Floyd Mayweather Jr. has never lost a professional fight, holds eight world boxing titles and was just named by Forbes as the highest-paid athlete in the world.
But when The Huffington Post asked him about any special diet tips, he said, "I don't really have a diet because I walk around at my fight weight. I can basically eat anything."
Mayweather was one of the seven world-class athletes HuffPost asked about their diet habits, and he wasn't alone in terms of not always sticking to a super healthy, highly disciplined nutrition plan. From a pro soccer player to a female UFC champ, check out these athletes' responses below, and then scroll down to see what two nutritionists had to say about diets for workouts:
Landon Donovan
"It's not necessarily one thing I do. I think it's an <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/16/landon-donovan-us-national-team_n_3286517.html?utm_hp_ref=the-schultz-report" target="_blank">overall lifestyle</a>, and what I do is I'm always thinking about, you know: Is this decision that I'm about to make gonna help me be better as a player, but also in life, am I gonna feel good by making this decision? ... I don't eat perfectly all the time. I have In-N-Out burgers after the game."
Age: 31
United States National Team all-time leader in scoring and assists; four-time winner of U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year.
Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
In a <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/08/floyd-mayweather-jr-showtime_n_3239845.html?utm_hp_ref=the-schultz-report" target="_blank">previous interview</a>, Mayweather told HuffPost, "I don't really have a diet because I walk around at my fight weight. I can basically eat anything, but if I cheat, it makes me work that much harder."
Age: 36
Best Fighter ESPY Award in 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2012; two-time No. 1 on Forbes and SI World's 100 highest-paid athletes; eight boxing world titles.
Jose Bautista, Toronto Blue Jays
"My muscles get sore the next day if I don't eat enough protein or drink enough water. Recovery time has a lot to do with diet."
Age: 32
Three-time MLB All-Star; two-time MLB Home Run Champion (2010-2011).
Al Horford, Atlanta Hawks
"I'm a big snacker. I try to eat five, six times a day. You don't have to have those big, heavy meals all the time. ... It's harder on the road trying to eat the right way."
Age: 26
Two-time NCAA champion at University of Florida; third overall pick in 2007 NBA Draft; two-time NBA All-Star (2010-2011).
Ray Rice, Baltimore Ravens
"I'm a big fan of what you put in your body is what you get out of it. ... I actually went on an 18- to 21-day cleanse after the season."
"I just kind of like eat clean ... low carbs, you know, obviously but, a lot of greens."
Age: 26
Super Bowl Champion (XLVII); three-time Pro Bowler; two-time All-Pro; first team All-American at Rutgers in 2007.
Ronda Rousey, UFC Fighter
"People say this all the time and everyone like nods their head and is like 'Oh yeah, totally,' but no one ever does it, including myself. I can do better at it, is just drinking a lot of water, like a gallon and a half, two gallons a day, like straight water all day."
Age: 26
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/15/ronda-rousey-ufc_n_3245483.html?utm_hp_ref=the-schultz-report" target="_blank">First and current UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion</a>; Olympic bronze medal in judo at the 2008 Olympics.
Al Horford, Atlanta Hawks
"I drink lots of water. Getting my rest; sleeping is very important. ... Those are things that allow me to work and prepare every day. ... It's almost like a lifestyle. You have to sacrifice, especially the way that you eat. I think that determines a lot on how you're going to perform."
Age: 27
Two-time NBA All-Star; two-time NCAA National Champion
Dr. Susan Kleiner, the owner of High Performance Nutrition, LLC, in Washington state, told HuffPost that for athletes, "[a healthy diet] lays a foundation for maximizing your training and conditioning."
"The next huge thing is recovery nutrition," she said. "Hydrating before and making sure you continue to hydrate and/or fuel during training."
Sports nutritionist and published author Nancy Clark raved about the benefits of eating a nutritional breakfast to help fuel workouts, including high-protein foods like eggs, Greek yogurt and cottage cheese.
Email me at jordan.schultz@huffingtonpost.com or ask me questions about anything sports-related at @Schultz_Report.
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