NBA superstar LeBron James is sporting a new lean and mean look this off-season in part to following a strict paleo diet for 67 days. Tony Manfred of Business Insider reports on the buzz this has created around the star and the paleo lifestyle.
LeBron James shared new details of the diet that saw him lose more than 10 pounds this summer, and it sounds even more extreme than we realized.
James told reporters at his Nike sneaker event in Oregon that he cut out everything except meat, fish, fruit, and vegetables for 67 days. He did it to "test his mental fortitude," The Oregonian reports.
He told SI:
"I had no sugars, no dairy, I had no carbs. All I ate was meat, fish, veggies and fruit. That's it. For 67 straight days."
He told the Oregonian that he had "lost a ton of weight" — so much weight that he's now trying to put back on a few pounds.
LeBron's weight loss has been one of the big stories of the NBA off-season. After he posted an Instagram photo looking downright skinny in August, speculation began that he was on a Paleo diet. Brian Windhorst of ESPN reported that he dropped more than 10 pounds after going on a low-carb diet.
So what exactly was he eating all summer?
He posted photos of a few meals on Instagram this summer, and they seem to follow the 67-day diet he described.
For one lunch he had "arugula salad with chicken, strawberries, mango, cashews and olive oil/lemon vinaigrette dressing."
When he was on vacation in Greece the hotel made him a personalized cake, which he didn't eat, apparently because he was off added sugars.
There are multiple theories why LeBron decided to lose weight this summer. Windhorst told ESPN's Bill Simmons that LeBron was in relatively poor shape at the beginning of the 2013-14 season after winning the title in 2013 and getting married that summer. He added that LeBron has always been a bit self-conscious about his weight, listing himself at 250 pounds when he's clearly in the 260s.
There's also a Kobe Effect at work. After Kobe successfully extended his career by losing weight as he entered his mid-30s, a bunch of NBA stars are following his lead. LeBron, Carmelo Anthony, and Dwyane Wade all dropped weight this summer.
A little more than a month before the NBA season, it looks as if the best player in the world is leaner than we've seen him in a long, long time.
About the Author:
Tony Manfred is a reporter for Business Insider Sports Page. He writes about all the major sports as well as scandals and gambling and gossip and such.
