The Eating Habits of Superstar Athletes

I previously wrote about the eating habits of some of the best athletes in the world, including Tom Brady, Roger Federer, LeBron James, Serena Williams, and more.

For Part 2 in this series, I’m focusing on some of today’s top superstars across several major sports.

Read on to learn about the diets of Rafael Nadal, Aaron Judge, Aaron Donald, and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Rafael Nadal is one of the greatest tennis players to ever live, winning an all-time record 22 Grand Slam titles, including 14 French Opens. He is still at the top of his game after more than 20 years on tour, winning the first 2 Grand Slams of 2022 (Australian Open and French Open) and making it to the semifinals of Wimbledon before pulling out of the tournament with an injury.

One of the keys to Nadal’s success and longevity has been his eating regimen. Growing up and still residing in Mallorca, Spain, Rafa incorporates many elements of the Mediterranean Diet.

When asked what he typically eats to train for a big match, Nadal quickly replied, “Always seafood.”

He does eat some meat as part of his diet (but never before a match), although he prefers fish. “In Mallorca, we have very good fish and prawns, and I usually make them in the simplest way to enhance their flavor,” Nadal said. “The grilled Sóller prawns, little done, are wonderful.” He also enjoys fishing in the offseason.

Nadal is also a big fan of olives and olive oil and has been known to eat bread with olive oil and Iberian ham for breakfast on match day.

To stay energized during matches, he eats bananas and drinks cold microfiltered seawater to help recover mineral salts in his body. He is known to recover with a protein shake after matches.

When Rafa is looking for something more substantial, he opts for paella (ideally his mother’s home-cooked version), but “only sometimes, not every day,” he said. “You eat paella every day, you cannot play tennis.” He also loves shrimp dumplings.

When it’s time to really indulge, Rafa admits to having no self control with chocolate. He also enjoys having a drink every now and then, believing that alcohol is beneficial on a mental level. He likes a glass of wine or beer and recently became a Brand Ambassador for Amstel.

One food that is never on Nadal’s plate? Cheese. He doesn’t like cheese and has never really eaten it.

Aaron Judge is arguably the best player in baseball right now, leading all Major Leaguers in Home Runs and RBI (runs batted in) this season. He has also led the Yankees to first place in the standings as the playoffs approach.

At 6 feet 7 inches and 282 pounds, Judge is one of the biggest MLB players and needs to fuel his body for the 162-game season (plus the postseason).

The mainstay of Judge’s diet is vegetables. “The biggest thing is veggies for me — eating your greens,” he said. “I focus on getting a large portion of greens with every meal, no matter what it is.”

He adds spinach and other vegetables to his omelet in the morning and is frequently eating salads.

Before a game, he doesn’t load up on pasta like some other players. Instead, he opts for a smoothie with fruit, spinach, protein, and almond butter.

“That’s something I do every day before the game,” he said. “It helps me maintain that energy and feel full, but without making me feel heavy and slow throughout the game.”

Chicken and rice are fixtures in his daily diet as well.

One of Judge’s favorite cheat meals is pizza. “Especially being in New York, you can find some good pizza spots,” he said. “If it’s not pizza, it’s chicken parm or something like that. That’s my go-to.”

Judge’s favorite ice cream flavor is chocolate chip cookie dough.

Aaron Donald is the #1 rated NFL player going into the 2022 season. He is the best defensive player in the league and possibly of all-time. Donald helped lead the Los Angeles Rams to Super Bowl victory last season.

The 280-pound defensive lineman adheres to a strict diet, consisting of 50% carbs, 30% fat, and 20% protein. In a typical high-volume training day, he consumes 616 grams of carbs, 245 grams of protein, and 164 grams of fat. That amounts to nearly 5000 calories.

His top protein sources include chicken, milk, and protein smoothies (he can consume up to 12 smoothies in a day!). He gets his carbs from those smoothies as well as pasta, rice, and popcorn. Healthy fats for him come in the form of avocado, fish, and hummus.

Two of Aaron’s favorite meals are Breakfast Tacos and Dancing Meatballs (recipes included in the link). Breakfast tacos is the meal Aaron craves most, according to his personal chef, Arron Sain. They are made with spicy turkey sausage, eggs, spinach, onion, red pepper, and sharp cheddar cheese, wrapped in whole wheat tortillas.

Dancing meatballs got their name because when Donald first tried them, he danced because they were so good. The meatballs are more of a cheat day appetizer, made with ground turkey, 80/20 ground beef, eggs, ground croutons, garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, parsley, salt, red pepper flakes, and parmesan cheese.

Even with all that eating, Donald is able to maintain just 11% body fat, significantly lower than the average for his position.

Giannis Antetokounmpo is one of the top players in the NBA, winning back-to-back MVP Awards in 2019 and 2020 and leading the Milwaukee Bucks to the NBA Championship in 2021.

Giannis usually follows a healthy diet to fuel his training and game days. For breakfast, he likes to eat an egg sandwich with a side of fruit.

After a game or tough workout, he typically recovers with a protein smoothie, consisting of strawberries, raspberries, banana, granola, and celery juice. The celery juice is thought to help reduce inflammation.

He also likes to eat pasta and chicken after games.

Originally from Greece, Giannis has enjoyed discovering some iconic (although not so healthy) American foods since joining the NBA, including corn dogs, Red Kool-Aid, and Oreos dunked in milk. He doesn’t eat much Greek food in the US, preferring to wait for his mom’s home cooking.

His favorite cheat meals include pepperoni pizza and lemon pepper chicken wings. Giannis also famously celebrated his NBA championship by visiting Chic-Fil-A for a feast of chicken nuggets.

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There you have it — the eating habits of 4 top professional athletes. As expected, all of these superstars follow a healthy diet comprised of fruits, vegetables, and healthy proteins and fats.

But they all indulge as well.

That’s a good lesson for all of us — eat well but make sure to enjoy some treats along the way.