Ronnie O’Sullivan is FASTING in bid to win another Crucible crown… but admits he ‘cheated’ before beating Ryan Day
HEALTH FREAK Ronnie O’Sullivan admits intermittent fasting is giving him the hunger to become Crucible champion on Bank Holiday Monday.
The fitness-conscious Rocket is carefully watching what he eats as he tries to negotiate another slog of Sheffield snooker madness.
ReutersRonnie O’Sullivan defeated Ryan Day 13-7[/caption]
Even though he has to play late into the night, the world No.1 is trying to stay disciplined and not consume anything past 7pm.
There are the odd relapses – he had a takeaway Cantonese meal on Sunday evening – but on the whole, he feels more energised when he is giving his digestive system a break.
Though Mrs Maul’s marmalade, which he has been spreading on his scones in the build-up, remains a firm part of his diet in those hours when he does eat.
O’Sullivan, who is 49 in December, said: “I’m intermittent fasting for this tournament because it gives me more energy.
“It’s a tournament of endurance, stamina, concentration.
“Once the tournament’s over, I’ll be back to eating 24 hours a day but there are times when you have to work out what’s right for you.
“I go a certain period of time where I don’t eat. It’s just amazing for my body, the energy that you get from it.
“I cheated this morning, I had some milk in my tea! Tomorrow I’m going to try with no milk, a proper fast.
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The Rocket he has suffered a lifetime of yo-yoing weight, addiction and mental health struggles, and an often unhealthy relationship with food and fitness.
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“I’ve always found it works really well for me.
“I just got ill once. I think it was through antibiotics. The only way to give my stomach a rest was to stop eating.
“My nutritionist, who I wrote a book with, she said the only thing I could do was not eat.
“Obviously you’ve got to eat, but I tried it and I loved it. I thought it was great. I just felt it worked for me.
“I’m doing 16 or 17 hours at the moment. I try to stop at seven at night but it’s hard here because you’re playing matches, so I stopped at 8.30pm.
“I didn’t eat again until about 12.20pm before my match. It’s great. I feel good. I’m 48 and I feel energised. If I eat too much I get sluggish.
“Animals in the forest they go a couple of days without food and they get hungry and get their prey, eat it and digest it for a while.
“They’re not having three meals a day and snacking of a night.
I need every little advantage I can get at this stage
Ronnie O’Sullivan
“It’s just eat when you’re hungry and give your body a rest. It works for me anyway.
“I had Cantonese. I had some dim sum. When I’m breaking my fast I want to make sure it’s something I really like. It tastes really good as well, amazing.
“There are certain things I do. It doesn’t necessarily mean I’m going to win, but I need every little advantage I can get at this stage.”
O’Sullivan’s loyal fans must be salivating at the prospect of him lifting title No.8 and he moved a step closer by battering error-ridden Ryan Day 13-7.
This will be his 22nd appearance in the quarter-finals of the World Snooker Championship in 32 outings.
There was a bizarre moment at the start of Monday’s session when O’Sullivan had a brief joke with someone in the crowd.
The seven-time world champ revealed: “This woman got bit excited.
She’d probably never been to a snooker match before and was clapping on her own for 25 seconds.
“I told her to calm down a little bit. I didn’t want her to think I was telling her off.
“I gave her a little smile at the end to show I wasn’t out to get her.”
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