Russell Wilson leans on nine-meal diet to trim pounds

[Hammock Parties]

The amount of calories these guys can take in and still lose weight is absurd.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300...gn=Twitter_atn

Much has been made of Tom Brady's boundary-pushing dietary habits, but he isn't the only pro signal-caller rethinking his shopping list.

Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson has used the offseason to transform his eating habits in hopes of upping his game come September.

"He was an animal about it," food coach and nutritionist Philip Goglia said of Wilson, per ESPN's Sheil Kapadia. "The f---ing guy buried himself in this, and it's epic to see, because that really validates him as a complete athlete."

Giving teammate Eddie Lacy a run for his money on the weight-loss front, Wilson has seen his weight drop from 225 pounds with 16 percent body fat to 214 pounds with 10 percent body fat on the new meal plan.

Goglia has worked with a laundry list of athletes and celebrities, notably helping actor Chris Pratt shift his lovably larger frame in Parks and Recreation to a trimmed-down machine for Guardians of the Galaxy. Pratt lost nearly 60 pounds in six months using Goglia's diet and exercise regimen.

After battling ankle and knee injuries last season, Wilson sought out Goglia in March, with the registered nutritionist telling Kapadia: "He came in feeling as though he was too heavy and not mobile enough. And he wanted to get his weight down. He was over 225. He felt as though he needed to be leaner and stronger and more agile. And that's my wheelhouse."

Goglia actually upped Wilson's calorie count from 2,700 calories to 4,800 per day to transform how the quarterback's body processed food.

"When you think metabolism, everybody will think fast or slow. And it's not. Metabolism is ultimately hot or cold," Goglia said. "Every fat guy will say, 'Food makes you fat. I eat one can of tuna and an apple a day.' And that's why they're fat. Not enough caloric heat. Especially in athletes. Athletic temperatures are huge metabolically. They have a big metabolic load. The more muscle you have, the more food you need. That's the baseline concept."

Wilson's current meal plan asks him to eat a whopping nine times a day while cutting out all aspects of dairy and gluten. Per Kapadia, here's a typical day of meals for Seattle's QB1:

» Pre-breakfast: Tablespoon of almond butter and a tablespoon of jam

» Breakfast: Two cups of cooked oatmeal, six whole eggs, fruit, chicken breast DAWG THIS IS LIKE 1200 CALORIES

» Snack: Fruit and 12 almonds

» Lunch: Eight ounces of protein with a yam or a cup of rice or a potato and a vegetable

» Second lunch: Eight ounces of protein with a yam or a cup of rice or a potato and a vegetable

» Snack: Fruit and 12 almonds

» Snack: Fruit, 12 almonds and whey protein

» Dinner: Fish or steak and vegetables or salad

» Snack: Fruit and a tablespoon of molasses or shredded wheat, applesauce, almond butter and jam

According to Goglia, Wilson's favorable results have just as much to do with what he's not eating.

"One of the important things with Russell and the elite athletes is that none of the foods he consumes are inflammatory foods, which means no yeast, no mold, no dairy, no gluten," Goglia said. "Dairy's like eating moderately hard phlegm. It adversely affects oxygen. No dairy, no breads -- muffins, bagels -- nothing that is yeast, mold and gluten-bound. So starches are always one-ingredient guys like potatoes or rice or yams or oatmeal. If it's got more than one ingredient in it, he couldn't eat it."

Said Wilson: "I love cheese -- hence Wisconsin [where we went to school]. I love cheese, so that's always something that you've got to be careful of."

While it's not a diet the average American would embrace, the average American isn't being asked to run Seattle's offense this autumn. Wilson admits the changes haven't been easy, but the results speak for themselves.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by mr. tegu

You know what's funny though? I never eat just a hamburger, always a cheeseburger. But when we say let's make them for dinner, we say, "let's make hamburgers." Is anyone else the same way?

Yeah, I'm the same way at home. I'm more precise at restaurants because I can't take any chances that there won't be cheese on the burger.

[pugsnotdrugs19]

This is quite confusing and interesting to me. I'm not going to go into this too in depth, but just about anyone you talk to about weight loss will tell you that it's all about caloric intake. 'Calories in, calories out'. It makes sense that way. If you are in a positive energy balance, you should gain weight, and vise versa.

So I'm just trying to understand how the dude could be losing more weight by eating that many more calories. I would say that it could be due to low carbs allowing fat to be used for energy, but there are still quite a few carbs in his diet.

Reminds me of the Michael Phelps deal where he would eat like 9000 calories a day or some crazy shit when training for the Olympics.

[mr. tegu]

Originally Posted by pugsnotdrugs19

This is quite confusing and interesting to me. I'm not going to go into this too in depth, but just about anyone you talk to about weight loss will tell you that it's all about caloric intake. 'Calories in, calories out'. It makes sense that way. If you are in a positive energy balance, you should gain weight, and vise versa.

So I'm just trying to understand how the dude could be losing more weight by eating that many more calories. I would say that it could be due to low carbs allowing fat to be used for energy, but there are still quite a few carbs in his diet.

Reminds me of the Michael Phelps deal where he would eat like 9000 calories a day or some crazy shit when training for the Olympics.

Wilson probably burns something like 3,000 to 3,500 calories each day just doing nothing given how muscular he is. Add in his workouts and he is probably at a calorie deficit each day.

[Hammock Parties]

Something doesn't add up because between workouts and practice there's no way Wilson should have gained weight eating only 2700 calories.

I'm going to guess he likes his beer.

[pugsnotdrugs19]

Originally Posted by Hammock Parties

Something doesn't add up because between workouts and practice there's no way Wilson should have gained weight eating only 2700 calories.

I'm going to guess he likes his beer.

This is the most realistic theory I would say. Something like alcohol would have to be involved to see such an odd change, IMO

[RunKC]

Originally Posted by pugsnotdrugs19

This is quite confusing and interesting to me. I'm not going to go into this too in depth, but just about anyone you talk to about weight loss will tell you that it's all about caloric intake. 'Calories in, calories out'. It makes sense that way. If you are in a positive energy balance, you should gain weight, and vise versa.

So I'm just trying to understand how the dude could be losing more weight by eating that many more calories. I would say that it could be due to low carbs allowing fat to be used for energy, but there are still quite a few carbs in his diet.

Reminds me of the Michael Phelps deal where he would eat like 9000 calories a day or some crazy shit when training for the Olympics.

What you eat really matters. I imagine he was consuming more beer, sodium and sugar than he needed to be.

Imagine eating at a Mexican restaraunt and having a beer or two. You'll feel like taking a nap after because that's a metric **** load of carbs and sodium. Water weight galore.

[pugsnotdrugs19]

"Calories from alcohol are 'empty calories', they have no nutritional value. Most alcoholic drinks contain traces of vitamins and minerals, but not usually in amounts that make any significant contribution to our diet. Drinking alcohol also reduces the amount of fat your body burns for energy2."

Yeah, I'd say it HAD to be beer/alcohol.

[pugsnotdrugs19]

Originally Posted by RunKC

What you eat really matters. I imagine he was consuming more beer, sodium and sugar than he needed to be.

Imagine eating at a Mexican restaraunt and having a beer or two. You'll feel like taking a nap after because that's a metric **** load of carbs and sodium. Water weight galore.

That's a good point too. A lot of water weight could be involved.

That's why I just roll my eyes when people say they can lose 9 pounds in a couple of days, when 95% of it is water.

[ShiftyEyedWaterboy]

Originally Posted by Hammock Parties

Something doesn't add up because between workouts and practice there's no way Wilson should have gained weight eating only 2700 calories.

I'm going to guess he likes his beer.

The way I'm reading that, he was trying to cut this offseason at 2700. Then this new guy ups his cals to 4800 and he starts dropping weight more quickly.

Which also sounds kind of bizarre (that much of an increase) but what do I know? These guys have the means to totally dedicate themselves to pro-athlete training programs and hire professionals to track/prepare every single calorie that goes into their bodies.

[Silock]

Originally Posted by Hammock Parties

Something doesn't add up because between workouts and practice there's no way Wilson should have gained weight eating only 2700 calories.

I'm going to guess he likes his beer.

Well, I guess it depends.

First, we know that for explosive sports, the body prefers carbohydrates for energy and will preferentially burn them. Some people don't do well on low-carb diets, so if he didn't eat a lot of carbs, he might have not been burning a ton of calories because he just COULDN'T.

Second, we know that if you're burning a lot of calories, you can eat a ton of carbs and they basically will never be stored as fat. When people eat a ton of carbs AND fat, that's when they gain weight (or don't lose it). The body burns off the carbs and stores the fat, which is conveniently already in fat form, as fat!

Third, it appears as though his new diet is pretty low on fat, and high on carbs.

So, what I deduce from this new diet is that 1) He's got a lot more energy, primarily from his carb sources, 2) leading to more intense workouts, allowing him to burn up all of the increased calories, 3) leading to a bigger energy deficit, and 4) he's not eating a ton of fat to be stored as fat, which leads to losing weight through better food choices for his activity.

Just a guess.

[Nickhead]

Originally Posted by mr. tegu

You know what's funny though? I never eat just a hamburger, always a cheeseburger. But when we say let's make them for dinner, we say, "let's make hamburgers." Is anyone else the same way?

you cannot order a hamburger in australia. it ALWAYS has cheese on it.

/breaks quote

i assume his wife no longer has any wifely duties?

[HemiEd]

This is a very interesting thread with a lot of good information. I have finally learned a few things on this subject after all these years that is helping me.

We have totally eliminated dairy, potatoes and pasta from our diet the last eight months and count/log every calorie.

It is nice to find something that works for us old farts.

Of course it is also nice that eggs are no longer the devil to the cardiologists.

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by HemiEd

the last eight months and count/log every calorie.

It's actually amazing how easy it is to track this stuff if you use a good website and your diet doesn't vary a whole lot.

After a month or so you can do it in your sleep and even though your calorie count may not be 100% accurate over the long haul it keeps you accountable and prevents you from going over your BMR. If you don't do that, all you're going to do is drop weight.

[HemiEd]

Originally Posted by Hammock Parties

It's actually amazing how easy it is to track this stuff if you use a good website and your diet doesn't vary a whole lot.

After a month or so you can do it in your sleep and even though your calorie count may not be 100% accurate over the long haul it keeps you accountable and prevents you from going over your BMR. If you don't do that, all you're going to do is drop weight.

That is exactly what has made it possible for me.

Ten years ago, the website I used on my first attempt was at it's infancy. You had to manually enter all of the nutritional data for almost everything which made it unsustainable for me.

Now, virtually everything you can buy is entered, including chain restaurants, so it is just a matter of entering the serving size and it calculates real time data for you.

You know exactly why you feel lean and mean or bloated the next day.

Cool stuff IMO.

The amount of sodium in restaurant and prepared food is almost criminal imo.

[penguinz]

» Breakfast: Two cups of cooked oatmeal

"One of the important things with Russell and the elite athletes is that none of the foods he consumes are inflammatory foods

These two statements are contradictory of themselves.