Serena Williams says her first training-day meal comes later than people might expect

Serena Williams, 44, said she doesn't commencement her training days pinch breakfast.

"I'm not really a meal person, truthful my first repast is usually astir lunchtime. I'll commencement pinch protein, person thing lighter earlier I train, and past make judge I person a much important repast afterward to recover," Williams told People successful an question and reply published connected Friday.

But erstwhile it comes to dinner, Williams has a different priority.

The tennis prima said she tries to navigator for her daughters, Olympia and Adira, each night, because "that repast is little astir what I request for training and much astir sitting down together arsenic a family."

Having that value clip together is important to her, she said.

Even pinch her training-focused diet, Williams said 1 unexpected staple is portion of the mix. "I emotion tacos," she said.

Eating to support her training does not mean depriving herself of the foods she likes.

"When I'm competing, I'm focused connected eating what I request to consciousness beardown and execute my best, but I besides judge successful enjoying yourself. It's each astir balance," she said.

At the US Open, that includes making room for New York's nutrient scene. "New York has immoderate of the champion nutrient successful the world, truthful it's intolerable not to indulge a small erstwhile I'm there," Williams said.

While eating meal tin beryllium beneficial, skipping it is not needfully a problem.

Research has shown that eating breakfast is associated pinch benefits for illustration weight nonaccomplishment and much unchangeable humor sweetener levels. At the aforesaid time, skipping meal could beryllium a shape of intermittent fasting, which is besides associated pinch a little consequence of chronic unwellness and amended humor sweetener control.

Whether meal useful champion depends mostly connected the individual. "The timing of your time depends connected schedule and your digestion. Some group should eat earlier, and immoderate mightiness not consciousness quiet successful the morning," Bonnie Taub-Dix, a registered dietitian and nutritionist, told Business Insider.

Other athletes person besides spoken astir not having the wont of eating breakfast.

Buffalo Bills backmost Josh Allen said successful July 2025 that he doesn't usually get quiet successful the mornings.

"Sometimes I don't eat breakfast, and I don't travel the intermittent fasting diet," Allens said.

New York Knicks subordinate Karl-Anthony Towns told Business Insider successful April that he's "not a large meal guy," and knows galore others who don't for illustration eating successful the greeting either. Instead, he prefers a liquid breakfast.

"When I aftermath up, I person 16 ounces of h2o and past achromatic coffee, MCT lipid (derived from thenar kernel and coconut oils for an power boost), and chickenhearted bone broth," he said.