When we're playing at home in Utah, breakfast is really the only meal at which I allow myself to be a little unhealthy. So it's usually pancakes, waffles, eggs, and bacon. I like to keep that consistent. For lunch and dinner, I will have Caesar salad.
When I'm training in December, I have to eat like 6,000 calories a day to maintain my weight. It's a bit tiring.
I like to eat Wheaties Fuel for breakfast with fresh fruit and egg whites. For lunch, I like to eat my wife's 'homerun chicken,' which is chicken, rice and vegetables, and for dinner I eat grilled steak or a couple of chicken breasts with rice and vegetables. During the day, I drink OhYeah! protein shakes as a snack.
As a professional athlete, part of my job is to make sure I'm consuming high quality nutrients.
I'm John Salley, and I'm a vegan. I'm a vegan because I'm only four pounds heaver than I was in 1989.
When I began running at the age of 10, I didn't have the diet athletes need. It was just rice and vegetables. Every day.
At the Jets training facility in Florham Park, N.J., we have strength and conditioning staff but also a nutritionist, Glen Tobias, who helps to whip everyone into shape. There is a heavy emphasis on grass-fed meat and on foods that aren't genetically modified.
It's now come out just before his record-breaking 100-meter dash, gold medalist Usain Bolt ate at McDonald's. Apparently he timed his meal so when the race started he would have exactly 9.63 seconds to get to a toilet.
Everyone knows I drink a lot of Diet Coke, so...I drink chocolate milk after races as my recovery drink, and you won't ever find me without a peanut butter sandwich in my bag at races or without a jar of peanut butter when I am heading to Europe.
During Wimbledon, I ate only rice and pineapple. My coach cooked for me. He made sweet rice.
I have my meals delivered... you know what I like? Chicken and rice... But the problem with being a defensive lineman is, if we get out of hand with our eating, we balloon up to, like, 300-some pounds. So I really got to watch what I eat.
If I wasn't a pro-athlete, I would probably eat any dessert dish every day!
Obviously, diet is important for an athlete, but I don't have anyone telling me, 'You can eat this, but don't try that.'
When I was training for the Olympics, I didn't eat the way I should have. I missed out on much-needed protein and opted for every easy carb.
Everything in moderation is what I always try to tell myself. But whether you're an athlete or not, its always important to eat healthy.
At the most elite level, your nutrition becomes a lifestyle: it's not something you have to do when you're preparing for Olympic games or World Cup games - you just do it. You're more inclined to eat healthier because it's better for your muscles.
If I'm training I'm cutting weight for a competition. I'm hard. I'm pretty much eating animal protein and that's it. No rice, no beans, certainly no sweets.
My favourite meal is penne carbonara - that's good for an athlete, right?
On fight day, I usually have peanut butter and porridge in the morning; bananas and a nice fruit salad. Then, as the day goes on, I'll have some carbs.
When I was competing, I cut out red meat but only because I felt it took too long to digest, so I stuck to chicken and fish.
Especially as pro athletes, at the highest level, what we put into our bodies plays a huge part in our performance.
After swimming, I have breakfast. I start with a big bowl of porridge - say, 100 grams of oats - then some cereal, five or so pieces of fruit, an oat bar, a litre of fruit juice, and a big bag of beef jerky.
They eat clean, they don't drink sodas, they don't have fast food. My kids eat like pro athletes.
When the season ends, I like to take a little time off from the diet I follow when I'm playing.
Pregame, you definitely want to carb up.
