Phoenix Suns point guard Chris Paul, also known as CP3, is 37 years old and in his 18th season of professional basketball. Last year, he led his Arizona team to the top of the Western Conference and the year before to the NBA Finals. He is also a 12-time All-Star and 10-time All-NBA player.
So, what’s his secret? Among many he attributes his energy and longevity at stake for its plant-based diet, which has been getting quite a bit of national attention lately in GQ magazine, VegNews magazine and a recent endorsement of JUST Egg.
In a statement to The Republic, Paul said he is plant-based and not vegan. While vegans eat a plant-based diet, they also usually avoid using products made from animals in all areas of life, including clothing.
But Paul has not always forgotten meat. According to VegNews. His pregame food usually included burgers and fried chicken until he switched to plant-based food in 2019 at the age of 34. And that was not easy in the beginning.
“I’m telling you, I was itching,” he told Men’s Health in a 2020 interview shortly after first making the change. “I thought I needed a chicken wing or something. But somehow I got through it.”
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Why does Chris Paul have to give up meat?
In the same Men’s Health interview, Paul cited the movie “The Game Changers,” which he produced, as the catalyst for his diet change.
Available on Netflix, the documentary is directed by Louie Psihoyos and narrated by James Wilkes, an American martial arts champion and combat trainer for government agencies. In the film, Wilkes talks about his own shift to a plant-based diet and interviews doctors, anthropologists and other athletes who switched to plant-based eating and then to set or break records.
Paul decided to give this way of eating a try because “I’m very competitive,” he said.
VegNews reports that Paul is one of the athletes to endorse products that align with his health and wellness value.
“When I started, it was all about basketball,” he said in a June 2022 interview with JUST Egg, the mung bean egg replacement company that makes a product he endorses. But it became more. “I started thinking about life and life expectancy,” he said.
What does Chris Paul eat on a normal day?
Paul’s favorite Phoenix spot is Flavor’s Vegan food truck, which serves vegetable tacos, burgers, and loaded fries. But his typical day does not include these delicious dishes.
He recently shared what he eats on a normal day with GQ, explaining that he eats a lot of vegetable pancakes, as well as JUST Egg scrambles with vegetables, Beyond Meat sausage and fruit. For lunch and dinner, his chef often makes sautéed vegetables, rice, salad, and whole grains, which he supplements with protein drinks.
“The most important thing when I started eating plant-based is that it opened me up to the diversity of foods you can have,” he said in the interview.
And he still eats his favorite cookies, cinnamon and raisin cookies, chocolate chip cookies and churros, just the vegan versions.
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What was the hardest food to give up?
Originally from Winston Salem, North Carolina, fried chicken was the hardest food to give up. “It’s crazy to drive through Bojangles now and not even be able to look at it,” he told GQ.
It seems to be paying off. Paul reports that he has much less pain, so that he used to be unable to play outside with his children. And off-season he has more energy to train.
“It’s not for everyone, but it’s been a good lifestyle change for me.”
Reach the reporter at BAnooshahr@azcentral.com. Follow @banooshahr on Twitter.
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