Clippers’ Tyronn Lue Says He’s Lost 30 Pounds Since Last Summer, Eats 1 Meal per Day

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Life is good for Los Angeles Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue on the court, with his team faring well thanks to a 37-19 record, just two games back in the loss column for first in the West.

Off the court, Lue has enjoyed improved health, losing 30 pounds since last summer, per Marc J. Spears of Andscape.

Lue revealed some of his secrets, noting he eats just one big meal per day with an occasional snack.

“I try to eat once a day, most of the time at 3 o’clock [p.m.] every day and I’ll be good. I’ve trained myself, trained my mind,” he said.

Lue told Spears that he’s been putting in the work on the elliptical and stationary fitness machines as well.

It helps to have experts nearby daily, too, and Lue relies on Clippers vice president of medical Maggie Bryant and head strength and conditioning coach Daniel Shapiro.

“I’ve been working out. Eating better. I still have my moments. [I’m] Eating less. It’s been good,” Lue said. “Daniel has done a good job of staying on me because I can stray away. I’m just doing 20 to 30 minutes per day…”

Lue previously served as the head coach for LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2016-2018. He’s been coaching a Kawhi Leonard- and Paul George-led Clippers team since 2020. Needless to say, both are high-stress jobs featuring teams with high expectations, and it’s natural for Lue to feel a tremendous amount of stress.

“It’s a tough season, a lot of stressing and pressures,” Lue told Spears. “When you’re dealing with that, you get lazy. You don’t work out. You get fatigued. I just try to have a whole different slate and tried something different. It’s been good.”

Understandably, Lue encountered issues taking care of himself when he led the Cavs, to the point where he even took a leave of absence in March 2018 after having chest pains.

Then Cavs and current Heat forward Kevin Love noted the toll everything took on Lue.

“He wasn’t sleeping. When he came to practice, he was exhausted and cooked. And then he went home and slept. And then it was just kind of the same thing over and over again when we got back from long road trips, back-to-backs or whatever it was. It was the grind of the season, personal habits and everything that goes into putting so much into the game and us. Having expectations and having to juggle so much was a lot.”

Lue left the team for nine games. He spoke about it with Spears.

“It was caused by the stress levels. Not working out. Eating bad. I wasn’t sleeping,” Lue said. “I was trying to be good, make sure the team was in the right spot. Your goal is try to win a championship. A lot is on the line with that.”

Lue made some corrections with his diet, routine and medication, and he was able to return in April. The Cavs eventually made the NBA Finals.

This time around, Lue appears to be making the correct decisions to take care of himself and keep everything in check. He’s certainly in position to help lead the Clips to their first-ever championship, with the Western Conference appearing wide open this year.