Forget the Scarsdale and Atkins diets, world number one tennis player Novak Djokovic is publishing a book of his diet secrets next month and I’m going to scarf it up. (Think I’m nuts? How many Grand Slams has Dr. Atkins won?) According to the WSJ:
…in a new book that will be released next month, Djokovic reveals much more about the diet and regimen he follows—details he has, until now, kept quiet.
It offers a rare look into the mind of an elite athlete who has climbed to the top of a brutally competitive sport during one of its most competitive eras.
It also confirms something many tennis fans have long suspected: Novak Djokovic is a decidedly unusual fellow.
Want to roll like the world’s top men’s tennis player? Start by drinking loads of warm water all day long, as well as shakes made with pea protein concentrate. Avoid dairy and stay away from alcohol during tournaments. Eat lots of avocados, cashew butter and very little sugar. Banish caffeine, other than the occasional energy gel bar before matches. Be sure to get seven to eight hours of sleep a night, meditate, do plenty of yoga and tai chi, take melatonin supplements, hook yourself up to a biofeedback machine that measures your stress level and, when you have a free moment or two, keep a diary. Feel free to unwind with a cup of warm licorice tea.
And that’s not all. Apparently Nole’s, as he’s known to us tennis fans, secret sauce is something called manuka honey from New Zealand. He takes two spoonfuls of the stuff when he wakes up with a glass of warm water. (It evidently clears up acne too.)
That and twelve hours a day of practice and you’re in Wimbledon. Well, maybe not.
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