Decoding: What Kind of Diet is Beyoncé On?

December 15, 2025 •

3 min read

According to her Netflix documentary Homecoming, Beyoncé followed a highly restrictive, plant-based diet to prepare for her 2018 Coachella performance. This intense regimen is just one example of the multifaceted and evolving approach to nutrition that defines what kind of diet is Beyoncé on.

Quick Summary

An exploration of Beyoncé's nutrition, covering her commitment to 'clean' foods, her use of the 22 Days Nutrition plant-based plan, and her balanced approach that includes strategic indulgences and hydration.

Key Points

Plant-Based Tendencies: Beyoncé primarily follows a clean, plant-based diet but is not a full-time vegan.
Strategic Vegan Phases: She uses the 22 Days Nutrition vegan program for specific wellness resets, like her pre-Coachella prep.
Balanced Approach: Her general diet emphasizes whole foods, fish, and vegetables, with a weekly indulgent meal.
Coachella Prep was Extreme: Her post-twin, pre-Coachella diet was hyper-restrictive and is not a sustainable model for long-term health.
Focus on Wellness: In recent years, she has shifted her focus from extreme dieting to overall health, supplements, and mindful eating.
Hydration is Key: Drinking a gallon of water a day, often with lemon, is a consistent part of her regimen.

A Balanced Approach to Nutrition

While the public has seen glimpses of Beyoncé's most restrictive dietary phases, particularly for high-profile performances, her everyday approach is more balanced and sustainable. The core of her eating philosophy revolves around clean eating, plant-based principles, and moderation, not constant deprivation.

The Everyday Beyoncé Diet

On a daily basis, Beyoncé focuses on consuming wholesome, unprocessed foods while prioritizing hydration. Her typical routine includes:

Breakfast: A morning meal is a non-negotiable, often consisting of scrambled egg whites, a vegetable smoothie, or whole-grain cereal with low-fat milk.
Hydration: She aims to drink at least a gallon of water a day, often with a slice of lemon.
Clean Eating: Her general meals focus on fish and vegetables for lunch and dinner, a principle she emphasized in a 2023 interview with GQ.
Moderation: She allows for a "cheat meal" on Sundays, with pizza being a favorite indulgence.

The 22 Days Nutrition Program

Beyoncé, along with her husband Jay-Z and trainer Marco Borges, co-owns the plant-based meal delivery service and program called 22 Days Nutrition. The program is based on the psychological theory that it takes 21 days to form or break a habit, making day 22 the start of a new lifestyle. While she endorses the brand, she is not a strict, full-time vegan. Borges noted in The New York Times that she enjoys a vegan breakfast daily and has adopted a "Meatless Monday" habit.

The Coachella Diet: A Restrictive Exception

In her Netflix documentary Homecoming, Beyoncé revealed the extreme diet she followed to get back into stage shape for her 2018 Coachella performance, just months after giving birth to twins. This was a hyper-restrictive, short-term plan that is not recommended for sustained periods. The components of her temporary diet included:

No bread
No carbs
No sugar
No dairy
No meat
No fish
No alcohol

She was candid about the difficulty of this regimen, saying, "I'm hungry!" in the documentary and later reflecting, "I will never, never push myself that far again". Nutritionists have warned that such crash diets can be dangerous and lack the necessary nutrients for long-term health.

Comparison of Beyoncé's Diets


Aspect	Everyday Diet (General)	Coachella Diet (Pre-Performance)
Carbs	Includes some whole grains (e.g., cereal, quinoa).	Eliminated almost all carbohydrates, including bread.
Protein	Lean protein sources like fish and occasional turkey.	Strictly plant-based, excluding meat and fish.
Dairy	Low-fat milk or other dairy is acceptable.	Completely eliminated.
Sugar	Avoids processed sugars but allows for a controlled indulgence.	No sugar, no exceptions.
Flexibility	Incorporates a weekly treat meal like pizza.	Extremely restrictive, with no planned indulgences.
Motivation	General health and wellness, fueling her busy life.	Rapid body conditioning for a specific, demanding performance.

The Evolution of Beyoncé’s Wellness Mindset

Beyoncé’s relationship with food and fitness has evolved over her career. Her early years included mentions of very low-calorie diets, but her postpartum journey and preparation for Coachella marked a significant shift. In recent years, she has expressed a move away from such extreme measures and toward a more mindful, sustainable approach. In a 2023 interview, she mentioned focusing on "health, taking my supplements, and eating very clean," rather than just weight loss.

Conclusion

While headlines often focus on her most dramatic weight loss efforts, what kind of diet is Beyoncé on is best described as a flexible, plant-based-leaning lifestyle punctuated by periods of intense discipline for performance preparation. Her consistent hydration, emphasis on whole foods, and use of the 22 Days Nutrition program for targeted resets paint a more complete picture than the extreme, temporary regimens of her past. Ultimately, her journey reflects a growing understanding that sustainable wellness is a marathon, not a sprint, and that balance and self-care are just as important as discipline.

For more insight into her trainer's philosophy, you can explore Marco Borges's work online.

Frequently Asked Questions

No, Beyoncé has clarified that she is not a full-time vegan. She incorporates plant-based principles into her diet and follows vegan programs for specific periods, but she also eats fish and other foods.

The 22 Days Nutrition program is a plant-based meal delivery service and eating plan co-owned by Beyoncé and her trainer, Marco Borges. It's based on the idea that it takes 21 days to form a new habit.

For her 2018 Coachella preparation, Beyoncé followed an extremely restrictive diet with no bread, no carbs, no sugar, no dairy, no meat, no fish, and no alcohol. She has since said she would not push herself that far again.

On a typical day, Beyoncé starts with a breakfast like egg whites or a smoothie, drinks lots of water, and eats meals primarily composed of fish and vegetables. She allows herself one indulgent meal on Sundays.

Beyoncé's fitness routine is demanding, especially when preparing for tour. It includes intense dance rehearsals, cardio like running, and strength training with weights and battle ropes.

Given her resources and lifestyle, it's widely believed that Beyoncé uses the support of a personal chef and a team of nutritionists to maintain her diet, particularly during intense training periods.

No, health experts warn that the highly restrictive diet Beyoncé followed for Coachella, which was low in calories and eliminated many food groups, is not safe or recommended for the average person. Professional medical advice should always be sought before trying extreme diets.

In her documentary Homecoming, Beyoncé candidly admitted she was 'hungry' during her pre-Coachella diet. She also stated that she learned a valuable lesson and would never push herself that far again with such extreme dieting.