Draymond Green explained how he lost 25 pounds in 2 months and why it gave him a mental edge for the playoffs

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• Draymond Green has lost 25 pounds over 2 months thanks to a diet change he made going into the playoffs.
• Green told ESPN he gave up candy, potato chips, pasta, fried food, and alcohol.
• Green said the diet gave him a mental edge as he realized he could control himself and give up things he typically enjoys.
• Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Draymond Green has played his best basketball in the playoffs, thanks in part to a drastic diet change.

As Marcus Thompson of The Athletic reported in April, Green decided in March that he needed to shed weight that he had packed on over the season. Injuries and an inability to train as hard as he normally would played a part in Green playing overweight.

Read more: Draymond Green lost 23 pounds in 6 weeks before the playoffs, and now he’s playing in a way that should terrify the rest of the NBA

In an interview with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols, Green said he has lost 25 pounds over two months and went into further details about all of the foods he cut out. Green said he stopped eating candy (Green said his fiancee is a "candy head" and frequently stocks their kitchen with candy, so he had to avoid it), potato chips, pasta, potatoes (briefly), fried foods, and alcohol.

"It took a lot of just mental focus, more so than anything," Green said of his diet. "Willpower. Giving up the things that I knew wouldn’t be conducive to me reaching the weight I knew I needed to be at in order to play at the level I’ve been playing at."

To say nothing of the physical edge it has given him — Green is averaging 13 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists per game while playing elite defense in the playoffs — Green said that knowing he had to give up so many foods and drinks he liked gave him a mental edge.

"It’s more fulfilling than just playing well," he said. "Knowing you can give up things that you enjoy and how that willpower to continue to say ‘No, I’m not doing that,’ I think it definitely helps affect others areas of your life."

Green said the sacrifice he made was worth it to realize his own self-control.

"If you wanna do great things, you gotta sacrifice something," Green said.

Watch the interview below:

• Read more:
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• Kawhi Leonard says his hands are so big that he sometimes has trouble shooting the ball
• How the Warriors built one of the NBA’s all-time greatest dynasties with timing, foresight, and a lot of luck

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See Also:

• Draymond Green opened up about his ugly altercation with Kevin Durant and why he refused to apologize the next day
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Source: Business Insider – sdavis@businessinsider.com (Scott Davis)