Arnold Schwarzenegger has revealed a drastic switch in his muscle-building dietary preferences in a new interview.

The world’s most famous bodybuilder features in an interview in the latest preview of The Game Changers, releasing on September 17, in which he discusses the reasons he’s fallen in love with plants.

Sharing details of his earlier lifestyle, he said: “I ate a lot of meat – I ate my 10, 15 eggs a day. I had my 250 grams of protein in a day because I weighed 250 pounds.

“As I got older and I started reading up on it, I recognised the fact that you really don’t have to get your protein from meat – or from animals. So we started going more in a direction of a vegetarian kind of diet.

“Now we’re doing it the right way, with spices, and all of a sudden I love it much more than the meat.”

He added that while his workouts have remained just as strenuous – his diet plan has drastically changed.

“The cholesterol went down to around 109. That’s the lowest that it ever was in my entire life – at almost 69,” he added.

Myths around meat protein and muscle

Like many, Arnold earlier believed that meat and animal protein are primary building blocks for healthy muscles.

But veganism can easily provide sufficient protein for weight and muscle gain. A plant based meal including with lentils, quinoa, tofu, chickpeas or beans can easily provide protein present in chicken breasts and eggs. 

• Read: Arnold Schwarzenegger says you don’t need meat to build muscle

What health benefits have you seen since turning vegan? Share your thoughts in the comments below!