Looking to lose a few (or more) pounds? Learn how three prominent athletes achieved their weight-loss goals.
Athletes are role models, especially in the age of social media. Take basketball as an example. LeBron James started having a worldwide impact at the raw age of 18. Even in death, Kobe Bryant is still motivating people with his work ethic.
Our favorite athletes inspire us, especially as they face everyday issues like losing weight. Even high-performing athletes have had to drop weight, and how they achieved their weight loss can offer ideas, if not a blueprint, for people like you and me.
In this piece, we’ll show you how three athletes lost weight.
C.C. Sabathia: Major League Baseball legend C.C. Sabathia has had nothing short of a prolific career, playing 19 seasons professionally, mainly with the Cleveland Indians and the New York Yankees. At one point, this six-time All-Star was almost 50 pounds overweight, and that’s when Sabathia committed to getting into better shape. He shifted his eating routine to consuming foods high in plant-based foods like fruits and vegetables, focusing on lean protein derived from meat and fish, and restricting his intake of high-carb and sugar-based foods, red meat, and dairy products. Forty pounds of weight loss later, Sabathia credits following the Mediterranean Diet.
“I feel better. I feel like this is sustainable,” Sabathia said. He also mentioned getting into golf which allowed him to get active at his own pace doing something he enjoyed. That is an important takeaway because we don’t have to run our bodies into the ground to lose weight; we can do things we are passionate about in the exercise sector and still be healthy.
Kendrick Perkins: National Basketball Association center Kendrick Perkins spent 15 years in the league playing for the Boston Celtics (where he won his first championship), the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the New Orleans Pelicans. Perkins, now retired from the NBA, has lost over 30 pounds on a diet program called ‘Awaken180.’ Fad diets might work for some people, but Perkins believes that your best option is to look for a credible weight loss program tailored to your needs. That’s because, as a non-athlete, you don’t need to copy the professional diet of a 382 lb former NBA champion; your body is different.
But his journey to losing weight didn’t happen overnight and required some sacrifice. In the end, a proper diet and exercise did the trick. “I feel a whole lot better,” Perkins said. “It’s just a sacrifice you’ve got to put in. You’ve got to be honest, look yourself in the mirror, and go from there.”
Kevin Love: Another NBA star, power forward Kevin Love, played for two teams throughout his career–the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Immediately after being traded to the Cavaliers in 2014 to play alongside LeBron James, Love went to work and shaved off over 30 pounds. The five-time All-Star won his first championship there in 2016, and he credits most of his weight loss to his decision to shift to a primarily salmon-based diet.
“It’s all about foods that keep inflammation down,” Love says. “Changing to fish to get your proteins is a genius idea, as you can still get the meat you crave and season it to your heart’s content. You simultaneously get the omega-3 fatty acids and other nutrients that can be hard to get in a diet otherwise.”
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