TORONTO – He said he had dreams of the Cookie Monster chasing him.
For more than two months, NBA star LeBron James says he lived off of whole foods and avoided processed fare in an attempt to slim down.
It seems to have worked. The Cleveland Cavaliers frontman is garnering plenty of attention for his slimmed-down look at the start of his 12th basketball season.
The details of his extremely strict diet are making waves, too.
“I had no sugar, no dairy, I had no carbs. All I ate was meat, fish, veggies and fruit. That’s it. For 67 straight days,” he told Sports Illustrated magazine.
He called it a “mental challenge” that he pushed through – initially, the plan was to cut back for just a month, but he kept going.
“I’ll tell you what I couldn’t have: no carbs, no sugar, no dairy, no refined sugar. No nothing,” he told CNN in another interview.
The hardest thing to give up? It was a toss-up between pancakes or chocolate chip cookies and ice cream, he says.
“I had the Cookie Monster chasing me a few times in my dreams,” he said.
In a string of interviews about his transformation, he wouldn’t say how much weight he lost and only referred to losing a “few” pounds. Regardless of the scale, he says he feels lighter and is quicker on the court.
Celebrity diets run the gamut from eating gluten-free, taking up veganism or having meals that can only be eaten via straw.
READ MORE: Do fad diets followed by celebrities work?
On Dec. 3 last year, and just a day before his 44th birthday, rapper Jay-Z pledged to take on 22 days of veganism with his wife Beyonce. To show his commitment, he even blogged about it.
The power couple is a part of a bigger movement of consumers taking on part-time veganism.
carmen.chai@globalnews.ca
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