Embracing a “mostly vegan” diet, Sixers big man Jahlil Okafor dropped 20 pounds this summer.
Jahlil Okafor made a big change to his diet, drops 20 pounds. https://t.co/UC1HYzBNNC
— Jessica Camerato (@JCameratoCSN) August 25, 2017
Okafor, 21, is down to 258 pounds and says his body feels light.
The 21-year-old wants to play all 82 games in 2017-18, after having his first two seasons in the NBA cut short by injuries.
Per CSN Philly:
“I’ve cut out dairy, so that’s cheese, chocolate, stuff like that,” Okafor said Thursday at the Sixers Shore Tour in Wildwood Crest, N.J. “But every now and then I still might eat some fish.”
Okafor changed how he starts his day. Now, his uncle prepares a meal out of a vegan cookbook for him each morning. Okafor likes the recipe options so he doesn’t “get bored going vegan.”
“I feel lighter, I feel great,” he said. “I’ve been taking my body seriously, my health seriously, what I eat very seriously. So I think it’s going to pay off.”
A groove has been hard to find for Okafor. Last season, he faced trade talks and inconsistent playing time. His role varied from a starter to backup to not playing at all. This season, the Sixers once again have to sort out their frontcourt. Richaun Holmes has made a case for playing time, and the team added veteran Amir Johnson over the summer.
“I think it’s going to be a lot of fun,” Okafor said of the upcoming season. “I don’t want to put anything out there what we’re going to do, but we have a lot of talent. We have to stay healthy and be patient. Everything’s not going to happen all at once, but we have all the pieces in order to do that.”
