Smell What ‘The Rock’ is Cooking? Here’s How Much It Costs to Eat Like Him

The evidence is in. It’s clear that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is basically a god walking among us mortals.

He’s 6-foot-4-inches tall and 270 pounds of muscle. He’s a hugely bankable Hollywood star. He’s talking about running for president. In last year’s animated film “Moana,” he even plays a god, the demigod Maui.

Time to ask yourself that vital question: How can I be more like The Rock?

For starters: What would it cost to eat like “The Rock”? And is there an affordable way to do the Dwayne Johnson diet?

Do you smell what “The Rock” is cooking? We really wanted to know the answer! So we did some research. And all we can say is, Whoa.

Oh My Cod

Johnson’s dietary regimen is astounding. To eat like him, you must be prepared to consume a jaw-dropping amount of protein on a daily basis.

This guy gets up at 4 a.m. just for his first meal. He eats 10 pounds of food a day — more than 5,000 calories spread over seven meals.

(For comparison, the average man burns 1,900 to 2,500 calories a day.)

For years, a stunning amount of this food is cod, a fish rich in protein. The rest has always been eggs, steak, chicken, veggies and potatoes.

“The Rock” consumes so much cod — more than two pounds a day, about 70 pounds a month. Cod for breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner. All the cod in the North Sea.

“In one year, ‘The Rock’ consumes more than one-third of a ton of cod alone,” noted the website FiveThirtyEight. It also estimates that Johnson spends $1,400 a year just on fish, assuming he buys in bulk.

However, last year he tweeted he had stopped eating cod because stocks of cod are dwindling. No word on what has replaced it in “The Rock’s” diet, although it’s undoubtedly some other low-fat, protein-rich fish.

Before dropping cod, good ole’ Dwayne detailed his diet for Muscle & Fitness magazine in 2015, shortly after playing Hercules in a movie.

Here are the deets:

• Meal 1: 10 ounces cod, 2 whole eggs, 2 cups oatmeal

• Meal 2: 8 ounces cod, 12 ounces sweet potato, 1 cup veggies

• Meal 3: 8 ounces chicken, 2 cups white rice, 1 cup veggies

• Meal 4: 8 ounces cod, 2 cups rice, 1 cup veggies, 1 tablespoon fish oil

• Meal 5: 8 ounces steak, 12 ounces baked potato, spinach salad

• Meal 6: 10 ounces cod, 2 cups rice, salad

• Meal 7: 30 grams casein protein, 10-egg white omelet, 1 cup veggies (onions, peppers, mushrooms), 1 tablespoon omega-3 fish oil

What Happens When Regular Humans Try the Dwayne Johnson Diet

Let’s go ahead and stipulate that this diet is not for everyone. (Thank you, Captain Obvious.)

For one thing, “The Rock” is HUGE. This diet is what’s required to maintain his massive physique. And when he’s not stuffing his face with fish, he’s also powering his way through grueling workout routines.

Nevertheless, after reading about “The Rock’s” diet, two lesser mortals tried it out for themselves.

A blogger for Complex, facing what he described as “a steady onslaught of grilled meats and steamed veggies,” couldn’t manage it for even a day. (Big problem: He hated cod.)

Another guy, a self-employed dude named Mark Webster, tried it and tracked his progress online.

“I feel fantastic,” he told FiveThirtyEight after a month.

But over that month, he spent $1,262 on food — about $42 per day, including $18 just on cod.

Can You Smell What ‘The Rock’ Is Spending?

That’s the other challenge here: Most of us can’t even afford to eat like Johnson, even if we wanted to.

All that protein can put you in the poorhouse. At the grocery store closest to my home, fresh cod is $12.99 a pound, and frozen cod is $6.99 a pound. Other kinds of fish are comparable.

In any case, people who aren’t named Dwayne Johnson still dine on fish, chicken, eggs, steak, vegetables, rice and potatoes.

Whether you’re trying to eat like “The Rock” or just trying to eat well, here are seven ways to save money on groceries.

1. Take a Picture of Your Receipts

You can get cash back on your groceries just for photographing your receipt. Here’s how it works:

• Sign up for Ibotta. (You just need a name and email address to start.)
• Browse through the cash-back offers in your area, and take note the next time you go to the store — the offers change every week.
• Scan the item’s barcode and submit a photo of your receipt to the app, and you’ll see the cash in your Ibotta account soon.
• Once you’ve reached at least $20 in earnings, you can request payment via Paypal or Venmo.

2. Buy Online

Fish, veggies and more fish — “The Rock” eats healthy. To save on organic food, consider shopping at Thrive Market. You can buy food at up to 50% off retail price, and the stuff it tends to stock is usually healthier than what you’ll find in the store.

You can get a 30-day free trial through this link, plus $20 off your first three orders. Thrive members report saving an average $200 per year.

You probably won’t find any of “The Rock’s” precious cod there. But a search on Thrive’s website for “rice” turns up 143 results.

3. Upgrade Your Rewards Card

If you qualify, we recommend signing up for a cash-back rewards card.

You’ll get unlimited 1.5% cash back with each purchase, whether it’s gas or groceries.

Or cod.

Now that we know what Dwayne Johnson eats to maintain his humongous muscles, I can definitely smell what “The Rock” is cooking.

And let me tell you, it smells fishy.

Mike Brassfield ([email protected]) is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder. He’ll always think of The Rock as “The People’s Champion.”