Former Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem opened up about his shockingly slimmed-down physique that had MMA fans fearing for the fighter’s life last month.
For nearly 25 years, ‘The Demolition Man’ has been known for his hulk-like build and legendary power leading fans to be understandably concerned when a recently-snapped image of Alistair Overeem showed the fighter looking significantly smaller mere months removed from his last appearance under the GLORY Kickboxing banner. As it turns out, Overeem’s lightened load is the direct result of some major lifestyle changes made by ‘The Reem’ in recent months.
Who’s digging the new Alistair Overeem physique?
pic.twitter.com/UosAN4IgdJ
— Lewis Simpson (@LewisSimpsonMMA) June 19, 2023
Appearing on a recent episode of Lovin’ Dubai, Alistair Overeem revealed that the biggest change he made was becoming a vegetarian.
“Meat is not good for you. It negatively affects you. Yes, it tastes delicious. Even now, I could still eat meat, but I just choose not to,” Overeem said.
From there, Overeem went into detail regarding a recent detox that he claims eliminated his cravings for meat and other unhealthy foods.
“I started doing detoxing. I have this special nutritionist, Julian VanHoven. He’s in Germany and South America so our sessions go through Skype, but he’s like, ‘Yep, we’re gonna detox.’ I’m like a soldier. ‘Okay, let’s go.’ When I met him, I instantly knew this guy has knowledge so we started working and I started taking these supplements in a reasonably high dosage which you can just do on an empty stomach, and after a couple of weeks, my diet, my appetite changed.
“I would usually eat steak and eight o’clock in the morning. That was like a standard thing and then I’m like, ‘I’m full. I don’t want to eat this anymore.’ So then the next day, it was one food less. One food of steak I ate that day and then the day after that I didn’t want to eat it anymore” (h/t MiddleEasy).
Alistair Overeem Credits Detoxing with the Elimination of His Cravings for Meat
Alistair Overeem continued to explain his recent detox, suggesting that his cravings for meat were influenced by parasites present in his body. The detox deprived those parasites of the unhealthy foods they thrive on, causing them to die off, thus eliminating the craving.
“When I spoke to Julian, I asked him what’s happening. I don’t want to eat my steak anymore, but I want to eat my steak because I want muscles, and he said, ‘You had parasites in your body. We gave you the supplements, you start detoxing your body,’ and these supplements are just simple seaweed.
“Everybody could take it and this creates an alkaline environment which these parasites do not like. They will get hurt and die off and once you get rid of them, your tastes change. It’s not me who needs to eat meat, it’s the parasites that influence me, work through me to make me think I want to eat meat, but it’s not me and once you get rid of them, you don’t care.”
There is certainly some truth to what Alistair Overeem claims in his interview. According to the Metabolic Research Center, some microbes will change your taste buds, increase your cannabinoid and opioid receptors, and produce serotonin or dopamine to make you feel good when you eat these foods. Their effect resembles antidepressants and even recreational drugs; creating a very strong pull. Others create toxins that will make you feel rotten until you give them whatever they want.
This would explain why the first few days of any diet or detox are typically the hardest. During that time, the bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses that live inside your body are sending signals drawing you to food that contains the resources they need. Once deprived for a period of time, the microbes die off, eliminating your cravings.
Alistair Overeem Announces His Retirement from Combat Sports
During his interview, Alistair Overeem casually revealed that he is officially walking away from combat sports after nearly a quarter of a century of competing.
“This actually ties into what I want to do, because I actually just decided to stop fighting. This is not my thing anymore,” Overeem revealed during the interview. “It’s been 25 years, right? We’re going to do other cool stuff now,” he said.
It was a relatively shocking turn of events after recent reports claimed that Overeem was intent on returning to GLORY Kickboxing this fall once his 12-month suspension expired. In October 2022, ‘The Reem’ squared off with Badr Hari at GLORY Collision 4, scoring a unanimous decision victory. However, in November, it was revealed that Overeem had tested positive for a banned substance and was suspended from competing for one year. The result was overturned and ruled a no-contest.
If this truly is the end, Alistair Overeem will go down as one of the most celebrated fighters in all of combat sports history. During his legendary run, ‘The Demolition Man’ competed for practically every major fight promotion including the UFC, PRIDE, Dream, K-1, GLORY Kickboxing, and Strikeforce.