‘Eat a Lot Less’: 2021 PGA Championship Winner Phil Mickelson Explains His Diet Plan

Published 05/25/2021, 12:10 PM EDT

Over the weekend, legendary golfer Phil Mickelson ended his eight-year Major drought to win the 2021 PGA Championship. After many wrote him off, the 50-year-old had a surprising and historic win at Kiawah Island.

Mickelson became the oldest Major champion with this win, breaking Julius Boros‘ previous record. Many golfers compete even at 50, but winning a Major is an insane achievement. And one of the most important reasons Mickelson is able to compete against players half his age, is his diet.

Lefty’s diet plan is called the coffee and water fast. The major objective behind the diet is to eat less of everything. It involves three-day fasts each month, and sometimes Mickelson goes up to six days in a month too. After his final round, he also fasts for 36 hours straight once a week. “It gives my body a chance to reset,” he explained.

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During those days of the fast he consumes just water and a special coffee blend that his performance coach Dave Phillips came up with. These are the ingredients for that special blend:

350-450 grams of coffee (Ethiopian beans)
Two to three tbsp. MCT or XCT oil
Large scoop flavourless collagen protein powder
Dash of Himalayan pink sea salt
Small glass of almond milk
200 mg L-Theanine
One tbsp. Manuka honey
One tsp. cinnamon

Phil Mickelson on how he had to sacrifice

This diet is also the reason behind his impressive weight loss. He started taking a more serious approach towards weight loss following his psoriatic arthritis diagnosis a decade ago.

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Mickelson explained how food was his biggest sacrifice and that helped him a lot. He said, “I’ve got to eat a lot less and I’ve got to eat better. I just can’t eat as much and I have to let my body kind of recover. But it’s also been a blessing for me because I feel better and I don’t have inflammation and I wake up feeling good. It’s been a sacrifice worth making.”

Last time I was at Winged Foot, I was 36 years old with no accountability for my health. 😳 This was before @ForWellness.
After becoming accountable for my own health, today I return to Winged Foot and let’s just say I look a little “different” 😏 pic.twitter.com/SuYJFwnZdY
— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) September 14, 2020

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Back in September 2020, just before the US Open, Mickelson shared a comparison picture. The first picture was from 2006 and one could see how much work he has put in to look “different” as he says. So despite turning 51 in just a few weeks, Mickelson’s fitness has ensured he has a lot more golf left in his tank.

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Written by:

Aaron Mathew is a sports analyst at EssentiallySports. A graduate in Mass Media from Xavier’s College, Aaron has been a part of EssentiallySports since May 2020 where he covers both NBA and NCAA basketball news, and has also covered NBA 2K. In the past, Aaron has worked at the Sports Desk of Mumbai Mirror.

‘Eat a Lot Less’: 2021 PGA Championship Winner Phil Mickelson Explains His Diet Plan

Phil Mickelson on how he had to sacrifice

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