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As far as celebs living a healthy life, Tom Brady takes the cake. (Or, more accurately, the coconut mango cream pie.) The quarterback adheres to a pretty strict diet (no dairy, no sugar, no gluten, no nightshades, and 80 percent plants…), wears high-tech pajamas that maximize athletic recovery, and now has a book out explaining every facet of his wellness routine. (And that’s in addition to the health-forward online store he already has.)
The TB12 Method: How to Achieve a Lifetime of Sustained Peak Performance covers everything from exercise tips and nutrition to overall lifestyle hacks. Basically, Brady’s wellness education never stops. He’s continuously researching ways to keep his body—and brain—in optimal shape. So, what aspect of wellness has fascinated him the most? Sleep.
“I’ve enjoyed learning more in the past few years about the impact that proper sleep and recovery can have on performance,” Brady says. “[I’ve] tailored my sleep routine to ensure that the environment I’m sleeping in and what I’m wearing when I’m sleeping are working together to maximize the impact of those recovery hours.” Hence those fancy shamcy PJs.
“I didn’t change my lifestyle all at once. It was a gradual process, which got easier as I began to feel the positive effects of each change.”
When asked what the biggest wellness lesson he’s learned is, Brady says it’s without a doubt muscle pliability, AKA keeping your muscles flexible and mobile. “It helps athletes at any age and any level reduce the risk of non-contact injury,” he says. So if you want to be the Tom Brady of your boutique fitness class, put down the heavy weights and get out your foam roller.
Despite being one of the best-ever athletes, there are plenty of haters out there who say his super-healthy lifestyle (even coffee is off-limits) is extreme and too hard to live by. But Brady says it’s doable, if you make small improvements over time. “I didn’t change my lifestyle all at once,” Brady says. “I’m a big believer in the power of incremental steps. [My lifestyle] was a gradual process, which got easier as I began to feel the positive effects of each change.” His advice on how to live your healthiest life ever: Try making a small change for two weeks. “Drink more water (half your body weight in ounces) or switch to a mostly plant-based diet. I promise you’ll start to feel better and you’ll be on the path to sustaining your own peak performance.”
A few ways to live a little more like Brady: Cutting ties with dairy and sugar.
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