ideal physical human specimen, with a 50-inch chest, 29-inch waist, and a chiseled appearance. But he also admitted the dangers of his actions, saying, "I was forgetting my phone number. My memory was shot, it was completely gone. I was getting all kinds of debilitating physical effects" (per The Wall Street Journal).

Stallone wrote that he got his body fat percentage down to 2.9% while filming "Rocky III." To give some perspective on this, experts agree that the ideal body fat percentage of a male athlete is somewhere between 6% and 13%. Stallone's percentage was unheard of, and certainly not sustainable. In real life, a boxer couldn't function, or even exist, on a diet plan like this, especially when faced with an opponent like Mr. T's Clubber Lang.

In the real boxing world, a professional might hire personal nutritionists and chefs to create personalized diet plans for him or her while training for a fight. Sure, oatmeal cookies and tuna could logically be a part of the plan, but so are many more calories than what Sylvester Stallone ate while making "Rocky III." 

While he was still competing, Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s personal chef kept him well fed with things like broccoli, baked chicken with rice, spaghetti bolognese (a dish that isn't even from Italy), and fresh juices. Manny Pacquiao regularly ate a Filipino classic dish called Tinolang Manok with rice during his training periods. The brothy dish is made with chicken, green papaya, and chili leaves. And, although he stuck to a vegan diet up until around 2020, Mike Tyson used to fuel himself up on steak and vegetables during his prime.

With the energy and strength boxers need to perform, a balanced diet of protein, carbohydrates, and fats is vital, and it's safe to say that Stallone's personal diet plan while making "Rocky III" didn't nearly qualify as healthy. Granted, he is an actor, not a boxer, and he doesn't advocate for following his example during that time. By the time he made "Rocky Balboa" in 2006, Stallone was training on a much more reasonable diet that included liquid aminos in the morning, along with eggs, oatmeal (this is also Willie Nelson's breakfast of choice), pumpernickel bread and fresh fruit. Lunch was vegetables, fruits, and lean chicken, and dinner consisted of salad, fish, and bread.