As one of the NBA’s most athletic combo guards, Phoenix Suns standout Eric Bledsoe enjoyed the best statistical season of his career last season.

Averaging a career-high 21.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and a career-best 6.3 assists in 33.0 minutes per contest over 66 games for the Suns, the 27 year old emerged as a dangerous offensive option for his rebuilding squad, where he’s spent the last four seasons of his seven years in the NBA.

With a chiseled, muscular physique at 6’1” and 205 pounds, Bledsoe recently spoke about his surprising diet with Rohan Nadkarni of Sports Illustrated’s “The Crossover”.

He recently completely cut out meat from his diet, shifting to a product called “Beyond Meat”. Bledsoe admitted that road trips were a major concern for him earlier in his career due to the food-related temptations.

“I grew up eating fast food all the time. I developed that taste for it. As I got older, I started to teach myself to reverse those habits. I had to tell myself I can’t have it. We have a lot of 19-year-olds on our team now, I hang out with them a little bit. They get it all the time. It’s tempting. My kids as well. I have to tell myself not to eat it anymore. It’s hard, for sure,” he said.

He pointed out a few of his guilty pleasures, noting that he was forced to stop when nursing an injury.

“Fried foods all the time. Cane’s. Burgers. In-N-Out. I couldn’t work out when I was injured. My body didn’t feel right. I cut out all that fast food. When I couldn’t work out I had to be eating better,” Bledsoe noted.

Getting injured changed his entire mindset when it came to his diet.

“When I was injured, I began eating healthier because I couldn’t work out. I tried Beyond Meat, and it’s pretty good. I was caught off guard with how good it tastes. I cut down on meat a lot to help me recover,” the Suns guard revealed.

Unfortunately, Bledsoe has dealt with a number of injuries throughout his career. In addition to missing 16 games last season, Bledsoe played in just 40 games with the Los Angeles Clippers in 2011-2012, 43 during his first season in Phoenix in 2013-2014 and 31 in 2015-2016 with the Suns. Along the way, he has been forced to change his diet to ensure that he recovers properly and he seems to have figured it out by now.

The Suns made the decision to rest Bledsoe for the remainder of the season back in mid-March after he dealt with a sore knee for part of the year. Since the Suns were out of playoff contention at the time, their preference to preserve him might have indicated that they have big plans for him moving forward or wanted to keep him healthy as a potential trade asset. 

It remains to be seen which route the team chooses. But, at this point, it seems as though he will be ready to perform at an elite level again this season.