UrbanUpdate

In less than three years, Karl-Anthony Towns has evolved from a devoted sneakerhead with an appreciation for draft-night chevron-pattern jackets into one of the NBA's most prolific double-double machines. Even in a more-loaded-than-ever Western Conference, the former first overall pick has the long-moribund Timberwolves franchise suddenly contending for what would be their first playoff appearance in 13 tries. Off the court, Towns continues his work with Gatorade's Play It Forward initiative, which awards grants to youth sports organizations, and he has gradually become one of the league's more outspoken personalities, publicly opining that the NBA should pull marijuana from its banned substances list and occasionally hitting the hardwood with anti-Trump slogans gracing his shoes.

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Given that Towns, the unanimous winner of the 2016 Rookie of the Year award, celebrated his 22nd birthday in November—the same age as his Timberwolves running mate Andrew Wiggins, who won the award the year before—Minneapolis-area basketball fans have every reason to be optimistic about the future.

One of the most important factors in his growth as a player, according to the man himself, has been a total overhaul of his diet. Gone is the concept of merely "eating healthy." Instead, Towns says, he downs the same foods in the same amounts every day, even measuring his portion sizes to the ounce. We caught up with him to talk about the virtues of taking the guesswork out of eating; his strategies for avoiding culinary boredom; and the perils of being a large man who sweats a lot.

GQ: So first things first: How do you start your day?

Karl-Anthony Towns: I always eat half of breakfast before training, and the other half afterwards. Before training, I have two cups of fruit, between 24 and 30 ounces of water, and two bagels with three tablespoons of peanut butter. I eat the same thing once my workout is done. Lunch is six ounces of chicken, four cups of rice, and three cups of vegetables. So is dinner.

That’s... freakishly precise. You eat the same volumes of food every day?

Yeah, I do the same thing with my water intake, too. It's about 48 ounces total between the two breakfasts, 48 ounces for lunch, and another 48 ounces for dinner. When you’re an athlete, you know that hydration is important. But so is figuring out when and how to hydrate, and how not to over-hydrate.

When did you start getting so precise with all of this?

I took a big step forward with my diet this season, trying to find ways to make myself a better basketball player and a more well-oiled machine. When I was at Kentucky, they taught me a lot about diet and nutrition, and about how to take care of my body, but I made a lot of changes even during my first year in the NBA. As I’ve gone along, I’ve gotten more precise.

How do you deal with cravings now that you’re on such a regimented diet?

I know you have to treat yourself sometimes, but... I like sticking to my diet plan.

Wait, seriously!?

When you see results, you become more thrilled with that experience. Once I started to see how my body was changing and how I was feeling, I never wanted to go back from that.

So why split your breakfast in half?

It’s about not putting so much food in your belly at one time. It allows my body to understand that there’s a certain amount of food that it needs, and it helps me to stick with the right portion size and to not overdo it.

When it comes to games, do you find that you need to be a little hungry to play well? Does feeling full slow you down at all?

No, but I’m a big water drinker during games. If I'm feeling a little tired on the court, I'll have some Gatorade, too. But only when I need it. I’m not over there drinking the whole gallon. I’m getting the portions right. Through my partnership with Gatorade, I actually got to take a sweat test, which determines how much salt and other electrolytes your muscles lose when you sweat. Some people are heavy sweaters and some aren’t, so I have to find different ways to make sure that I’m at my peak performance levels every game.

Wait, so are you a heavy sweater or a light one?

I’m not a sprinkler, but I'm... more than a regular sweater. I lose a lot of salt.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Luke Darby is a contributor to GQ, covering news, entertainment, and the environment. A Louisiana native, he now resides in Cleveland, and his writing has also appeared in Outside, the Dallas Observer, and Marie Claire.