Seahawks QB Russell Wilson is losing weight while eating 4,800 calories and nine meals a day

Russell Wilson eats a lot. Nine meals for 4,800 calories a day.

But he also eats a lot of good food. No junk. No gluten. No dairy.

As a result, he’s actually lost weight — from 225-plus pounds and 16% body fat to 214 pounds and 10% body fat — this off-season since starting the new diet, which has him eating 2,100 more calories a day than he did before.

“Every fat guy will say, ‘Food makes you fat. I eat one can of tuna and an apple a day.’ And that’s why they’re fat. Not enough caloric heat,� nutritionist Philip Goglia told ESPN. “Especially in athletes, athletic temperatures are huge metabolically. They have a big metabolic load. The more muscle you have, the more food you need. That’s the baseline concept.�

Wilson enlisted Goglia’s help in March after gaining weight following ankle and knee injuries last season.

“He came in feeling as though he was too heavy and not mobile enough,� Goglia said. “And he wanted to get his weight down. He was over 225. He felt as though he needed to be leaner and stronger and more agile. And that’s my wheelhouse.�

Goglia put Wilson on a nine-meal plan that features two separate lunches — both consisting of eight ounces of protein with a yam or a cup of rice or a potato and a vegetable — and several snacks consisting mainly or entirely of fruit and 12 almonds.

His breakfast, which comes after a pre-breakfast snack of almond butter and jam, consists of six whole eggs, a chicken breast and two cups of oatmeal. For dinner, he has fish or steak with vegetables or salad. That’s followed by a snack of fruit and a tablespoon of molasses or a mixture of shredded wheat, applesauce, almond butter and jam.

“Still doing it religiously,� Wilson said of the dietary plan. “Just trying to really focus on trying to eat really, really well and have great nutrition. I think it’s critical. It allows you to wake up feeling good, feeling strong. It allows you to excel throughout the day and have tons of strength and energy. So I think it’s really important for me.

“And I love food. I’m from the South, Virginia. So for me, I have to be really conscientious of what I eat.�

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