Tom Brady barks back at critics of his once rigid NFL diet

Tom Brady hit back at critics of his once strict NFL diet as he joked that he sometimes indulges in sweets after retiring.

“I think it’s moderation in all things,” Brady, 48, told CNBC while discussing his partnership with Ferrero in an interview shared on Tuesday. “People have gone kinda overboard with the rigidity of my lifestyle or diet.”

“I have kids and I have Halloweens and birthday parties and we’re like a normal family, so I try to make really healthy choices as often as possible. But when you’re watching football games and you’re at games, you’re traveling and you’re in airports, I understand the reality of life as well.”

Brady, who is seen nibbling on a Nestle Crunch bar and checking out a Butterfingers table in his new FIFA World Cup ad in partnership with the chocolate brand, added that he sometimes partakes in sweets while hanging out with his children: Jack, 18, Benjamin Rein, 16, and Vivian Lake, 13.

“I make Nutella pancakes for my kids,” Brady admitted. “When we were over in Milan for the Olympics we were eating Nutella pizzas.”

In his prime, Brady was widely known to avoid several popular food groupings like white sugar, white flour, dairy, iodized salt and caffeine. He’s also infamously stayed away from nightshade vegetables and popular fruits like strawberries.

While his eating habits have changed since stepping down from his playing days, the seven-time Super Bowl champion added that he balances those changes with “a lot” of exercise and plenty of water.

In 2024, the former NFL star revealed his intense workout routine in an Instagram post showing off his lean muscles.

At the time, he told his followers that he had just added “some swimming” to his regimen, as it provides “great muscle resistance and some aerobic cardio all at once.”

According to the ex-quarterback, he swims four 100-meter laps in freestyle form, then does four 25-meter laps fast and an additional 25-meter lap for recovery. He then finishes it off with two 200-meter freestyle laps.

Brady also lifts weights to build up his muscle mass, including doing 20 reps of a “weighted step up,” 20 reps of “heavy resistance” band pushups and 10 box jumps. He repeats this circuit a total of four times.

Brady has maintained an overall leaner appearance since he chose to retire from the NFL in 2022 — which he credited to having less “stress” in his life.

“Yeah, I’m down about 10 pounds, but I’m actually very fit right now,” he said during a 2023 episode the “Let’s Go” podcast with co-hosts Larry Fitzgerald and Jim Gray.

“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.”