- Top NFL Draft prospect Aidan Hutchinson said he follows Tom Brady's diet and got a TB12 body coach.
- But Hutchinson said he broke the diet while filming Barstool's One Bite pizza review series.
- Hutchinson said he regrets the review and eating dairy and gluten during combine training.
Aidan Hutchinson is projected to be one of the first players picked in the upcoming NFL Draft in April, according to CBS Sports draft analysts.
To get himself in draft pick shape, Hutchinson told Sports Illustrated on Monday that he implemented dietary practices from Tom Brady that involves cutting out certain food groups, like dairy and gluten. But Hutchinson said eating a slice of pizza during a recent interview derailed his goals.
While training for the NFL combine, where former college players put their athletic skills on display for NFL recruiters, Hutchinson said he participated in Barstool's One Bite Pizza review series, and he said he regrets eating a slice during filming.
"I was like, 'To have dairy, gluten, just like, what am I doing to myself?'" Hutchinson said. "So I had that piece of pizza, and it always just sits in the back of my mind. And if I'm ever feeling bad, with my body or something, I'm like, 'It's that damn piece of pizza.'"
The 21-year-old edge rusher told Sports Illustrated that his family has always been very health-conscious, and he said he got in touch with Brady for diet advice through a mutual contact at the University of Michigan, where Hutchinson and Brady both played college football.
Hutchinson said he hired his own body coach from Brady's wellness program TB12 and started following Brady's diet closely in 2019.
"It is hard, it is very hard," Hutchinson told Sports Illustrated. "But I know to be great, I'm going to have to make a lot of sacrifices. That was one that I'm willing to make easily because I want to get everything that I can out of this body."
While Hutchinson cuts out certain food groups, experts don't recommend restrictive food diets, Insider's Rachel Hosie previously reported. Registered dietitians Bonnie Taub-Dix and Alix Turoff previously told Insider that cutting out dairy and gluten would only benefit individuals who have sensitivities or allergies to those foods.
Brady's NFL diet excludes several other major food groups
Hutchinson told Sports Illustrated he's already adopted most of Brady's dietary restrictions, cutting cut out dairy, sugar, and alcohol, and putting limitations on his gluten intake. He also said he only drinks water, and tries to consume at least one gallon of water per day.
Hutchinson said the diet has already helped him lose 10 lbs, which he believes will help him adjust to the speed and flexibility needed in his position in the NFL.
Brady's diet completely cut out gluten rather than just limiting it, along with all refined carbs, caffeine, processed meats, trans fats, and even fruits and vegetables from the nightshade family like strawberries, eggplant, and tomatoes. He also drank 2.3 gallons of water per day.
At 21, Hutchinson has a six-year head start on his habits over his fellow Michigan alum. Brady didn't start following his lifestyle until 2005 when he met long-time body coach and TB12 co-founder Alex Guerrero.