Mirabai Chanu's silver medal win in the women's 49kg weightlifting event at the Asian Games 2026 is being celebrated as the end of a 28-year wait. It is India's first medal in weightlifting at the Asian Games since Karnam Malleswari won bronze in 1998.
While Chanu has not revealed much about her diet recently, she spoke about the strict diet she had to follow earlier this year. Chanu lifted a massive 190 kg to win India's first gold medal at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2026. The weightlifting star shared that her ideal body weight is 50kg and, since she had to compete in the 48 kg category, losing those two kilograms was more difficult than one might imagine.
She shared, "Sab kuch band karna padta hai. Pani nahi pee paati, khaana nahi khaa pati. Poore teen din se maine paani bhi nahi piya hai." (I have to stop everything. I can't drink water, I can't eat food. I haven't even had water for the last three days.)
Weightlifters Do Not Eat A Lot
"Sabko lagta hai ki weightlifters hain, toh bahut zyada khaate honge, par hum itna nahi khaate... kyunki weight control karke rakhna padta hai." (People think that because we are weightlifters, we eat a lot. But we don't eat that much because we have to keep our weight under control), the champion weightlifter said in an interview with The Lallantop in 2025.
Also Read: What Does R Madhavan's Son Vedaant Eat? The Medal-Winning Swimmer's Diet Explained
Mirabai Chanu's Breakfast
Speaking about what she eats, Chanu shared, "Main breakfast mein leti hoon boiled egg, boiled chana, boiled mushroom." (For breakfast, I have boiled eggs, boiled chana and boiled mushrooms.)
The athlete avoids milk and bread during training. "Hum bread bhi nahi le sakte, hum doodh bhi nahi le sakte, kyunki weight maintain karna hota hai." (We can't have bread or milk either because we have to maintain our weight.)
Mirabai Chanu's Lunch
"Lunch mein zyada se zyada salad aur seafood hi khaati hoon... kyunki training karna hai, digest karna hai (For lunch, I mostly eat salad and seafood because the food needs to be easy to digest for training)," she said.
Also Read: "I Can't Resist": Cricketer Smriti Mandhana Calls This Street Food Dish Her Weakness
What The Weightlifting Champion Loves To Eat
In several interviews, Chanu has expressed her love for pizza, something she might indulge in once she is free from scheduled competitions.