Diet change-up! Rob Gronkowski’s life has changed dramatically since he retired from professional football in March 2019, which means he has had to make substantial tweaks to his eating regimen.
While the former New England Patriots tight end, 30, once burned around 20,000 calories a day, his post-football life is considerably more relaxed — and that shift led him to re-examine what he eats. “Ever since not playing football anymore, you’ve got to really look at your diet because you’re living just normal life,” he told Us Weekly exclusively earlier this month. “So I really like to look at my diet now and I love sustaining my energy.”
To avoid sluggishness and keep his energy up, Gronkowski sticks to clean, healthy foods. “I like to do juices and I would say, açai bowls. They keep me going,” he explained. “Juicing in the morning and an açai bowl in the afternoon. They keep me going with no crash.”
Gronkowski told Us his juice of choice changes “depending on the day,” but he’s partial to green juices and drinks made with beets. “If I’m trying to clean out my system, I like to do a lot of green juices and some beet juices too, to keep my cardiovascular system going, because I still like to workout and stay active all the time,” he dished, noting that he’ll occasionally throw an apple in the mix to give his hearty beverage “a sweet taste.”
When he was still playing with the Patriots, Gronkowski’s diet was decidedly different. In fact, he even had a game day ritual that involved chowing down on a favorite childhood meal before hitting the field. “I always liked to have a peanut butter and jelly with chocolate milk,” he recalled. “My mom makes the best jelly out there, so it was always usually with her homemade jelly and it was just so good. I just feel like it gets you fueled up.”
The sandwich tradition, Gronkowski told Us, began when he was a kid and continued throughout his professional career. As he put it: “I just kept it going my whole life, basically, even through the pros.”
Though Gronkowski won’t be playing in Super Bowl LIV, he’ll certainly be keeping an eye on the action from the sidelines, as he’s hosting a bash called Gronk Beach Party in Miami on Saturday, February 1. The shindig comes as the athlete has teamed up with Uber Eats and his favorite Miami spot, The Salty Donut, to create his very own limited-edition Gronk Box.
With reporting by Kayley Stumpe
