We all know how crucial food is when it comes to performance, especially in sports, and Rory McIlroy proved just that. The 35-year-old Irish golfer made a major change to his diet, cutting out two specific foods in an effort to boost his game, and it paid off with a Masters title. As one of the most talented and successful golfers of his generation, McIlroy turned professional in 2007 and quickly made a name for himself in the sport. His career has been defined by incredible success , with four major championship wins under his belt: the U.S. Open (2011), the PGA Championship (2012, 2014), and The Open Championship (2014) and the Masters Tournament (2025). It's not just McIlroy's natural talent that has fuelled his success, as he's dedicated a lot of effort to perfecting his diet and fitness to keep performing at his best. Rory opened up to Golf.com about his dietary overhaul: "I had to up my protein intake quite a bit. I'd eat a gram of protein per pound of body weight. I still do that, 170 grams per day of protein." However, he decided to cut out two traditional sources of protein — pork and eggs. He explained the change by discussing his gluten-free diet, saying, "It just doesn't agree with my body. Those are more of a personal thing that's unique to my body." Alongside these modifications, McIlroy also scaled back on two favourite sweet treats: chocolate and ice cream, now reserving them for infrequent spoiling. "I don't think you want to demonise food," McIlroy remarked. "It's about being able to fit it into your diet so you can have it every once in a while and feel good about it and not feel guilty. There's so much guilt associated with eating. If you can break that mental barrier, you'll be better off." The golf star is also known for his vigorous fitness regimen, which has intensified since his early career days. His exercise ritual kicks off with dynamic warm-up actions such as light jogging, lunges, and rotational squat jumps. McIlroy’s challenging fitness program incorporates deadlifts, pull-ups, planks, dumbbell exercises, more lunges, and a medicine ball rotation drill meant to boost his flexibility. Every element of his workout is performed three times, while the rotation exercise is repeated ten times on each side. To prevent stiffness and potential injuries, he concludes his regimen with a series of stretches for his cool-down. Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .