Dennis Wolf Looking Back: I Hated To Eat Like A Bodybuilder

Dennis Wolf, now slimmed down, talks about how he hated to eat food – especially in the quantities required for bodybuilding.

Dennis Wolf is an iconic former pro bodybuilder and was also one of the featured stars of the original Generation Iron. Unfortunately, in 2016 he suffered a spinal injury required surgery and put him out of commission. He attempted a comeback in 2018 but ultimately he had to retire from the sport. Since then, Wolf has trimmed down and started focusing on entrepreneurial pursuits. In our latest GI Exclusive, Dennis Wolf talks about his current diet and how he hated to eat like a mass monster bodybuilder.

Looking at Dennis Wolf now, you probably would have never known he was once a mass monster freak competing for the Mr. Olympia title. Much like Dorian Yates before him, Wolf decided to trim down quite a bit. He came off steroids and even detailed with us previously the medical realities of retiring and coming off PEDs.

Some bodybuilders like to continue the full bodybuilding lifestyle after retirement. A big example of this is Kai Greene – which is why each and every year fans speculate he will return for a comeback. That’s why we asked Dennis Wolf – is there any aspect of the bodybuilding lifestyle he continues? Does he still have a focused diet like most bodybuilders require?

 

Dennis Wolf admits that he now only eats three meals a day. He still focuses on healthy meals – but doesn’t consume anywhere near the same amount of calories as he once did. In fact, he admits that he dislikes eating food in general and was often struggling as a bodybuilder to stick to the mass monster diet.

“I eat probably three times a day… Honestly I hate to eat,” Dennis Wolf stated in our interview. He continued:

“After so many years forcing yourself. I wasn’t a good eater in the beginning, you know, when I started bodybuilding. Then I developed the skill that I could eat a lot. And now, I’m kind of away from it so I don’t like food anymore. I’m not eating chicken, for example, for a month now because I am sick of it.”

Dennis Wolf goes on to explain that when you are in the thick of the sport and passionate – you train yourself mentally to enjoy the mass amounts of eating. Now that he hasn’t had to be in that mindset – his typical tastes returned. He never liked eating in massive amounts and now he can return to that natural state.

It’s an interesting admission. One that Jay Cutler has made in one of our past interviews as well. He’s claimed that bodybuilding diets are basically force feeding diets. He’s not 100% wrong – mostly depending on your own typical food habits. If you are the kind of person with a slight appetite, bodybuilding diets can be a big mental challenge.

You can watch Dennis Wolf talk in more detail about his post-retirement diet and reflections on his career by watching our latest GI Exclusive interview segment above!

Derek Dufour
Derek Dufour has been managing all digital operations on the Generation Iron Network for over six years. He currently manages a team of editors, writers, and designers to provide up-to-date content across the GI Network.