- Hey, what's up?
I'm Sue Bird, and this is everything I eat
when I'm training in-season,
and then everything I eat when I'm out of season.
(upbeat music)
- [Announcer] Waits, takes, hits!
(announcer yelling) (crowd cheers)
- During the basketball season,
my typical day looks pretty similar to my other days.
My diet is pretty much, get three meals a day,
breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
I think the best way to describe it, to be honest,
is just a cycle of trying to fuel for your workout
or your game, and then refuel afterwards.
So what changes in the off-season is that,
recently I found out that I have a minor allergy to lactose
and a minor allergy to gluten.
And so when I'm in-season, I totally avoid those things.
It's actually pretty annoying and kind of difficult.
I miss cheese.
Gluten is everywhere.
But you gotta do what you gotta do.
Those things, sadly for me, cause inflammation in my body.
So in-season I totally avoid them.
Out of season, I'm a little more relaxed.
I still stay away,
but I'm definitely way more chill about it.
The three foods you can 100% find in my refrigerator
every single time you look
are eggs, onions, and gluten free bagels.
I'm obsessed with egg sandwiches.
Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day.
Usually I do some sort of combination with the onion,
I put in spinach or kale, that kind of thing,
make it with the eggs, put it on the sandwich,
voila.
So I think the foods that slow you down
are just ones that don't agree with your body.
And like I said, through trial and error,
I've been able to find out what works for me.
I did take a blood test to find out
about that whole gluten-lactose allergy.
But for the most part,
I just try to stick to what I know works,
and again, it was mostly through trial and error.
Everything's different for everyone,
but I think most importantly,
I just try to stick to what I know is gonna work.
I think the most I've ever spent on takeout or delivery
is actually, my WNBA team, the Seattle Storm,
we won the championship in 2018.
- [Announcer The Seattle Storm
have climbed back to the mountaintop!
- And the city threw a parade for us.
So before the parade, which was midday,
I had the entire team and some select few others come over.
So let's call it 25 people.
And so I think I ordered something
like 25 to 30 bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches.
I don't remember how much it costed.
I think probably pretty expensive,
considering it's an organic place.
But who knows.
I think my favorite indulgences are in the dessert category.
If I'm feeling like I need something,
it's usually gonna be ice cream, cookie, maybe brownies.
That type of thing.
The irony is I'm kind of a salt person.
I salt my food like crazy.
But when it comes to that one indulgence,
I'm also a sucker for a good ice cream sandwich.
So that's usually where you'll find me.
So it's true.
Athletes are insanely superstitious, and I'm no different.
Although I don't really think I would call it a superstition
as much as I would call it a routine.
I just do the same things all the time,
and it kind of helps me get in my game day mindset.
So on a game day, I don't really switch it up.
I eat the same things.
The hard part is actually when you're traveling
or on the road,
you can't get exactly the same things,
but I like to keep it in the same family,
mainly because I know it works,
and I know it's not gonna upset my stomach.
Also, similar to superstitions,
I think routines help people, like I said,
get in that mindset.
So now it's kind of like checking off a box,
I did this, I did that.
Boom, I'm ready to go for my game.
As an athlete,
you need to make sure you're fueling for your workout.
So the foods that are gonna help you perform best
are ones that give you energy.
I don't avoid carbs, I love carbs.
So I don't cut those out.
I'm strategic with my carbs,
but I definitely don't cut them out.
And actually, I think if I had to pick one thing,
and this might fall in the superstition category,
I drink a cup of coffee before every game.
Just one, just maybe an hour and a half,
when I'm driving to the arena, usually,
I'm having that cup of coffee.
A nutritionist told me
that it was actually a really good pre-game drink.
'Cause it's caffeine,
and caffeine kind of gives you that elevation and energy.
And it lasts, it lasts like four or five hours.
So it's perfect for a game.
So I definitely think coffee plays into my success
on the court.
I actually don't think I have any super weird
or super unique food habits.
I'm sure people would disagree,
but I think they're totally normal.
But I do subscribe to the whole 80/20 mentality,
which is basically like, whatever you're doing,
do it to the max 80% of the time.
But then the other 20%,
I like to indulge, like I said,
or get a cheat meal, that kind of thing.
So I do think the 80/20, it's not weird to me,
but it's usually how I eat.
But there is one energy drink that I do take.
Energy drink's actually not the best way to describe it.
It's a drink.
And it's a carbohydrate drink, and it's called Vitargo.
It's a fast-acting carb, and you digest it super fast.
So you drink it 30,
45 minutes before you need to go work out
or you have a game.
It goes through your body super quick,
and now you have all this extra energy from the carbs
to help you.
Man, the food that I wish I could eat all the time,
guilt-free, legit, I could have it every night, is pasta.
I actually love pasta.
But as I was saying earlier,
I'm kinda strategic with my carbs.
I don't avoid the white ones,
a lot of people talk about the white carbs.
I don't avoid those.
I eat bread, I eat potatoes, all that stuff.
But I am strategic on when I do it,
and it's usually at the start or at the end of a workout.
Not usually at night.
At night, I usually choose a different kind of carb,
like a sweet potato or something like that.
When you like a big, hearty pasta Italian meal,
you're probably having that at dinner.
So it's just something that I don't get a lot of.
But don't worry.
I said I do an 80/20, so there are times where I do get it.
Thank you so much for joining me today.
Since we're on the topic of food,
no better time to let you know about something
that I have partnered with.
It's Hunger Not Impossible,
and it's just a wonderful organization
that is putting food in kids' mouths during this pandemic.
So check it out, notimpossible.com.
And that's it.
Thanks, bye.