TO SUPER BOWL MVP Jalen Hurts, nutrition is just another form of training. To be the strongest quarterback in the NFL means staying consistent throughout the year. “An excuse people always tell athletes is, ‘You workout a lot, you can eat whatever you want,'” he says in the latest episode of MH’s “Eat Like” series. “There’s some truth in that, but I think you need to have some discipline as well.”
A typical day of eating for the football star starts with a protein (typically eggs or turkey bacon), fruits, and sometimes a carb like a potato or toast. For lunch, he’s packing in the salads—his go-tos are a Cesar or a cobb to “keep it light.” For dinner, he rotates through his “big three”—fish, chicken, or steak—and he’ll pair that with some vegetables. Depending on the season he’ll switch up the carb because “you don’t want to walk around feeling too heavy all the time,” he says.
As far as snacks go, he’s always chowing down on a handful of sunflower seeds when spending hours in the office coming up with his game plans. It makes him nostalgic for the baseball he used to play as a kid, he says. Cheat days to him are more like rewards, and his go-to reward is Blue Bell ice cream and homemade cookies the wife of Jeremiah Washburn, senior defense assistant of the Eagles, makes for the team after big wins. “Sometimes I’ll indulge, sometimes I won’t,” he says.
His favorite comfort food, though? Fried chicken. “Fresh out of the grease.”
Read Hurts’s full Men’s Health cover story here and watch the full “Eat Like” video above.
Cori Ritchey, C.S.C.S., is an Associate Health & Fitness Editor at Men’s Health, a certified strength and condition coach, and group fitness instructor. She reports on topics regarding health, nutrition, mental health, fitness, sex, and relationships. You can find more of her work in HealthCentral, Livestrong, Self, and others.
