As a New York City college student and Jets fan, the words “I hate Tom Brady” are part of my regular vernacular during football season. Despite my opposition to his success, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots have found themselves in the Super Bowl once again. Perhaps Tom Brady’s unusual diet, coined by some Jets fans as “bird food“, has contributed to his superhuman level of play. In order to determine the truth of that statement, I attempted to set my hatred aside for 24 hours to fully assume the role of Tom Brady, the five time Super Bowl Champion, the Jesus Christ of New England fans, and the deflator of footballs. (Sorry, I don’t write the titles I just report them!)
Breakfast
Tom Brady begins his day by drinking “20 ounces of water with electrolytes.” As a college student living in the Bronx, the fact that my Brita purified the tap water enough that it was no longer cloudy was satisfactory for me. I drank two mugs full– each 11 oz. Yes, I drank more water than “the GOAT.” (I believe this may allow me to rename myself as the GOAT, but I will look into that later.) Next, I headed to the Grill which offers Fordham students a make-your-own smoothie bar. I ordered a smoothie with blueberries, bananas, chia seeds, and unsweetened coconut milk– a Brady staple. It was tasty, but I found myself missing my classic eggs and bacon for breakfast.
Lunch
For lunch, Tom Brady eats “a piece of fish, but always with lots of vegetables.” Living on a campus with little to no fish options, I headed to Chopsticks. Chopsticks is made to order Asian food on campus that offers shrimp as a protein choice. I ordered a bowl with ginger garlic shrimp, brown rice, scallions, red pepper, broccoli and teriyaki sauce. Some of you may call this cheating but Brady got suspended from four games; I only cheated on a one day diet. After refraining from getting water, Brady says drinking water with a meal is “bad for digestion“, I sat down with my food. I didn’t love the dish, but since it wasn’t identical to a Tom Brady meal I felt I couldn’t accurately judge it as part of his typical day. It was definitely a welcome substantial meal compared to the smoothie I had for breakfast.
Snack
When Tom Brady eats snacks, he eats fruit. He recommends consuming only fruit, when you choose to do so, this is also digestion related. When I found myself getting hungry before dinner I reached for a Honeycrisp apple. (It’s the only apple I’ll eat, if you know Honeycrisp you know!!) After being 2/3 of a day into my Tom Brady lifestyle, eating an apple really felt like the cherry on top of a healthy cake. (Note: Brady does not eat cake. He does not eat junk food.) It ALMOST gave me enough motivation to head to the gym, but then I realized I was only eating like Tom Brady not living like him.
Dinner
Brady’s dinner is very similar to his lunch– generally chicken or fish and lots of vegetables. I decided to skip the protein in this dish, as I felt most of his chef’s recommendation’s were about his abundant vegetable consumption. I headed to Fordham’s Marketplace and used the salad bar to craft this colorful creation of melon, cauliflower, broccoli, corn and more! I didn’t feel that it filled me up quite enough and as I ate the last piece of melon I was already planning a bacon egg and cheese breakfast sandwich in the morning.
Results
I wouldn’t say this experiment changed me; for one, I still hate Tom Brady and two, I miss my regular college diet of chicken tenders and fries. I can respect his dedication to his craft and believe that if you can sacrifice having dessert (everyday!!!) you’re working hard for your success. Now that’s the last nice thing you’ll ever hear me say about Tom, and definitely the last nice thing you’ll hear me say about his diet. Health is important but treat yo self every once in a while!!