Barcelona star Lionel Messi's secret sugar-free diet revealed
Lionel Messi’s nutritionist, Giuliano Poser has revealed the secrets behind Lionel Messi’s dieting regime, that has propelled the Barcelona star to new height in the past few seasons. Poser disclosed that the Argentinian star has stayed away from sugar, opting for fresh fruits and vegetables, while also cutting down on his meat intake.
In a long and wide-ranging interview with Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo, Poser revealead what he considered to be the five key foods of Messi’s diet, saying “Water, good quality olive oil, whole grains and fresh fruits and vegetables that are not contaminated by pesticides, herbicides etc as they can cause great harm to the body.”
“Also very good are nuts and seeds.” Poser also noted that he allows Messi a moderate amount of salt in his diet, noting that “the muscles and body need it.”
When asked what Messi is prohibited from eating, Poser was strong in his condemnation of sweets, breads and pasta, saying “Sugars – It is the worst thing for the muscles. The farther he stays away from sugars, the better. Refined flours are also a big problem as these days its difficult to find uncontaminated wheat.”
Poser also went on to say that he placed a restriction on the amount of meat Messi eats, noting the problem with cultural norms, saying “the amount of meat normally eaten by Argentinians and Uruguyans is too much.”
Poser’s methods have worked on Messi
Messi first met with Giuliano Poser after the disappointing loss to Germany in the 2014 FIFA World Cup final, on the recommendation of Argentina teammate Martin Demichelis, with Poser crediting Messi for his open mind saying “After the World Cup, something changed. Messi had the intuition and humility to try and do something different in his professional life.”
“He had won everything, but wanted to continue this excellence for years and understood he had to change something. We are talking about a very intelligent and intuitive person. He eliminated processed foods and replaced them with foods rich in vitamins -- cereals, vegetables, fish and olive oil.”
Messi has reaped the benefits of Poser’s advice ever since, losing three kilograms while enjoying stellar seasons in the last two years. Poser divulged the confident in his methods, saying “My methods are not in doubt - everyone can see Leo week in, week out.”