And in one of the cruel ironies that he didn’t realize at the time when he was with the Raiders, he was actually the team’s Fuel Up to Play 60 spokesman. So he’d talk to schools about the importance of eating a healthy breakfast, including a lot of dairy, which is no longer part of his routine.
But that’s not the only thing he’s had to learn. Fried foods create inflammation for him, so those trips to Zaxby’s that were so routine are now a thing of the past. And for a guy who was born and raised in South Carolina, the reality that calabash shrimp can’t be a regular part of your life is a hurdle.
Instead, he eats a lot of chicken, more than ever imagined.
“I mean, there’s a 100 different ways to make chicken,” he said with a laugh. “You can season it differently. I didn’t realize I like chicken as much as I do.”
There’s also a lot of rice, a lot of steamed vegetables, and an absence of processed foods.
“The swings are so big, so I eat one little small piece of fried food, and I feel pretty bad for a couple of days,” he said. And so just cutting that out, I feel more energy from a day-to-day aspect.
“Really, it’s stuff I should be eating anyway because I didn’t realize that eating cleanly could taste good. It sounds simple, but eating the things I should be eating anyway and staying away from what I’m not supposed to be eating. Now I’m realizing, all right, there are healthy options that taste good, you know? I don’t have to go for the Pringles or whatever, and I can eat clean, and it can taste good and make me feel better.”