For professional golfers, everyone has a different nutrition regimen. Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy notoriously eat very clean; Bryson DeChambeau famously went through a strict diet of basically protein shakes to bulk up; then there’s John Daly who seemingly doesn’t focus on nutritional recommendations at all.
Keegan Bradley is the latest golfer to focus heavily on his nutrition and what he is putting in his body after feeling fatigued throughout the past season. After he struggled in the final round of the BMW Championship and missed the Tour Championship, the 2011 PGA Champion knew he had to change something.
Bradley consulted with Dr. Joshua Levitt and decided he wanted to get back down to his college weight of 190 pounds, which meant he had to shed 30 pounds. And he took a nontraditional route, eating basically nothing but meat.
“If it walks, swims or flies, you can eat it, and I did a lot of fruit as well,” Bradley told Golf Digest. “I’d have eggs in the morning, maybe chicken or ground beef for lunch and then steak at night. All grass-fed meat is the key. No vegetables. And no condiments, no sides, no starches, not even ketchup. All I did was salt, pepper … and some hot sauce.”
Keegan Bradley lost 30 pounds in less than five months basically by eating only meat and riding a stationary bike.
The transformation: pic.twitter.com/HHHxYIXrRD
— Brentley Romine (@BrentleyGC) January 7, 2023
It wasn’t the easiest, but Bradley knew the results would be worth it.
“This is what I did for months, and it’s very difficult,” he said. “The times where I’m just craving you know, a piece of pizza or pasta I was telling myself, ‘No, this is this is part of the journey. It’s part of the process.’ But I feel good. I feel proud for doing it.
“At Zozo (Championship), coming down the stretch, I felt so good, and that whole week I felt so good. Even at CJ Cup, the week after with no sleep, jet lag, I put a good week together. And I just felt like (I have in) years past.”
Bradley lost 30 pounds in just four months. He said he feels better than he ever has and he’s ready for the grind of another season on the PGA Tour.
“I want to make the Ryder Cup team,” he said. “I’m second in the FedEx Cup, I want to stay there near the top. I went to 25th in the world, and I want to go forward. And I want to contend in more tournaments. I feel like, if I’m in better shape and feel better, physically, that’s only going to help.
“You know, a lot of people when they see me, they want to give me advice. ‘Now is when you should bulk up and lift.’ And I that’s not really what I’m looking to do. I’m just trying to feel better on the course. And I feel like I play my best golf when I’m super lean, kind of like when I first came out on tour.
“It’s very easy to fall into when you’re out here to do what everyone does and what you’re hearing. But it’s important to learn what’s best for you as a player.”
