Aaron Rodgers' new diet is a little more Tom Brady, a little less In-N-Out Burger
We're getting hungry for a Double-Double Animal Style just thinking about this story
By
Will Brinson
•
2 min read
You hear "best shape of his life" about an NFL player roughly 40 times a week this time of year. It's the ultimate offseason trope. But the idea of Aaron Rodgers being in the best shape of his life? That's legitimately thrilling to hear.
Especially when Rodgers is doing it by totally revamping his offseason diet and approaching 2016 with a mindset of, well, a 32 year old hoping to extend his prime quarterbacking years.
Jason Wilde of ESPN reports Rodgers decided to approach nutrition differently this offseason, getting rid of his long-held "80-20 diet" (80 percent good stuff, 20 percent whatever you want) in favor of a diet designed to burn fat and lower his body mass index (BMI, basically the percentage of your body that is fat).
"I think it is all about finding ways to challenge yourself. And one area I've really focused on is working with Adam [Korzun, the Packers' director of performance nutrition] with my nutrition, and really thinking hard about that," Rodgers said. "We've talked about it the last few years, but even more this year -- just trying to be smart about my eating habits."
So how did Rodgers change? Well for one he dumped some key 80/20 staples, such as the "Double Double Animal Style" burger from In-N-Out Burger, as well as his beloved Girl Scout Cookies (he's a Tagalong man first and foremost).
He's also following the nutritional advice of a famous NFL quarterback: Tom Brady.
"To be honest, Tom Brady is an influencer there because of the stuff he talks about, and how healthy he is," Rodgers said.
Brady, who will turn 39 in August, is coming off one of the best seasons of his career, throwing for 4,770 yards and a league-leading 36 passing touchdowns (with just seven interceptions).
The Patriots quarterback really does look like he's in the best shape of his life despite approaching 40. And a large part of that is what Brady's doing in terms of eating, which features a very bizarre diet.
Brady's diet has become so infamous he's also got an absurdly priced $200 cookbook detailing his nutritional habits, including avocado ice cream (YUM?) and sweet potato gnocchi with escarole (YUM).
Worth noting: Brady's diet is basically 80 percent vegetables. And like, really fresh vegetables, all of which are prepared by a personal chef. It's not the sort of thing everyone is going to pull off.
But it is something Rodgers is capable of doing and it might result in a strong 2016 and an extended lifespan for his quarterbacking.
