Tom Brady is one of the most famous American football players. He is also the quarterback with the most Superbowl wins, with a total of 7 wins with the New England Patriots. Brady is also known for having an exceptionally long career for a professional athlete — well into his 40s — which he attributes to taking good care of himself with a healthy diet and exercise.
In 2017, Brady released a book titled The TB12 Method: How to Achieve Lifelong, Sustained Peak Performanceincluding his methodology to maintain his peak athletic performance for so many years.
The book covers Brady’s 12 Principles of Performance, including his training principles and philosophy on healthy living, including sleep and cognitive fitness, as well as a diet with nutritional guidelines and recipes.
Read on to find out exactly how Tom Brady eats.
What do you eat on the TB12 diet?
The Tom Brady diet, known as TB12, is based on the plant-based eating pattern that Brady has followed for years. He is not vegan or vegetarian, but follows a plan that includes about 80 percent plant foods and 20 percent animal foods. In addition to balanced meals with lots of vegetables, Tom also incorporates several smoothies into his day, made with TB12 brand pea protein.
However, powder isn’t the only way an athlete can achieve their protein goals.
One ingredient that is mentioned several times in the recipes on the TB12 website is almond butter. Almond butter is a delicious and nutritious ingredient, providing 5 to 7 grams of protein per 2 tablespoon serving. And the website notes that Tom eats “nuts and seeds as a snack.”
Eggs are also an excellent, budget-friendly source of protein. Sure enough, the TB12 diet includes eggs in its recommended recipes and in a list of foods to eat, not only for their protein content, but also for their immune-supporting nutrients, like vitamin D. The website recommends eating them daily as scrambled eggs, as a snack, or topping a Brussels sprouts and potato hash.
While pizza may seem like a forbidden food for Tom, you can enjoy it on TB12 if you make it with a cauliflower crust. The site offers a recipe for a crust made with fresh cauliflower, Parmesan cheese, and an egg. It recommends topping it with vegetables like bell peppers, onions, spinach, and broccoli, which sounds pretty good to this dietitian.
What should you not eat on the TB12 diet?
The TB12 website offers ways to “feed your body like Tom Brady.” This includes eating only real, whole foods and avoiding processed foods, including white bread, chips, and foods with added sugar that come in boxes or bags. Foods with any amount of trans fat, such as fried foods, are also eliminated.
Diet followers are also advised to choose sweet potatoes over white potatoes, red bell peppers over green, carrots and dried apricots over processed snacks, cashews and walnuts over almonds (although almond butter is used in many smoothies), and oranges and berries over apples. The reason for these specific recommendations is due to higher levels of immune-supporting nutrients like beta-carotene and vitamin C.
Although alcohol and caffeinated beverages are not explicitly mentioned as foods to avoid, they are cited as culprits of dehydration, and a link is also made between dehydration and inflammation.
Is TB12 anti-inflammatory?
TB12 emphasizes that by focusing on eating more plants and limiting animal foods to just 20% of your diet, you “help ensure you reduce unnecessary inflammation, giving you the energy to recover faster and perform better.”
There are also articles on the TB12 site that explain what chronic inflammation is and why it is linked to many health problems, including diabetes and heart disease. TB12 advocates regular exercise as a way to protect against inflammation.
Sample shopping list
The TB12 website does not include a sample diet plan, but it does offer general nutritional advice, recipes (especially smoothies), and a printable shopping list.
The list includes:
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Berries
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Zucchini
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Sweet potatoes
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Brown rice
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Peppers
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Kale
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Nuts
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Beans
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Salmon
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Avocados
Benefits of the TB12 Diet
A key tenet of Tom’s nutrition plan is hydration. As soon as he wakes up at 6 a.m., he starts by drinking a combination of 20 ounces of water with his branded electrolyte mix. Brady recommends hydrating during workouts and stresses the importance of electrolytes. He advocates drinking half your body weight in ounces of water every day.
I like that TB12 advocates getting enough fiber in your diet and eating balanced meals, and that there is an emphasis on regular exercise.
Another selling point for TB12 is its emphasis on building healthy lifestyle habits that you can practice daily, including meditation and foam rolling. And unlike many fad diets that promote rapid weight loss, the focus here is on health and performance, not on achieving the ideal body.
Disadvantages of the TB12 Diet
Your wallet will likely be a lot lighter after following this diet. The plant-based protein powder costs $54 for 30 servings, and since the diet recommends drinking lots of smoothies, one can may not last you a whole month.
There’s also an online quiz to help you identify areas you need help with, like sleep, inflammation, immune health, and focus. I took the quiz and was given a list of three supplements (protein powder, electrolytes, and the Recover joint supplement) for a total of $146, as well as a recommendation to purchase the Vibrating Pliability Sphere for $119, a Nutrition Sample Pack, which I couldn’t find on the site, and a shaker bottle ($30) for making smoothies.
You can follow the diet without having to buy the specific TB12 supplements and protein powder. However, apart from the shopping list and recipes, there is no specific diet plan to follow and very little guidance on portion sizes. So it can be difficult to create a plan on your own if you don’t have a specific diet plan.
Is the TB12 diet healthy?
With an emphasis on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds, TB12 provides the foundation for a healthy eating plan. By incorporating the recommended foods into your daily life, you’ll be following a diet high in fiber and protein that will also help you reduce the amount of saturated fat you consume, which can help reduce your risk of long-term illnesses like heart disease.
Why is TB12 controversial?
Critics of TB12 cite the cost of ingredients and supplements and the restrictions on nightshade plants such as eggplant, tomatoes, peppers and potatoes. This contradicts the website’s recommendation to eat red peppers. Other concerns include the lack of scientific evidence to support health claims and the difficulty of following a diet that does not include convenience foods.
In short, while the TB12 diet does offer some health benefits, it can be expensive and difficult to follow, and it doesn’t guarantee results.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com