LeBron James Says He's Faster, In A Different 'Weight Class' After Extreme 67-Day Diet
The diet appears to be a modified paleo diet. He didn't eat sugar, carbs, or dairy and consumed only meat, fish, vegetables, and fruit for more than two months.
In the interview, which will air on CNN on Friday night, the new Cavaliers player said he dreamed of cookies and pancakes while on the diet. When asked if he was faster now, he said: "I am. I am. And that's not such a good thing for the competition."
LeBron was listed at 250 pounds last year, but that's widely considered a fabrication. ESPN's Brian Windhorst guessed that LeBron has been into the 260's in recent years.
Here's the full transcript from the Nichols interview:
RACHEL NICHOLS: You've already been putting in a lotta work to try to make this season successful, been on a pretty strict diet, you look lighter. I mean, how much weight did you lose?
LEBRON JAMES: I lost a few pounds. I lost - I haven't been in this weight class.
RN: Gimme a ballpark?
LJ: I'm in the 250ish range, you know, a lot lighter than I've been playing at in the last few years. But I feel good.
RN: The diet was strict, right?
LJ: Very strict. Sixty-seven days.
RN: And what did you eat or not eat?
LJ: I'll tell you what I couldn't have. No carbs, no sugar, no dairy, no refined sugar - no nothing. Meat. Fish. Veggies. Fruit.
RN: What was the hardest thing to give up?
LJ: It was either pancakes or chocolate chip cookies and ice cream.
RN: I mean, did you go to bed dreaming about pancakes -
LJ: Once -
RN: - that you couldn't have?
LJ: All the time. I had the cookie monster chasing me a few times in my dreams.
RN: Are you quicker on the court now?
LJ: I am. I am. And that's not such a good thing for the competition.
In August, LeBron posted this picture to Instagram, prompting a wave of interest in his dieting habits that is set to ramp up with the NBA season a month away:
