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Patriots lineman Lawrence Guy says going vegan has been all about experimentation. This year it's been novel forms of cauliflower. Cauliflower “rice,” of course, but also lasagna and a pizza crust that he says was mind-blowingly good. 

That experimental spirit guided his gradual transition to a vegan diet. He didn't go plant-based immediately. First he cut out beef, then chicken and fish, by paying attention to what felt good over a long period of time. Now, though, he's raving about Beyond Meat and bean burgers. Ahead of his tenth season in the NFL, Guy talked to GQ about how he maintains his body through the grind of a football season, what he eats to keep his energy topped up, and getting his kids into kale smoothies.

GQ: What does a typical day of eating look like for you?

Lawrence Guy: If it's gonna be a workout day, I'll have pancakes or some cauliflower hash browns, something hearty. From there I go to a workout. After the workout I drink a green smoothie or have an acai bowl. I have little snacks here and there after that. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, anything to keep my energy up. We have a bunch of apples. Apples give you so much energy. For dinner, my wife creates some type of unique meal.

Last year everything was about cauliflower. She'd make cauliflower rice, she had cauliflower pizza, lasagna, those cauliflower hash browns. Last night, it's gonna sound weird, we had a cauliflower hummus grilled pizza. The cauliflower crust, hummus on top, and grilled veggies on top of that.

How does this all compare to your eating during football season?

I eat more potatoes. Losing weight was never an issue for me, maintaining and gaining weight was more of an issue. The more sweet potatoes I eat, the better I am at maintaining my weight. So all this ramps up during the season. More pancakes in the morning, oatmeal rice, stuff like that.

When did you first go vegan?

I started going plant-based a couple years ago. Every offseason I wanted to truly help my body fully recover. My wife and I started taking out heavy red meat products and my body felt better, my joints felt better. I never really drank milk. Then we started taking out chicken. Then you go to the fish. We didn't cut it down immediately. I needed to make sure I slowly worked myself into this. When people jump straight into it, you get the headaches and you start losing too much. We did it over the years, constantly going towards a more plant-based diet.

So you didn't feel so much of an adjustment physically?

Correct. When you gradually go through it, you find out what you can substitute everything with and get the best energy you can. What do I need to put in my body that works?

Something might not work for you every year so you have to switch it up. We’re big on cauliflower. Last year, we were trying to figure out the best vegan pancake mix. That hummus pizza just blew my mind. My wife and I have a lot of vegan cookbooks, and my son has a peanut allergy and a milk allergy, so we had to develop from there. We eat a lot more almonds. Kale smoothies were a hit with the kids. I can't tell you what it was about kale, but we had kale and carrot smoothies, they were amazing. Avocados, we ramped those up while they were in season to get that healthy fat back in the body. Beyond Meat, bean burgers, all that stuff is amazing.

You get more recipes and everything gets a little bit easier. Your body's gonna adapt to everything you're putting into it, you just have to make sure you're fueling it enough for what you're putting out on the field and even in the off season, so you're not dizzy or lightheaded.

What kinds of benefits did you see when you started eating plant-based?

You're not as bloated. You're running and your knees don't hurt as much. You stop waking up in the morning feeling groggy. Many people say they wake up after a hearty meal and feel bad and sick. I never wake up after eating a whole bunch of food and say, "Man, I feel terrible that I ate that last night." You feel energized. When you take all the heartier stuff out and put the plant-based in, you don't have to overwork to digest everything.

Are your teammates ever skeptical about your eating habits?

No, we have a couple people on the team who are vegan, so I just look at them, like, “Hey, what do I need to do?” We had a full conversation about pancake mix. It's not for everybody. Years ago it was a lot harder than it is now that they have all these different products.

How do your workouts line up with all this?

During offseason I work out for about two hours a day. Before a workout I might get some cereal, oatmeal, or more cauliflower hash browns with avocado to get the nutrition going. This year has been more green smoothies with flax seeds, carrots, kale, spinach, mango, stuff like that, after the workout. In season [working out] is an everyday thing for us. It never stops. I get one day off a week, and on that day off I'm getting beat up by the kids. Last year I ate nothing but pancakes every single morning.

My pre-practice meal is an almond butter and jelly sandwich. From there it's whatever the team has. Last year we had vegan tacos. I don't know what their recipe was, but I hope it gets leaked. Everybody thinks it's just eating salads. It's actually having fun, it's creating dishes. Creating those tacos, those lasagnas, those pastas, creating the pizzas. How can I enjoy eating?

When you first went vegan did you change your workouts at all?

Because I waded in it wasn't that bad. If my energy level is going down, I'll start eating more of that sweet potato and potato base to just get it back in my body. 

I've never been a big protein shake person, that's why I tend towards more the green smoothies. I wasn't as bloated and I enjoyed it a lot more. It was easier to figure out what I need to eat and how I need to eat it. Some days I have moments where I realize I need to eat more of this, like more starches. I'm not a big rice person. Rice bloats me, so I said I'm not gonna do white rice, I'm gonna do brown rice. It's one of those things that's, like, hey, this is working right now, let's continue to do it, let's have more potato. I was on a potato kick, then I went on to a sweet potato kick 'cause it was just cleaner for my body.

What other maintenance do you do for your muscles?

I have a chiropractor, acupuncturist, PT, and a massage guy. I alternate days for them, with each coming twice a week. I have an alkaline machine in my house now, so I drink alkaline water every single day. We drink about a gallon or two of water a day. I do a lot of active stretching to maintain the strength in those muscles. I also go on walks with the kids to keep the body moving and flowing, swimming a little bit. 

You just can't stop in the off season. If you just stop and think you're gonna be the same player, it's not gonna happen. Once the season is over, my treatment picks up even more. I make sure I get treated every single day to maintain the physical shape I've been in and the muscles that need to be repaired from the season. Because you get beat up so much, you can't ignore it. you need to replenish your muscles and repair, so once you get going again you're not dealing with the same issues you were the year before.

Read MoreThe Real-Life Diet of Whoop Founder Will Ahmed, Who Cut Out Caffeine After 2 P.M. 

The college athlete-turned CEO talks monitoring your body's data, breakfast sandwiches, and the perils of eating too close to bed. 

By Emily Abbate



Danielle Cohen is GQ's Editorial Business Assistant.Related Stories for GQReal Life DietWorking OutFoodNFLNew England Patriots