Competitive Eater Zermatt Neo Once Ate So Much His Stomach Crushed His Pancreas

Most of us know Zermatt Neo as one of Singapore’s top competitive eaters and a familiar face on YouTube. But did you know that before becoming a full-time content creator, he was a personal trainer and dietitian. Oh, the irony.

The 38-year-old first stumbled into competitive eating after a dare from a gym buddy.

A lover of hawker and street food, Zermatt now creates content centred on supersized eating challenges and travel food adventures.

Over the years, he’s taken on mind-boggling portions, from 7.89kg of fried rice in 30 minutes to 21 bowls of beef noodles in 15 minutes. To keep to his lean 67kg frame, he works out six to seven days a week and follows 18- to 24-hour intermittent fasts.

Zermatt recently hopped onto Reddit for an AMA (Ask Me Anything) on r/SingaporeEats, where he answered netizens’ burning questions on everything from his food challenges to his workout routines, and even his, um, post-challenge toilet situation.

For Zermatt, the toughest challenges aren’t always the biggest ones. Protein-heavy or processed foods like pizzas, hamburgers and steak are his real kryptonite.

He can polish off 8kg to 9kg for rice and noodles, but for extremely meaty items, 6kg to 7kg is his limit.

Was there ever a time he ate until he felt like dying?

“All the time,” Zermatt replied. “For shoots that I push myself, I tend to be suffering towards the end.”

When one netizen asked if he’d ever had a dangerous or unexpected physical reaction, Zermatt revealed a story that made us wince.

Many years ago, he attempted a burger way beyond his comfortable limit, and his “stomach got distended it crushed [his] pancreas.”

He ended up in the ER, was warded for three days, and spent two weeks recovering from pancreatitis.

His own summary: “Insane.”

The most upvoted question of the night? Whether he gets stomach issues like acid reflux from eating too much.

Surprisingly, no. Just cramps, if he goes “beyond a certain threshold.”

As for the TMI question about what happens in the bathroom after challenges, Zermatt says it’s pretty “average”.  

“I typically go up to three to four times a day after a food challenge,” he shared.

And when a netizen prepping for a Christmas buffet asked for tips to maximise their makan haul, Zermatt offered this gem: “Aim for the proteins (like your fave type) and keep going at it. I doubt you can beat the buffet but if you strategise properly, I think you can break even.”

Honestly, this might be the most motivational quote of December.