With Tom Brady turning 40 last month, being the oldest active quarterback in the NFL, and the only player who has won 5 Super Bowls for the same team, you have to be thinking, “what’s the trick?” While my sports knowledge and understanding is not entirely up to par, I do know one thing: food. And let me tell you, Tom Brady’s diet is a vitally important key to his peak performance on the field.
Brady says, “my nutritional regimen may seem restrictive to some people, but to me it feels unnatural to eat any other way… french fries, potato chips, white bread, chicken nuggets—that don’t exist in nature.” Perhaps to your surprise, Brady doesn’t eat low fat meals expected from an NFL player like turkey subs, lean steak, and eggs. He doesn’t consume dairy or caffeine either. Instead, Brady follows an anti-inflammatory diet that is majority plant-based.
At 6 foot 4 inches and 225 pounds, Brady has no problem maintaining lean mass and keeping his body fat at 10 percent year round. You may be asking, “but where does he get his protein though?” The answer to this is simple, he eats wholesome plant-based foods that will decrease his recovery time and increase his performance. His diet is high in protein, low in refined sugars, and 80% vegetables. Brady says, “our bodies are our temples and you get out of it what you put into it.” So here is a break down of what the GOAT eats in a day.
Breakfast
Breakfast consists of a smoothie with bananas, blueberries, nuts, and seeds. Then Brady will drink a post-workout protein shake with protein powder and almond milk and eat a homemade protein bar as well. The GOAT drinks a lot of water… like up to 25 glasses a day.
Lunch
For lunch Brady eats one big meal that includes beet noodles with hazelnut hemp seed crumble and tofu rancheros with pinto beans and coconut fruit salad and thai coconut rice bowls with roasted carrots and a cilantro mint chutney. Sound too fancy to actually make yourself? Lucky for you, the recipes and ingredients for these delicious dishes can be mailed to your doorstep.
All you have to do is subscribe to the TB Performance Meals package available on Purple Carrot.These meals are taken directly from the vegan meals Brady personally enjoys, or are inspired by the TB12 nutritional guidelines. At $78 a week, the meal plan is also relatively affordable if you are a serious athlete looking to up your game.
Dinner
For dinner, Brady invites his whole family to #EatLikeAGOAT. He eats whole grains, quinoa, and lots and lots of vegetables. Scroll through his Instagram slideshow to see the Beluga Lentil Tacos from Purple Carrot that he made with his daughter, Vivian, this spring.
A few weeks ago, Brady’s book The TB12 Method was launched that details revolutionary approaches to strength training, hydration, supplementation, cognitive fitness, recovery, and most importantly, nutrition. This “athletes bible” claims to teach you how to dramatically decrease your risk of injury while amplifying and extending your performance and quality of life.
So show Brady some love by grabbing a copy of this book and work at becoming the greatest version of yourself. The GOAT has definitely worked his way into becoming one of my top role models and maybe he’ll be yours.