Sylvester Stallone Admits That His Diet During The Production Of ‘Rocky III’ Affected His Health

Rocky III, which was released in 1982, marked the third installment of the popular Rocky movie series, featuring Sylvester Stallone, who reprised his role as Rocky Balboa, a professional boxer from Philadelphia. The movie follows Rocky’s journey as he faces new challenges in his boxing career and deals with personal struggles, particularly exploring his epic rivalry with Clubber Lang,  who is also a formidable opponent and a fierce competitor.

The film received positive reviews and was a commercial success, grossing over $270 million worldwide. Its achievement further solidified Stallone’s status as a Hollywood action star and also established the Rocky franchise as one of the most iconic in cinema history.

Sylvester Stallone says preparing for his role as Rocky was very difficult

During an interview with The Wall Street Journal, the 76-year-old individual disclosed that achieving peak physical condition for the role was a challenging endeavor. Stallone stated that he was subjected to a strict diet so as to maintain a good body shape for his role as Rocky.

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“I used to drink about 25 cups [of coffee] a day when I was doing Rocky III,” he confessed to the news outlet. “My entire breakfast would be maybe two [small] oatmeal cookies made with brown rice and 10 cups of coffee because I wanted to keep my body fat down to 2.8 percent.”

Sylvester Stallone reveals that his health was affected by his restrictive diet

The actor revealed that his remarkably restrictive diet at the time impacted his health. “I was forgetting my phone number. I was eating just tuna fish. My memory was shot, it was completely gone,” Stallone admitted. “I was getting all kinds of debilitating physical effects. But it was for the cause.”

Stallone also added that he has made the decision to reduce his coffee consumption as his wife now ensures that he consumes a healthy breakfast. “I keep getting reflux, so I have to cut it down,” he told The Wall Street Journal. “My wife is focused on breakfast. It’s amazing, it’s avocado, four eggs, cottage cheese, three slices of watermelon, and grapes.”

The actor also openly acknowledged that his current fitness routine is considerably less intense compared to his rigorous workout regimen during the Rocky era. “I’ve gone from lifting regular weights to mostly bands, cables. It’s kind of like physical therapy. So, you’re using the bar, you’re using different motions and keeping those joints moving all the time,” Stallone explained. “I’ve had five back operations, two shoulders, three neck fusions, both knees, I’m bionic.”