Nihat Kaya is Turkey’s 212 star. πΉπ· The 23-year-old won the 2026 Portugal Pro, then finished fifth at the 2026 Mr. Olympia β a year after taking fourth on his Olympia debut.
Fans always ask the same question: what does he eat? This article lays out his diet plan and workout routine exactly as he has shared them himself β in his own full-day-of-eating video and on his own Instagram.
Nothing here is guessed. Every meal, portion and supplement comes from a named source, listed as we go. Where Kaya has not shared a detail, we say so.
Nihat Kaya Diet Plan
Photo: Fitness Volt
Kaya works with coach Patrick Tuor, who guides his contest prep.
He started training at 12, and he earned his pro card in Casablanca in June 2024, at 20 β the youngest IFBB Pro in Turkey. He studied at a health vocational high school, then physiotherapy at university.
His diet is plain food, weighed raw, eaten on a strict schedule. The staples are rice, chicken, eggs, vegetables, oats and isolate.
He calls his 2026 Portugal Pro prep his highest-carb prep yet. In the last three weeks his high days dropped to one a week, and his weekly calories fell hard.
His mornings set the tone. He takes thyroid medication on waking, waits 10 to 15 minutes, then takes his morning supplements and does about 45 minutes of fasted cardio β before he eats anything.
He does not plan his day around meals. He focuses on his steps, his stretching and his posing. Posing, in his words, is what makes the difference on stage.
He aims for 12,000 steps a day, and about six and a half litres of water. He wakes without an alarm, and he keeps his mindset calm β cortisol control matters as much as food at this stage.
Nihat Kaya Meal Plan
Photo: YouTube
The main plan here is the full day of eating Kaya filmed himself on 13 June 2026 β six meals, three weeks out from the Portugal Pro. No calorie total was published for this day, so none is printed here.
Meal 1
Breakfast β eggs, oats and isolate, with blueberries and coffee.
- Spinach
- Egg white β 150 g
- Whole egg β 1 (organic yolk)
- Oats β 75 g
- Isolate β 30 g (Proteinocean chocolate)
- Blueberries β 50 g
- Coffee β 1 cup
Meal 2 (Pre-Workout)
The pre-workout meal β chicken and rice, with olive oil and salt.
- Raw rice β 75 g
- Chicken β 250 g
- Vegetables β 150 g
- Olive oil β 5 g
- Salt β 2 g
Post-Workout Shakes
Two shakes after training, with the meal that follows.
- Isolate β 30 g
- Glutamine β 10 g
- Dextrin β 30 g
- Creatine β 5 g
One more item in the post-workout shake β 15 g of a green-apple flavoured amino product β is not named clearly in the video, so it is not listed as a named supplement here.
Meal 3
The post-workout meal β chicken and rice again, with more oil.
- Raw rice β 75 g
- Chicken β 150 g
- Vegetables β about 150 g
- Olive oil β 10 g
- Salt β 2 g
Meal 4
The day’s red-meat meal β lean ground beef with potato and beans.
- Lean ground beef β amount not stated in the video
- Asparagus β 100 g
- Potato β 200 g
- Beans β 75 g
- Olive oil β 5 g
- Salt β 2 g
Meal 5
Chicken and salad, with olive oil and salt.
- Mixed salad β 150 g
- Chicken β 200 g
- Olive oil β 10 g
- Salt β 2 g
Meal 6
The last meal of the day β eggs and isolate again.
- Egg white β 150 g
- Whole egg β 1
- Isolate β 30 g (Proteinocean hazelnut-chocolate)
Daily totals: none published for this day. No calorie total and no macro split were published, so none are printed here.
One honest note on the vegetables: this is the highest-vegetable diet of his life, in his own words. He has been prone to constipation since childhood, so he raises the food volume without raising the calories β about 150 g of broccoli or beans a meal β to help his digestion.
A High Day: Breakfast Only
Kaya has also shared a high day on his channel β but only the breakfast. It is 120 g of rice cream with 30 g of isolate, an egg-white omelette and two small bananas.
No full high-day meal list was published, and no low-day meal list has ever been published in any source we checked. The six meals above are the only complete day he has shared.
Nihat Kaya Supplements
Kaya’s supplement list is long, and it starts before breakfast. On waking he takes thyroid medication on an empty stomach, then three Thermoburner tablets, three magnesium bisglycinate and one TUDCA. After cardio he drinks lemon and vinegar through a straw.
Around training he takes EAA, creatine, glutamine and taurine. His intra-workout drink is 15 g of EAA, 5 g of creatine, 10 g of glutamine and 1 g of taurine.
On a high day it is 10 g of EAA, 5 g of creatine and 10 g of glutamine, plus a scoop of Proteinocean Hydration.
On a high day his morning list also includes a multivitamin, a multi-mineral and two berberis vulgaris tablets.
With his pre-workout meal he takes two tablets each of alpha-lipoic acid, chromium picolinate and betaine. His morning also includes EAA or BCAA on an empty stomach β sometimes one, sometimes the other β and intra-workout it is always EAA.
If he could only have two supplements, he has said, he would pick protein powder and creatine β or EAA and creatine. Those two, in his words, are the important ones.
At bedtime he takes GABA, melatonin, NAC, TUDCA and betaine again, zinc at 50 mg a tablet, ashwagandha, magnesium bisglycinate and a magnesium complex tablet, a sleep formula, omega and 5-HTP, plus a Reviva blood-pressure product. He also takes a D3 and K2 vitamin.
No other supplements are named in the sources we checked.
Nihat Kaya Workout Routine
Photo: nihatkaya.com.tr
Kaya has not shared a full weekly training split in his own words. What follows is what he has shown: one leg day on video, and one back day and one chest-and-biceps day on Instagram.
His training style is controlled. As his body fat and water drop in prep, he lowers the weights and chases the feel of the muscle β slow negatives, full control, few sets done well.
Leg Day
A hamstring-focused leg day from the same full-day-of-eating video β three hamstring moves, two for quads and two for glutes, five of them named on camera.
- Single-leg lying curl β warm-up, 2 sets, high reps
- Seated leg curl β the heavy core move
- Hip thrust β on a Booty Builder machine
- Belt squat β the third core move
- Outer-thigh machine β glute-focused
After training comes stairmaster cardio. His coach told him not to walk after the stairs β straight to rest mode instead.
Back Day
A back day he posted on Instagram on 26 August 2026, four and a half weeks out from the Olympia.
| Exercise | Sets |
|---|---|
| Straight-arm pulldown (warm-up) | β |
| Chest-supported wide-grip row | 2 |
| Single-arm pulldown | 1 |
| Dual pulldown | 1 |
| Smith barbell row | 2 |
| Cable single-arm row | 1 |
| Seated low row | 2 |
| Barfix | 1 |
| Barfix machine (same grip) | 1 |
| Rear delt | 2 |
| Weighted hyperextension | 2 |
| Calf raise, then stairmaster | β |
Chest and Biceps
A chest-and-biceps day he posted from Las Vegas on 7 September 2026, in a low-carb period.
- Pec fly
- Incline chest press
- Wide chest press
- Dips
- Cable fly
- Cybex lateral machine
- Preacher curl
- Dumbbell hammer curl
Posing is part of the work too. Every morning after cardio he does crunch work, stretching and posing β the morning routine can take an hour and a half to two and a half hours.
Nihat Kaya Diet Plan in 2026
Photo: nihatkaya.com.tr
Kaya’s rise was built on two pro wins and two Olympia placings. He won the Dubai Pro in 2025 to reach his first Olympia, finished fourth there, then won the Portugal Pro in July 2026 and finished fifth at the 2026 Olympia.
He started the 2026 prep eight to nine pounds heavier than in 2025. He calls the 2026 prep one of the hardest of his life β and the best form of his life, with visibly more muscle maturity at the same dryness as 2025.
His goal for 2027 is the title itself. As he put it after the 2026 Olympia: “Mr. Olympia olmak artΔ±k bir hayal deΔil, hedef.” β “Being Mr. Olympia is no longer a dream, it’s a goal.”
If he shares a fuller day of eating, this page will be updated. For now, the six meals above are the most complete diet he has published.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I follow Nihat Kaya’s diet plan?
This is a professional bodybuilder’s contest-prep diet, built for a 212-division athlete chasing an Olympia title β not a plan for everyone. Do not copy it as your own diet.
If you want to change how you eat, talk to a doctor or a registered dietitian first, especially if you have any medical condition. This article reports what Kaya eats; it is not medical advice.
How many calories does Nihat Kaya eat a day?
No calorie total was published for the day listed above, and no macro split either β so none is printed here. His high days dropped to one a week in the last three weeks of his Portugal Pro prep.
How many meals does Nihat Kaya eat a day?
Six, in the full day of eating he filmed in June 2026, plus two post-workout shakes. On a high day he has shared only the breakfast β rice cream, isolate, an egg-white omelette and two small bananas.
What does Nihat Kaya eat before a workout?
On the day he filmed, the pre-workout meal is 75 g of raw rice with 250 g of chicken, 150 g of vegetables, 5 g of olive oil and 2 g of salt β plus two tablets each of alpha-lipoic acid, chromium picolinate and betaine.
Who is Nihat Kaya’s coach?
Patrick Tuor (@ptuor), a Swiss-based prep coach. Kaya has named him as his coach on his own Instagram, and thanked him publicly after the 2026 Olympia.
How many days a week does Nihat Kaya train?
He has not shared a full weekly schedule in his own words. His mornings run daily β cardio, crunch work, stretching and posing β and he has shown a leg day, a back day and a chest-and-biceps day.
Related: 2025 Mr. Olympia results
Related: 2026 Mr. Olympia results
This article reports what Nihat Kaya has shared publicly about his diet and training. It is not a recommendation β what works for a top-five Olympia finisher in contest prep is not a plan for everyone.