Joey Chestnut reveals his meal approach leading up to Hot Dog Eating Contest

Joey Chestnut has dominated the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest for nearly two decades, winning 15 of the past 16 titles. That doesn’t just happen by accident.

Chestnut trains his body to make sure he is ready for the big day, which comes yearly on July 4.

The competitive eater recently went on the Pardon My Take podcast and explained what his meal approach is like leading into July 4.

“So I had a little salad for dinner, a protein supplement,” Joey Chestnut said of what he ate on Sunday. “I might just have some over-easy eggs or something [Monday]. But really it’s going to be a liquid diet. And Tuesday I’ll go in completely empty the day of the contest.”

Chestnut does that so that he can fit as many hot dogs as possible into his stomach during the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest.

While he is the heavy favorite, he still has to train hard. Chestnut said that he doesn’t take anything for granted heading into a competition.

“I’ll never disrespect my competitors. These guys – Geoff Esper, an awesome eater out of Boston. And he’s actually beaten me a bunch. And for some reason he hasn’t been able to put together a good performance in hot dog,” Chestnut said. “But one of these days he’s going to surprise a lot of people, and I’ve got to make sure I’m not surprised. And I’m not going to be lazy. This guy really can eat 66, 67 hot dogs. He just hasn’t put it together yet.”

Joey Chestnut overwhelming favorite in 2023 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest odds

As mentioned, Chestnut is the heavy favorite to win the event. Since winning his first title in 2007, Chestnut has won every single Mustard Belt since, except the 2015 contest won by Matt Stonie. Chestnut also holds the world record for most hot dogs consumed in the contest with 76 back in 2021.

As expected, Chestnut is the favorite to win another title and it’s not even close. You’ll have to place a large sum to get anything out of it.

Below are the odds for this year’s contest, courtesy of Bet MGM.

2023 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest odds

Joey Chestnut: -5000

Geoffrey Esper: +1200

Nick Wehry: +2000

James Webb: +2500

The Field: +3000

Bartley Weaver IV: +4000

Gideon Oji: +5000

Ren Zoza: +5000

Darrien Thomas: +6600

Adrian Morgan: +6600

It’s amazing when you look at the hot dog eating contest odds and taking “the field” is a smarter bet, so to speak, than five other competitors.

Esper is the one to watch out for this year. The 48-year-old Major League Eating veteran is ready to take the belt from Chestnut this season. According to his MLE bio, he has quite the multi-faceted palette. 

“He is a true multi-disciplinary eater—as comfortable eating 83 slices of John’s Incredible Pizza in 10 minutes as he is in eating 281 Hooters wings in the same amount of time,” Esper’s bio reads. “He is the 2017 and 2019 Hooters wing-eating Champion and the champion of the Fortune Bay Indian Taco and the Jack’s Donuts Donut Holes. On June 17, 2023, Esper secured his third straight strawberry shortcake eating record by downing 21 pounds of the treat in eight minutes.”