The Real-Life Diet of Fred Warner, Who Also Went All-Pro at Sleeping

Fred Warner did not become an elite NFL player overnight. Chosen in the third round of the 2018 draft, not many people expected him to become one of the league’s best defensive players, and Warner says he got there with a combination of unique mental and physical habits. With his inquisitive mind he’s always looking for the tiniest of advantages on the field. When it comes to diet, Warner is all about the humble avocado. (So much so that he has a deal with the avocado brand Wholly.)

“No preservatives added—that’s huge for me—and it’s made with real ingredients that you and I can pronounce,” is how Warner describes his ideal foods. “If you can’t pronounce it, I don’t think you should put it in your body.” Those rules are clearly working for Warner, who’s been voted by his peers as one of the top 50 players in the NFL each of the last four years, ascending to the eleventh spot on this year’s Top 100 list.

As he settles into his offseason, Warner will be experimenting with new ways to get his fruit intake and (hopefully) finding enough time for the precious sleep that he feels has made him a tackling machine.

Warner: I don’t know if it’s a specific thing, but it’s an accumulation of doing the little things right every single day. I don’t stray, I keep things pretty straight and narrow when it comes to my nutrition and the things I’m putting in my body. When I’m getting ready for a game, for example, I make sure there are these key things in my meal. Sometimes we play an afternoon game at 1:00, sometimes we play a night game at 5:00. You always gotta make sure you’re fueled up the right way.

My morning routine—I’m always going to have some sort of omelet, oatmeal with berries, and always some sort of fat in there. My staple is always Wholly Guacamole, just because it is delicious and they use real ingredients, but the convenience of it also makes it so easy. For my night routine, I do chicken, mashed potatoes, veggies, and guacamole. Those are my non-negotiables. I feel like I’m satiated, I’m ready to go play the best game of my life.

Yeah, absolutely. Off the field, I try to keep it pretty straight. Right now, for example, we’re in the offseason. People probably think we’re pigging out and going crazy. Not necessarily! When I’m watching games—I’m a huge football fan regardless of if I’m playing or not—I’m going to have the huge spread like anybody. Pizza, wings—but then I pair it with things that have more nutritional value like vegetables and guacamole. I don’t just go all out on crazy foods. I want to stay near my baseline all year long.

It’s all about setting yourself up for success. I feel like if you’re not planning out what you’re going to be eating, you’ll just instantly grab the things that are closest to you. Those might not be the best, right? That’s why you want to have the best things readily available. As a professional athlete, you want to be at your best 24/7.

I make sure the grocery haul includes plenty of ready-to-eat snacks. I call our grocery list the guac playbook. My top three essentials are chunky guacamole, veggies, and chips for dipping. That’s just who I am and who my family is. My wife is super busy as well taking care of a ten-month-old. For someone like me, I need that convenience. Wholly Guacamole, you just rip the lid off and enjoy. No worries at all.

I’m not afraid of sugar at all. But the right types though, I should say. If people know anything about sugar, carbohydrates are converted to sugar in the body. You need carbohydrates as an athlete, and a lot of them, especially before a game or practice. I think healthy sugars like fruit or honey that you can incorporate into your diet are beneficial, as long as you’re staying active. If you’re not active, and you’re consuming all these carb-loaded or sugary snacks, it can be detrimental. But being active in correlation with healthy sugars is important.

It’s all over. This morning, I had my eggs with guacamole, then on the side I had strawberries, pineapples, and apples. You know what I’m saying? It doesn’t always have to be in a smoothie, even though I do have plenty of smoothies during the season because it’s just so easy to throw them in the blender and do it that way.

The thing that’s helped me a lot is constant curiosity. Like, there’s gotta be better ways to do this. Even though I’ve been an All-Pro and been to Pro Bowls, the first time I made it in 2020 I was not in that conversation the following year. I thought I knew the recipe and it would translate into the following year. It didn’t! That hurt me. I never wanted to have that feeling ever again, of not being at the top of my game.

Being curious—what lifts are best for me? The thing that’s worked for me is lifting heavy in-season. Some guys don’t like to lift heavy because they like to be fresh for the game. I feel like lifting heavy right after a game gives my body the stimulus that it needs to get that recovery process going even quicker while maintaining my strength and explosiveness throughout the year. I did incorporate Pilates a few years back to try and improve core strength, mobility, flexibility, plus different stretches and yoga for all the wonky positions that I’m put in on the field.

But it’s a combination of it all. I can’t sit here and say it’s all about lifting or all about the mobility. It’s everything. Nutrition is at the top too, for sure. When you’re looking at everything on the list, nutrition, hydration, sleep are critical to staying healthy all season long.

A combination of both. I was blessed enough to play with some of the best of the best when I came in. I’m talking about Richard Sherman, Joe Staley, Hall of Fame-type guys. Being able to pick their brain a little bit, but you can’t just sit there and say, “Well, because this guy did it and he was successful, I’m going to completely mimic that exactly.” All of us are different. We all play different positions. You truly need to have that curiosity in yourself to go and find the answers. God gave me this ability to be constantly hungry. I’m going into year eight [in the NFL] and I still feel like I’m a rookie. There’s so much more there for me.

I’m always going to hit the foundationals. Front squat is huge for me, especially the day after a game, I like to hit legs. I’m going to put probably 315 on the bar for front squat, first thing after a game. Some people might be like, “Damn, why are you doing so much right after a game?” Like I said, I feel like it helps me jump start that recovery process. I’m not allowing my body to think it’s time to sit back and relax. We got another game in six days! You gotta get that body going again.

I also do a lot of plyometric stuff to keep that explosiveness in the body. Whether it’s bench press, front squat, I keep it pretty traditional. My strength coaches are the best in the business. I’m not doing all these crazy, random exercises in the weight room.

There are all these crazy things that guys talk about—hyperbaric chambers, saunas, all that other stuff. I’ve taken advantage of those, for sure. But there is nothing that can supplement proper sleep. It sounds corny and cliche, but sleep is literally a game changer if you’re doing it the right way. Some guys think they’re doing it the right way. I promise you you’re probably not! You really gotta take it serious. Make sure you’re going to sleep at the same time, waking up at the same time, getting eight-plus hours, taking the phone away at nighttime. All that blue light stuff, it does keep the mind awake. Sleep is everything for me. I could go on and on about sleep for an hour. Everybody needs it.

In Real-Life Diet, athletes, celebrities, and other high performers talk about their diet, exercise routines, and pursuit of wellness. Keep in mind that what works for them might not necessarily be healthy for you.