LeBron James Diet: What Does the World Champion Eats to Maintain his Ultimate Body?

At age 36, LeBron James is in perfect shape. He still has a quick first step, can get off the floor quickly, can chase down and block defenders and jam it down on them every other night as well.

But how has LeBron been able to keep himself in such great shape in the 16 years he has been in the league? There have been numerous articles and videos highlighting James’s dietary restrictions, but there has been little to no information on what James consumes on a day-to-day basis. Though his Instagram posts say otherwise, and the famous ‘Taco Tuesday’ he has with his family may send you towards a different conclusion but today we break down LeBron James’s diet regime.

  • LeBron James: Weight Loss Diet

James was known to be in the worst shape that he could be in after winning the NBA title with the Miami Heat in 2013. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst has been known to follow LeBron since his high school days back in Akron, Ohio. Though he had just won an NBA title, James had gotten off to a slow and rocky start. 

Poking fun at his diet, James said during the unveiling of his LeBron 12 sneakers-:

“I had no sugars, no dairy, I had no carbs, and all I ate was meat, fish, veggies and fruit. That’s it. For 67 straight days.”

James has always been extra cautious of what he consumes and puts in his body, treating his body like an actual temple. He was so strict with his diet regime that a resort made him a custom dessert when on vacation in Greece, and he did not eat that.

  • LeBron James: Workout Diet

In 2016, James spoke about how he fuels up before game time. “Before competition for me would be like a chicken breast and maybe a little pasta. The carbs help because you’re going out and playing a lot of minutes,” he said. “But a salad and some veggies will have me perfectly fine. And before the game I might have a protein shake and some fruit, and I’ll be ready to go.”

And when playoff time comes, the NBA star slightly changes his approach. “The thing that I started cutting down is the sugars. When it comes to the playoffs, it kinda slows down the process of recovery. Throughout the regular season it’s okay to have a little bit of it. But in the postseason, optimal recovery—whoever can recover the fastest from game to game is going to put themselves in position to be successful the next game.” “So the sugars I kinda cut out, but the carbs I kinda ramp up. Because you’re losing so many calories, you’re burning so many calories, burning all your energy throughout those games. So I kinda go heavy on the carbs because it gives you energy. It’s worked for me.”

A carbohydrate-rich recovery fluid provided by his personal trainer is what James prefers after a game to replace the loss of fluids. It helps to refill his glycogen levels, which is a stored form of carbohydrate found in the liver and muscle tissue that helps to provide the body with energy.

Then a meal with high-quality protein and carbs, much like his pre-game meal, is what he prefers post-game.

  • Cheat Day Diet

As much time, effort, and energy James put in just for his diet, and he deserves a cheat day or even two for himself to indulge in the things he loves most.

LeBron James is known to enjoy a good glass of wine. He drinks wine pretty much every day. And most doctors agree that when consumed in moderation, red wine has health benefits, from increasing your levels of good HDL cholesterol to lowering your risk of a heart attack, which James knows very well.

James is an investor, franchisee, and paid endorser of the made-to-order pizza company Blaze Pizza, which he is known to indulge himself in a lot. A copy of his receipt when he ordered a pizza from Blaze Pizza in 2016 had his DIY pizza with a whopping 16 toppings on it — including fresh basil, turkey meatballs, banana peppers, and kalamata olives which James shared on Instagram as well.