Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady on His Suspension and Healthy Eating Habits

Tom Brady
Photo Credit: Yainiri / Splash News

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is arguably the best NFL pivot of all time. The 39-year-old quarterback will begin his 17th season in the NFL after serving a four-game suspension for a ball-deflating scandal that had been reinstated by the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals in April.

The NFL originally suspended Tom Brady without pay for four games in May of 2015 for violating the NFL policy on the integrity of the game. The Patriots were also fined $1 million, and they forfeited a 2016 first-round pick and a 2017 fourth-round selection in the NFL Draft.

Later that year, U.S. District Judge Richard Berman invalidated Tom Brady’s four-game suspension, and Brady would play the first four games of the 2015 season.

The NFL filed its final appeals brief to the Second Circuit Court last December and argued that the collective bargaining agreement gives Commissioner Roger Goodell permission to discipline players for actions that are deemed detrimental conduct. After the suspension was reversed, Brady made a tough decision in July to no longer proceed with the legal process.

Tom Brady

Photo Credit: Yainiri / Splash News

Tom Brady is eligible to return from his suspension Oct. 9 against the Browns in Cleveland. In the meantime, Tom Brady is seemingly enjoying his time off. Brady says he likes to take a nap from time to time, read a book, and listen to music. His personal mantra right now during his suspension is “do nothing.”

Basically Brady is taking a well-deserved break. After all, Tom Brady is one of the most decorated quarterbacks in NFL history. He is a four-time Super Bowl champion, three-time Super Bowl MVP, two-time NFL MVP, and 11-time Pro Bowler. He has also won more playoff games than other quarterback and owns a 22-9 playoff record.

His legacy also includes throwing for 428 career touchdowns with 58,028 passing yards in 225 career regular season games.

Tom Brady’s Plant-Based Diet and Healthy Eating Habits

Tom Brady believes his success on the football field is due to his healthy eating habits and plant-based diet. In May, Brady released the TB12 Nutrition Manual, which features 89 healthy recipes and TB12 nutrition philosophies.

What are Tom Brady’s eating habits? He has never tried coffee or strawberries and won’t ever touch a cheeseburger. Brady doesn’t believe he can play football for a long time and eat cheeseburgers every day. Instead, Brady sells vegan snacks such as cacao goji energy squares, superfood energy squares, and blueberry crunch.

Brady’s plant-based diet is also free from sugar but includes coconut oil and Himalayan sea salt. Brady also has a personal chef Joanne Gerrard Young who is also a holistic nutritionist, master raw food chef, and health educator behind The Healing Cuisine.

Brady’s diet includes colorful salads and lots of fresh vegetables. Brady and his supermodel wife Gisele Bundchen will often consume their largest meal at lunch and then a smaller dinner. The couple also currently refrains from eating sweets, but they will eat some raw vegan desserts.

Chef Young makes lots of healthy meals for the couple, including a superfood green smoothie, Swiss chard summer rolls with sweet and spicy almond sauce, pineapple cucumber gazpacho, creamy coconut noodles with a creamy coconut sauce, and a coconut mango cream pie with a coconut cream filling.

How has Brady kept in shape during his suspension besides eating lots of healthy meals? He has been playing catch with former Patriots teammate and current free agent Wes Welker. Brady’s wife also kept him in game-ready shape:

Brady also has an intense workout regimen that will surely keep him playing into his 40s. In the past, Brady has worked out with trainer Gunnar Peterson in the off-season for his upper-body and lower-body workouts.

Some of his exercises have included cable lat pull-downs, crunches, reverse crunches, forward lunges, medicine ball push-ups, triceps extensions, and cable press-downs. Brady’s workouts also include bodyweight exercises and workouts with resistance bands that him achieve greater flexibility in his muscles.


Sources:
Evans, D., “Tom Brady Has Never Eaten a Strawberry in His Entire Life,” New York Magazine website, Sept. 14, 2016; http://nymag.com/thecut/2016/09/tom-brady-spends-his-suspension-napping-and-repping-uggs.html.