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Tom Brady. Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images
Tom Brady is feeling lighter — in more ways than one — since retiring from the NFL.
Brady, 46, revealed on the latest episode of SiriusXM’s “Let’s Go!” podcast that he’s “down about 10 pounds” from what he weighed while playing professional football. “I’m actually very fit right now,” he continued. “I haven’t had the stress that I had while I was playing, so that’s allowed me to focus a little bit more on my physical health.”
Brady noted that “it’s important for everyone” to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. “Physical and mental health is so important to all of us. Without that, what do we really have?” he said. “You could prioritize a lot of other things — career, kids, relationships, family, greater good, community. But at the end of the day, physical and mental health should sit at the top of the pyramid because if we don’t have that, we have nothing.”
After more than 20 years in the league, Brady initially announced his retirement in February 2022. One month later, however, he changed his tune. Brady played one last season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before leaving the sport for good earlier this year. (He joined the Florida team in 2020 following 19 years on the New England Patriots.)
In an Instagram video shared in February, Brady joked that he would quickly “get to the point” about his NFL future. “I know the process was a pretty big deal last time, so when I woke up this morning, I figured I’d just press record and let you guys know first,” he joked. “I won’t be long-winded. You only get one super emotional retirement essay and I used mine up last year.”
Brady went on to thank his loyal fans for supporting him throughout his career. “Every single one of you … my family, my friends, my teammates, my competitors. I could go on forever,” he concluded. “Thank you guys for allowing me to live out my absolute dream. I wouldn’t change a thing.”
Four months after hanging up his helmet, Brady exclusively opened up to Us Weekly about his shifting priorities. “I think for me, how it looks going forward, I get to really think about and strategize and try to plan out to the best of my ability,” he told Us in June. “I’m really looking forward to] finding ways to go out there and challenge myself and try to do the best I could do with these different opportunities.”
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Brady has turned his focus toward “the things that mean the most,” including his children. “Being with my kids and my family and traveling and doing some different things and experiencing that, and then staying busy with things work-wise, you know, professionally are things that I certainly enjoy,” he explained.
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As a professional athlete, health was always top of mind for Brady, whose unconventional diet raised eyebrows over the years. He went into more detail about his eating habits in his 2017 book, The TB12 Method, noting that “alkalizing” and “anti-inflammatory” foods are key for “sustained peak performance.”
Personal chef Allen Campbell previously outlined Brady’s list of restrictions in a 2016 interview with the Boston Globe. “No white sugar. No white flour. No MSG,” he said. “I’ll use raw olive oil, but I never cook with olive oil. I only cook with coconut oil. Fats like canola oil turn into trans fats. … I use Himalayan pink salt as the sodium. I never use iodized salt. … What else? No coffee. No caffeine. No fungus. No dairy.”
