Retirement is evidently looking good on Tom Brady. So good, in fact, that while the 46-year-old did not necessarily need to lose weight, he said that he’s shed 10 pounds since stepping away from the NFL.
Brady made the remarks on this week’s episode of the Let’s Go! With Tom Brady, Larry Fitzgerald and Jim Gray podcast, after Fitzgerald lamented his own struggles with temptation when it comes to treats such as cheesecake, specifically, and staying fit in retirement.
“I think most people do because, you know, it’s a hard thing to do…. ‘Cause you know what that tastes like in your mouth and know the gratification it gives you,” Brady told his co-host. “And I think a lot of it for people out there, it’s hard ’cause there’s not instant gratification in showing discipline. But there’s instant gratification in having that cheesecake ’cause everyone knows it tastes good.”
He told Fitzgerald that at the end of the day, the trick to motivation is finding out what kind of exercise you enjoy.
“You’re lighter now than you were when you played, though,” Fitzgerald interjected, noting that the seven-time Super Bown champion looked like he was down 5 to 7 pounds.
“Yeah, I’m down about 10 pounds, but I’m actually very fit right now,” Brady admitted. “Probably not cardiovascularly, but I haven’t had the stress that I had while I was playing so that’s allowed me to focus a little bit more on my physical health.”
“But I think it’s important for everyone,” he continued. “Physical and mental health is so important to all of us. Without that, what do we really have? You could prioritize a lot of other things—career, kids, relationships, family, greater good, community. But at the end of the day, physical and mental health should sit at the top of the pyramid. You know, because if we don’t have that—when we don’t have that—we have nothing. So why wait until you’re on your death bed to start worrying about that?”
“I mean for me, I learned it because I was fortunate in my career to learn it, okay if I don’t take care of myself, I won’t have a career,” Brady explained. “But now, if I don’t take care of my life, I won’t have a life.” He said the trick for him, personally, is to wait out the 10 minutes of temptation and essentially let discipline take the wheel.
Brady has always been open about his clean diet. A few years back, his private chef shared with Men’s Journal that the quarterback, along with his now ex-wife Gisele Bündchen and their children, stuck to a diet of 80 percent fresh, organic veggies and whole grains like quinoa, millet, and beans; and 20 percent lean meats such as grass-fed organic steak, wild salmon, duck, and occasionally chicken.
However, to maintain his physique, Brady avoids GMOs, salt, white sugar, white flour, olive oil, caffeine, dairy, and most fruits. In other words, cheesecake doesn’t exactly make the cut.
