Robbie Rogers is a year shy of 30, which is easy to forget once he starts talking about his career. He’s a unique case study: the professional athlete who is a veteran of his sport, yet still a relatively young member of, well, the human race. But a decade plus of traveling the world, kicking around a soccer ball, has given Rogers a certain informed gravitas. When he speaks, your natural reaction is to not only listen, but to lean in. That probably explains why 90 percent of my meals consisted of lentils and quinoa in the week after he broke down his vegetarian-esque diet for me.

GQ: You’ve played professionally in the States, the UK, and in the Netherlands. Did you notice any differences with your diet when playing based on location?

Robbie Rogers: Yeah, a little bit. When I was in England, I became pretty much a vegetarian. I didn’t really enjoy the meat over there, to be honest.

Yeah, it’s not the best.

No, it’s not. I mean, there are some good spots, but just in general I wasn’t much of a fan. When I was in Holland, my diet was really different, but I was also really young. I would say that was more just with my age. I wasn’t as aware of how important diet was, so I would still eat regular pasta and think that it was great for me. When I was younger, I would just be like, “Oh, have some pasta and you’ll be good!”

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A lot of people who grew up playing sports probably thought that. In high school, my basketball team would have pasta dinners the night before every game.

Yeah, the team going to Olive Garden and loading up on carbs! I would have bread and all this stuff that I thought was good for me. Then you realize it’s not. And I definitely feel a difference when I’m really strict and on my diet for a few weeks versus if I cheat a little bit. I feel it in games and during training. It does make a huge difference and as you get older. You know, I’m not as athletic as I was when I was younger, so I have to really focus on this stuff so I can keep that edge.

For you, was there a specific moment in your career where you really started to pay attention to your diet?

Probably right around when I was 24 or 25 years old. Before that I could just eat whatever and I’d be fine. But then I realized that I like to play at a certain weight and I feel better when I’m not eating too much sugar or when I eat at a certain time every day. I’m 29 now, been a professional for 11 years. I’ve done my own research but I’ve also listened to the nutritionists around me and spoken to my teammates about what they’re doing and what works for them.

What have you realized works best for you in that time?

Just a much healthier diet with more vegetables and carbs that are actually going to work for me. Before, I never had quinoa or lentils, which are different things I try to focus on now. I do eat meat now, but not much. Maybe once every two weeks. I really try to eat more vegetables. Again, lentils and quinoa. Beans. Even brown rice. And obviously I try to stay extremely hydrated.

About two years ago, you made the switch from playing in the midfield to the backline. Were there any changes to your diet when you made that positional move?

No, not too much. It’s still a lot of running, so just making sure I have those right kinds of carbs is important. Before and after games, actually, because you need those to recover. So I just try to read my body and see how I’m feeling. See where my weight’s at. You know, there are times when we’ll have three games in a week and I lose too much weight, too much muscle. So I have to make myself eat more, which sounds like a great problem, but sometimes it’s annoying.

Well, I feel like the sport has evolved so much over the last decade. Before everyone was focusing predominantly on cardio, but now strength training is a bigger and bigger sticking point.

Definitely. It’s different for everyone, though. Some guys in different positions need to work more on their cardio and losing some of that big muscle because they’re just too heavy. But for me, especially as a runner, you can get little muscle injuries if you’re not recovering well and if your muscles are too fatigued. For me, it was definitely finding the right diet to keep on weight and keep on lean muscle. Staying limber and lean, that way I can continue to run as much as I do.

So what types of eating patterns help you to best achieve that? Are you a strict breakfast, lunch, and dinner kind of guy?

I kind of am, yeah. With a snack after lunch sometimes, too.

Give me the full run-down. What does the typical day look like starting with breakfast?

I usually take Shakeology in the morning for breakfast. Just this massive shake with all this stuff in it. I’ll add fruits and almond milk and cinnamon and flax seeds and omega fatty acids. Then I’ll have some coffee and some water. I take a swig of apple cider vinegar each morning. And I also take one of those Bio-K probiotics every morning. That actually really helps me and my stomach. Then I head to the stadium, which is about a 45 minute drive for me. I’ll have another coffee and banana there before we do all my prehab, all my rehab stuff and strengthening and everything. Then I’ll go out to train, and in that time I’m drinking a lot of water. That’s so important for us. After training, right around noon, I’ll have another shake handed to me right as I get off the field, and then I go right into lifting.

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At which point you’re probably starving.

I eat lunch right after that. The team sets up a lunch for us, so I’ll have a huge salad with some sort of vegetables, some fruit, some protein—either tempeh or tofu. Later on I’ll have some more fruit, and then I’ll have dinner. I actually try to have an earlier dinner, especially when I’m cooking at the house. I live in L.A., so obviously there is always the temptation to go and eat out, but I try to limit that to once or twice a week. Dinner can be a bunch of different things. Last night I made vegetarian lasagna, which was really great. Every now and then I’ll barbecue a steak, but that’s maybe once a month. Some nights we’ll make a vegetarian stew. My son will eat that now too.

Your son is almost a year old now. Has being a father had any effect on your diet at all?

Not really my diet, but I know I affect his diet. He also takes a Bio-K probiotic, which really helps his stomach, as well. But he loves vegetables and quinoa and lentils. He’ll have potatoes here and there. So he’s on a pretty great diet. We’re introducing him to everything. We try to stay away from all those processed foods, but he has grandmas, so that’s not always possible. But we just let him experiment and try different things.

My cousins all have young kids and I know they make some different products specifically for kids that they have actually gotten hooked on, like those fruit pouches.

I try everything he has, but I haven’t really gotten hooked on that stuff. There are some brands that do similar stuff. Like, there’s Nomva, which I’ll take. They have probiotics in them and it’s like a fruit of vegetable pouch. They sell them right at Whole Foods, and sometimes they have them at our stadium. They’re really great.

Soccer players don’t really get much of an off-season, but do you let yourself have some cheat meals during that time?

Oh, yeah, I always do. I’m not crazy about everything. You know, I really love sushi and going to Izaka-Ya. On birthdays and holidays I’ll have desserts. I’m obsessed with popcorn, so whenever I go to the movies I have to get a popcorn. I’ll be fighting with Greg [Berlanti, Rogers’s fiancée] over who gets to hold the popcorn.

Loaded up with butter?

No, I actually don’t like that. Just the standard, salted, movie theatre popcorn. But in general, I try to stay on top of things because I do feel the difference during the season.

There has to be a balance.

Exactly. You’ve got to enjoy life and enjoy people’s company and be able to do stuff with them—eat out and enjoy different things. But when we’re in season, more days than not, you’ve got to be on top of things. It’s your profession.

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