Russell Wilson has lost more than 10 pounds with new diet

Russell Wilson dealt with a number of injuries last season that limited his mobility, but it sounds like we will be seeing a much healthier — and even a little leaner — Wilson this year.

Wilson put on some extra weight in 2016 because injuries to his knee and ankle prevented him from sticking to his normal conditioning routine. With the help of a new diet this offseason that calls for him to eat nine times a day and stay away from dairy and gluten, Wilson has lost more than 10 pounds since the end of the season.

“Just trying to really focus on trying to eat really, really well and have great nutrition,” he told ESPN’s Sheil Kapadia. “I think it’s critical. It allows you to wake up feeling good, feeling strong. It allows you to excel throughout the day and have tons of strength and energy. So I think it’s really important for me.”

Wilson weighed over 225 pounds when he first met with nutritionist Philip Goglia back in March. He was eating about 2,700 calories per day at the time, but Goglia increased the intake to 4,800. Even with nearly doubling his caloric intake, Wilson recently weighed in at 214 and wants to play below 215 in 2017.

It hasn’t been easy for Wilson to cut out some of his favorite foods, but Goglia’s diet allows him one cheat night a week.

“I love cheese — hence Wisconsin,” Wilson, who played football at the University of Wisconsin, quipped. “I love cheese, so that’s always something that you’ve got to be careful of. … Date night — Ciara and I get to eat pretty good.”

Between last year’s injury-riddled season and the things that have been said recently about his relationship with his teammates, Wilson should be plenty motivated heading into the season. If he’s fully healthy and keeps his weight down, we should see more of the playmaking ability we’ve grown used to.