
Patrick Patterson returned to his pantry and found temptation waiting.
The Thunder forward had spent much of a healthy summer out of town, but back in Oklahoma City, remnants of a previous life lingered, their expiration dates not yet passed. Tony the Tiger stared him down from a box of Frosted Flakes, tucked in a cupboard with Toast Crunch, both Cinnamon and French.
Advertisement
The refrigerator offered no respite. That’s where the cheese lived.
“I literally threw all of it in the trash can,” Patterson said, “just so I didn’t have to look at it.”
He had come too far to turn back.
Patterson had an underwhelming first year in Oklahoma City. He had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee last August, missed training camp and — despite shooting 38.6 percent from 3-point range — rarely looked fully comfortable.
But Carmelo Anthony is gone and the starting power forward spot up is for grabs, and Patterson spent the summer putting himself in the best position to have a strong second season.
And his physical change is immediately apparent.
Patterson can’t turn a corner at the Thunder ION, the team’s practice facility, without someone telling him how slim he looks. He’s asked routinely how much weight he lost in the offseason, and eyebrows arch when he answers.
“I actually gained weight,” he says.
Last season, his first with the Thunder, Patterson said he arrived at camp weighing 235 pounds, give or take a couple. He’s 242 now, but you’d never know it. He’s retained a chiseled physique but appears significantly slimmer than a season ago.
The 6-foot-9 Patterson worked hard in the gym over the summer. That’s typical.
But he chalks up his new look — and the accompanying good feeling — to an overhauled diet plan drawn up by a nutritionist who’s worked with other NBA players.
At the urging of a trainer, a reluctant Patterson relented to a new meal plan figuring the worst-case scenario was “I’d hate it and go back to my old ways.”
Instead, he stuck to it. Here’s what it meant:
Morning
Before his first workout of the day, typically around 8 a.m., Patterson would eat:
•A spoonful of peanut butter
•A spoonful of blackberry jam
An intense workout followed, then breakfast. On a typical day:
•4-5 scrambled eggs
Advertisement
•A bowl of oatmeal (with optional almond milk and raisins or strawberries)
Afternoon
Patterson’s second workout came early in the afternoon. As soon as it ended, he’d eat one piece of fruit (a single banana, apple or orange). Once he returned from the gym, he’d eat his first lunch:
•Two chicken breasts
•Side salad (oil- or vinegar-based dressing)
•Vegetable medley
•Rice
His second lunch — the same meal, with the portions cut in half — came two hours later.
Evening
Between his second lunch and dinner, Patterson could have a snack. His favorite options included another piece of fruit or a serving of jerky.
Then came dinner, usually around 8 p.m.:
•Fish or steak
•Vegetable medley
•Salad
•Potato
And that was every day, all summer long.
There were no cheat days, just a single cheat meal during the week. Patterson mostly saved them for Sundays, alternating between pizza, cheeseburgers and ribs.
Turning his back on bread was the hardest part. There were wheat-free options, he said, but “they taste like crap.”
Perhaps the most impressive feat was the string of five straight weeks when Patterson said he stayed on track despite attending weddings every weekend.
It helped that the standard reception meal typically included chicken, fish or steak and vegetables, but on one late night, Patterson rejected Oreo cheesecake. Another, he steered clear of sliders.
Cleaning out the kitchen in Oklahoma City was key. The obvious offenders went into the trash, but so did the croutons and crispy onion straws that once spiced up his salads.
And even his return to the Thunder ION came with enticement.
On Patterson’s first day back, he ate the healthy options in the players’ mouth-watering welcome spread, skipping out on the ribs and fried chicken.
“I was like, ‘Oh my God, I miss this food so much,’” Patterson said. “But I couldn’t eat it. It’s still tough to this day. I want to indulge in so much food.”
Advertisement
(Photo Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports)
ncG1vNJzZmismJqutbTLnquim16YvK57lG5qa21pZH9xfZdoZ3JnYmx8sa3Tq6Cco12lrrXAxKuqqKZdmLWiusaem2agmah6o7vDsmStoJmoerTBzKacq2WYmr%2Bmv4ywn5qsXZ2ybq3TnmStp12ZvG6102g%3D