Real-Life Diet is a series in which GQ talks to athletes, celebrities, and everyone in-between about their diets and exercise routines: what's worked, what hasn't, and where they're still improving. Keep in mind, what works for them might not necessarily be healthy for you.

Last summer, after an hour-and-a-half health assessment with personal trainer David Alexander, Jahlil Okafor had a plan to rescue his NBA career. The 6’11” center’s pedigree has never been in question—he was, after all, the third pick in the 2015 NBA Draft after leading the Duke Blue Devils to a national championship. But following a stellar statistical rookie season with the then-miserable Philadelphia 76ers, Okafor fell into basketball purgatory. His defense wasn’t up to par, and his back-to-the-basket game was considered out of style compared to the up-and-down tempos of most other teams. He was traded to the Nets in 2017, then found himself a free agent working out in Miami in 2018. That’s where Alexander gave Okafor some guidance about overhauling his exercise routine.

The goal was to burn fat and significantly improve his athleticism and stamina. Okafor simultaneously experimented with a new diet (he had previously tried going vegan), and he focused on his mental health as much as his physical health. The results were apparent on Okafor’s Instagram, and the New Orleans Pelicans decided to take a chance on him. He delivered, with a more-than-serviceable statline last season of 8.2 points (59 percent shooting) and 4.7 rebounds.

Now, during a wild offseason in which New Orleans traded superstar Anthony Davis for a crew of young talent from the Los Angeles Lakers, the Pelicans also decided to pick up Okafor’s team option for this coming season. On June 20, ESPN’s Malika Andrews reported that the New Orleans staff was “impressed by the way Okafor has reworked his body.”

After finishing an early-afternoon workout in Miami, where he’s training with Alexander again this summer, Okafor spoke to GQ about his career bounce-back, his newfound diet, his fondness for hot yoga, and the one sugary food he can’t totally quit.

GQ: Big men are trying all sorts of things to find a role in the modern NBA game. What’s your strategy?

Jahlil Okafor: The biggest thing is becoming an overall better athlete. Guys are getting more athletic each and every year, so I have to try and find a way to keep up with that. I realized I needed to change my body so I could become faster and stronger. It’s helped me out a lot.

How do you maintain the improvements you make during the offseason once the regular season starts? I assume it’s tough to make improvements fitness-wise once you’re traveling and playing a bunch of games.

You’re right, that’s going to be my challenge for this season. Last season, I fell off with my diet. There’s so much travel. You might get into a city at one, two a.m., and you’re hungry and want to get something in your system, even though eating super late at night isn’t a great idea. Having a consistent, healthy diet on the road, and a consistent routine of workouts while playing 82 games, it’s really hard. You don’t want to wear yourself out for the actual games.

Walk me through your day-to-day routine for this offseason.

Monday through Friday, I do on-court work starting at 10 a.m. At noon, I hit the weight room. Later in the afternoon, I’ll sometimes have a hot yoga session. And I’ve been getting more massages—that’s one thing I’ve really tried to improve on this summer is the recovery aspect after I’ve trained hard.

Was hot yoga new for you?

I’ve been doing that since my second season in the NBA. It gives me some peace, helps my mental health to go into a room for an hour and not worry about anything but myself and practicing yoga.

Last October, you talked to The Athletic about dealing with anxiety and depression. How much do you credit addressing your mental health for your turnaround in the league?

Yeah, last summer I did have issues that I needed to handle, and I’ve been able to open up to a therapist and realize that a lot of the things I’m dealing with, millions of other people are dealing with. Accepting that—talking to a professional, realizing what I was going through is normal...that helped tremendously. I still keep in contact with my therapist and know I can call them any time.

I interviewed Kevin Love about mental health a few months ago, and he’s pretty open about what he’s dealt with, but everyone feels differently. Is it hard for you to publicly talk about depression and anxiety? Or do you feel at ease about it?

I feel at ease about it. I credit Kevin Love because he’s the first person that got me to realize, wow, I might be dealing with the same things. From then on, I did my own research to help myself, and it’s changed my life completely. I’m in a much better place.

You tried a vegan diet, right?

Yeah, I was vegan for eight months, but not anymore.

I was reading that you originally did it because you had swelling in your knees and you felt going vegan might help with that.

Yeah, that was the reason I wanted to try a vegan diet. I heard dairy, red meat, other foods were inflammatory, so I tried to eliminate all of that. It did take some swelling out of my knee, but when I was with the Brooklyn Nets, I got some lab results that said my iron was low, which was affecting my cardio. That was linked to my vegan diet. If you want to maintain that diet as a professional athlete, you have to be super sharp and making sure you’re getting all your protein. I wasn’t doing that.

What’s your diet like now?

As my trainer put it, if it hasn’t ran, swam, flown, or grown from earth, don’t eat it. I’ve eliminated all processed foods, all sugars, all the chips and the other B.S. I was eating. I’ve been trying to eat as clean as possible. I still avoid dairy for the most part, too. I drink at least a gallon of water a day—I’m always walking with a gallon of water in my hand.

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I’ll usually have a smoothie in the morning, maybe with an egg muffin. But I have a chef that prepares me three meals a day. I’ll get my main meals at noon after I get my lift in. It’s different every day. Last year, I was burning a lot of fat during my workouts, but this year, I’m in better shape and I’m trying to add more muscle. Right after I lift, I’ve got a 30-minute window to get a certain amount of protein in my body. And then for dinner, I used to have red meat quite a bit early on in my career. I was eating steaks, steaks, steaks. Now I eat more salmon and chicken.

Do you like salmon and chicken?

I actually love salmon. I’m a big fan of salmon.

Do you have a cheat meal?

I think my biggest weakness is syrup—I put syrup on literally every one of my breakfast items. Probably the hardest thing to stay away from.

Who has the weirdest diet on the team?

Honestly, it’s probably me. A lot of guys look at me strange because I put syrup on so much stuff for breakfast. For lunch or dinner, I like adding barbecue sauce or sriracha. I’m a sauce guy.

Have you gotten a chance to work out with Zion Williamson yet? I am immensely curious whether he can lift, like, 400 pounds.

[laughs] No, not yet. But I’m definitely curious. When I went to Duke a couple weeks ago, I was talking to the strength coach. He said he didn’t want Zion to lift that much weight, because he’s so strong already. A lot of the things they did involved him just using his body weight to maintain his strength, rather than using heavy weights in a way that might change his body. I was actually surprised to hear that.

Are you going to remind him that your Duke team won a title and his didn’t?

Ha, probably not yet, because that might be a sore topic. I’m mostly just super excited to team up with him—he’s a great kid and just wants to win. We’re all excited to have him.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

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