🏆 A Completed Career, Not a Current Title Defence
Chris Bumstead, known to fans as Cbum, won the Classic Physique Olympia six times in a row, from 2019 to 2024. 🥇
He announced his retirement on the Olympia stage in October 2024, after that sixth title. That changes how this older article should be read.
What follows is not a look at a reigning champion’s current eating habits. It is a historical snapshot of one bulking day he showed in early 2022, when he was building back towards another Olympia.
For his full contest record and life story, see his biography. His training is covered separately in his 10 key exercises, so this article stays on food alone.
📸 Please Read This Before the Numbers
Every photo in this article is a generic stock photo. None of them shows Bumstead, and none of them shows one of his actual meals.
The calorie and gram figures below are reported figures from that one filmed day. They describe what one competing bodybuilder reportedly ate on one day in early 2022.
They are not a recommendation, and they are not a plan to copy. If you are thinking about changing how you eat, or you have a health condition, talk to a clinician or a registered dietitian first. ⚕️
This article is general information only. It is not medical or diet advice.
🌱 The Starting Point: Building Back After Illness
The story starts in January 2022, shortly after Bumstead had lost a reported 28 pounds from his usual off-season weight following COVID-19. 🤒
He had just defended his title at the 2021 Olympia and taken time to recover. Now the task was to bulk up again before cutting down for the 2022 Olympia in Las Vegas.
He filmed a full day of eating for that bulk and worked out a target in an app. The app estimate came out at 4,161 calories, with 240 grams of protein, 488 grams of carbohydrates and 139 grams of fat.
That was the target, not the final tally. The day itself reportedly added up a little differently, as shown below.
🎯 Target Versus the Day Itself
Protein was reportedly his fixed point. He was said to treat at least one gram of protein per pound of body weight as the most important part of the bulk.
Other macros were treated as rough estimates, to be adjusted if his protein intake rose. The shape of the day was two larger meals and three smaller ones.
He reportedly preferred to eat the larger meals in the morning and later in the day, when his appetite was higher. The five reported meals are set out in the order he showed them.
🥤 Morning: A Berry Smoothie, Then Eggs and Toast
The first meal was the larger morning meal, reported at 1,037 calories. It began with a smoothie blended in water, not milk, which he reportedly found easier on his stomach.
The smoothie reportedly contained blueberries, raspberries, half a banana, 70 grams of oats, one scoop of whey protein isolate, plus glutamine, GI, greens and fiber. 🫐
While sipping it, he reportedly made the rest of the breakfast: three whole eggs, three slices of toast, half an avocado spread on top, and ketchup.
No effect is claimed here for any of those added items. They are listed only because they were part of what he reportedly showed that morning.
🍚 Around Training: Two Smaller Rice Meals
The pre-workout meal was reported at 623 calories. It was a simple plate built around 280 grams of white rice and 175 grams of ground turkey.
Shredded lettuce, raw broccoli sprouts and salsa completed the plate, with coconut aminos as seasoning. The sprouts were reportedly sprinkled over the meal rather than cooked.
After training came a smaller post-workout meal, reported at 510 calories. It paired 100 grams of white rice with a ready-made sesame chicken meal.
The brand of that ready-made meal is left out here on purpose. Naming it would turn a historical description into product promotion, and this article does not promote any product. 🚫
🍝 Evening: Pasta, Then Pancakes
The second large meal of the day was reported at 1,177 calories. It was built on 160 grams of brown rice pasta, 225 grams of ground beef, and pasta sauce.
Alongside that carbohydrate-heavy meal, he reportedly took glucose tablets, berberine and chromium. This article does not claim those items controlled his blood sugar or improved anything.
Anyone considering a supplement should talk to a clinician or a registered dietitian first, since supplements can interact with medicines and health conditions. ⚕️
The final meal of the day was his favourite kind of finish: chocolate chip protein pancakes, with a chocolate milkshake made from water, one and a half scoops of whey protein isolate, and glutamine. 🥞
One honest wrinkle in the source report: its heading for this last meal repeats the 1,177 figure, but its own day total only works if this meal is counted at 780 calories. That is the figure used here, because it is the one that makes the day add up.
🧮 What the Day Added Up To
Adding the five reported meals gives 4,127 calories. The reported macro total for the day was 264 grams of protein, 506 grams of carbohydrates and 118 grams of fat.
Those totals sit close to, but not exactly on, the app target from the start of the day. That gap is normal for a single filmed day, and it is why the target and the total are kept separate here.
The pattern that stands out is simple. A large morning meal, smaller meals around training, a large evening meal, and a sweet finish he actually enjoyed.
Protein ran through every part of the day, while the carbohydrate-heavy meals clustered around training and the evening. For more on protein in general, see the site’s protein guide.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
How many Olympia titles did Chris Bumstead win?
Six, all in Classic Physique, all in a row from 2019 to 2024. He announced his retirement on the Olympia stage in October 2024 after the sixth win.
Is this article a diet plan to follow?
No. It describes what Bumstead reportedly ate on one bulking day in early 2022. It is not advice for any reader, and it promises no weight or body result.
Why are the photos not of Bumstead or his food?
The old article used his Instagram photos, and those have not been reused here. Every photo in this refresh is a generic stock photo, captioned as generic, so nothing is presented as something it is not.
Did he eat the same way all year?
Not according to the reporting. This was one day in a bulking phase, when the goal was to regain weight. Contest preparation, with its own cutting phase, was a different period with different eating.
🏁 The Takeaway
Looked at from 2026, this is a portrait of a champion’s working method at a specific moment: rebuild after illness, set a target, anchor it with protein, and keep the food enjoyable enough to sustain. 🏆
It is a piece of bodybuilding history, not a prescription. The numbers belong to Bumstead’s filmed day in early 2022, and they should stay there.
His six-title run is complete, his retirement is announced, and this guide now reads the way it should have all along — as the story of how one great champion reportedly fuelled one phase of his career. 💪