Tom Brady Clarifies Rumors About His ‘Super Regimented’ Diet

Tom Brady clarified recent controversy over his notoriously strict diet, telling People, “I don't think it's a diet. I think it's just a lifestyle.”

The 46-year-old newly minted Hall of Famer explained that his infamously restrictive meal plan is a combination of preference and conditioning. “I ate the way that I ate because it helped me perform. So it's like, why change?” Brady reasoned. “I had 28 years of really intense physical conditioning, so that never gets too far away from me,” he added.

“I already like the stuff I like anyway. It's not like I'm eating stuff I don't like. I just eat the food I like,” Brady explained. “It's just over years, my tastes have changed and adapted to probably a little healthier foods.”

Brady pushed back at those who say his diet is too “regimented,” such as former Patriots teammate Julian Edelman. Edelman also gave a recent interview to People in which he revealed Brady’s somewhat pathetic cheat meal.

“I don't think it's a diet. I think it's just a lifestyle, and I don't think it's super regimented,” Brady said. “I couldn't even go back to eating the bad food that maybe I ate in the past just because I wouldn't even feel good.”

That doesn’t mean Brady doesn’t treat himself every once in a while, but he has high expectations for the quality of his cheat treats. “My thing is, if I'm going to eat ice cream, I want to eat good ice cream. I'm not going to buy some sh--ty 7-Eleven ice cream,” he joked. I want gelato. Here we go. You know what I mean? That's how you should do it.”

Even though he’s presumably retired for good, Brady isn’t about to let himself go. He told the outlet he still prioritizes his physical and mental health, in part to be the best father he can to his three children with ex-wife Gisele Bündchen.

“My physical body is so important to me. I relied on it so long to perform, and I still do because I love being active. When I'm with my kids, I want to be skiing with them. I want to be on the boards, I want to be surfing with them. I want to golf…but I don't want to be in pain,” Brady explained. “So I still focus a lot of time on my physical body and my mental health.”