What Draymond Green Eats to Live Like a Champion
Draymond Green knows what it takes to be the best. He’s a power forward for the Golden State Warriors. He was named to the NBA All-Defensive Team. He won his first NBA Championship with the Warriors in 2015. He was named an NBA All-Star in 2016 and helped the U.S. National Team clinch the gold in the Summer Olympics in Rio the same year. Basically, Draymond Green kicks ass and takes names.
But Green has worked hard to become the champion he is today. At a staggering 6 foot 7 inches, he’s considered a little short for a power forward, and started in the NBA close to 20 pounds heavier than he is now.
Green changed his diet and changed his life, which propelled him to reach all of those achievements. Read on and learn what Green eliminated from his diet that made all the difference.
Draymond’s Drop In The Draft
Green was a star basketball player in high school, leading his team to a Class A State Championship in his junior and senior years. He signed a letter of intent to play for the Michigan State Spartans where he also kicked butt.
But Draymond hasn’t always been on top. He was selected as the 35th overall pick by the Golden State Warriors in the 2012 NBA draft. Not exactly first pick, but Draymond made it into the NBA and was determined to succeed.
According to an article from ESPN, Green had struggled with his weight since his college days playing for Michigan State. Despite bringing the team to victory, helping the Spartans to two Final Four appearances and a Big Ten Tournament championship, his weight may have held him back at the start of his professional career.
Cutting Out The Junk
Green decided it was time to cut the crap – literally. In an ESPN article detailing the diets of the NBA’s top stars, he describes eliminating “bad carbs” from his diet. Carbs like bread, pasta and his beloved tacos from Vargas & Sons Tortillas in his hometown of Saginaw, Michigan.
He made the switch from unhealthy foods, to clean eating after his rookie year and, according to MLive.com dropped from near 248 pounds to a leaner, meaner 230 pounds. He arrived at training camp with less weight to lug and more energy to dedicate to his sport.
A study from the New England Journal of Medicine examined low carb diets like the one Green used to shed his rookie weight. Participants who were assigned a low carb, high fat, high protein diet were given a copy of Dr. Atkin’s guide and instructed to limit their carbohydrate intake.
Compared to participants following a conventional diet that got 60 percent of their calories from carbohydrates, 25 percent from fat and 15 percent from protein, the low carb group lost more weight after three months and six months. The low carb group had more urinary ketones, which present themselves when the body is breaking down fat for energy, during the first three months of the study as well.
Paleo, primal, Atkins, low carb – a diet that cuts crappy carbs can come under a lot of names, but for people like Green, they’re effective.
Green Rises To The Top
Once Green kicked the carbs, he felt better and performed even more like the stellar champion he is. During his second season with the Warriors he improved his scoring, rebounding, assist, steal and blocked shot averages. His three point shots got even better, too.
He told ESPN that losing the extra body fat has “alleviated chronic knee pain, improved his stamina and enabled him to cut down on mental errors.” That’s good news for Draymond Green and good news for anyone embarking on a low carb lifestyle to meet their fitness and physique goals.
After he kicked his extra body fat to the curb he was able to make the All-Star Team, the National Team and the NBA Championship. He took his passion to his work and improved on his already outstanding career.
He also joined the Performance Inspired Nutrition team, bringing his knowledge of nutrition and what it takes to be one of the greats. Green is part owner in the business, not just an athlete with an endorsement. He contributes his expertise when it comes to recovery and maximizing his nutrition, even getting his friends and teammates involved in the quest for the best, natural nutritional supplements.
Keeping It Clean
Green has maintained his weight loss since his second season with the Warriors, listed now at 230 pounds. He’s dedicated to keeping it off and keeping himself in the best shape possible to play. Green talked about getting the help of a chef to make sure he’s eating right and avoiding the pizza and tacos that he knows will be calling his name.
He also has a penchant for getting in workouts any way he can. When stationary bikes began to go missing from the Golden State Warriors practice facility, the mystery led the trainers right to the sauna. Green had been dragging the bikes into the sauna and riding them there. His theory, as explained by ESPN, was that by sweating hardcore as he peddled, he could lose more weight. He wasn’t far off either.
A study from the International Journal of Sports Medicine, looked at men and women who exercised in a sauna. Both lost weight, but most of the weight lost was just from expelled water. Women had a harder time bouncing back after hydrating, as well.
Draymond Green worked hard, changed his body and achieved his goals, but that’s not stopping him from going even further in his career and his fitness. He’s a champion. Always has been. It’s just a little easier to see without the extra 20 pounds.
