Wayne Gretzky discloses his stomach-churning game day diet!

Just about every professional athlete in today's sports world has a very specific and rigid dietary regimen in order to help them continuously perform at the highest level. 

But back in the day when today's nutritional standards as well as supplements weren't around, the Great One himself revealed a rather eye-opening dietary plan that he'd follow on game day.

In fact, Gretzky's torrid scoring pace and NHL records were mostly fueled by junk food! Take a look at what Gretzky himself had to say about his typical playing days diet during a recent interview: 

"So, depending on what city we were in, if it was Chicago, there’d be pizza in the building. If it was Quebec City, there’d be hot dogs. Some cities, it was sandwiches. And, in those days, we didn’t have power bars, and we didn’t have Gatorade or Powerade, you know, the energy drinks. And, for me, I drank Diet Coke. I found that to be the same sort of stimulation as an energy drink. And we had chocolate bars. We didn’t have power bars.

So, if I had a Snickers or any kind of chocolate bar, I found that gave me energy. And sometimes, it lasted throughout the game, and other times I’d be hungry after the first period or second period, and I’d have a half a sandwich or just something to give me that little bit of energy."

And as just about everyone knows, Gretzky was a strict creature of habit and routine: 

“Well, listen, my dad was a big believer that part of being a good athlete was not just practice, and not just physically preparing, but to be mentally prepared, whether it be the proper rest the day before, the day of, proper nutrition, proper diet,” he said. “He really was a big believer that if you didn’t have a proper meal the night before, that physically you couldn’t be at your best. And so, I never changed my routine my entire career, my entire life. … I got dressed the same way all the time. I always got dressed on the right side, my right sock, my right shin pad, my right elbow pad, my right skate. Just, you know, you can say it’s superstition, but it’s partly routine, also.”

Hey, whatever works! But you can bet that this kind of routine would give the nutritionists of today's NHL teams nightmares (and maybe a few stomach cramps as well)!