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WE ARE NOT about to start a LeBron James versus Michael Jordan debate, but if we're going on pure muscle, pound for pound, James has Jordan beat.

Part of this is how each player is built. Jordan is 6'6". James is 6'9". Jordan, at his athletic peak, weighed around 200 pounds. James? 250. The two men are physically different.

But the other part of the contrast is that James now plays in an NBA where nutrition is just as much of a training program as what happens in the weight room.

As Men’s Health has long reported, a solid approach to eating can help you not only better perform at sports, but it can protect against injury, keep you off the bench sidelined with illness, and even improve your mood. Exercising the right way can do this, of course, but working out isn’t the only piece of the better-body puzzle.

And while there's plenty of information out there on the workouts that have helped King James ascend the throne, there's been less focus on what James eats in a day to keep himself going (and going and going).

James has dropped tidbits about his diet over the years (and the guy is now an investor and spokesperson for Ladder, an athletic supplements company) largely on his social media accounts. These morsels reveal a broader meal plan that seems to adjust to James's needs depending on the situation at hand.

Here's how James evolves his diet, just like he evolves his gameplay.

LeBron James' Diet for Weight Loss

Way back in 2014, James posted a picture in which he looked noticeably slimmer, which sparked rumors that the NBA player had switched up his diet.

According to Business Insider, ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported James was on a diet on a podcast with Grantland's Bill Simmons. Windhorst didn't confirm how he knew about James' diet, but the well-connected sportswriter has been covering the NBA player since his days as a high school freshman in 1999.

He said James was probably in "the worst shape he's been in in a while" at the start of the 2013-14 season, and he got off to a "slow start" that year. That season came after he won the NBA Finals with the Miami Heat in June 2013 and got married to longtime girlfriend Savannah Brinson.

James himself poked fun at his diet with an Instagram post, and he opened up about it to reporters about a month later.

"I had no sugars, no dairy, I had no carbs," the father of three explained during an event to unveil his "LeBron 12" sneakers, as reported by Sports Illustrated. "All I ate was meat, fish, veggies and fruit. That's it. For 67 straight days."

During that time, James ate meals like lobster salad with asparagus and mango chutney, as well as an arugula salad with chicken, fruit, and nuts, topped with olive oil and lemon vinaigrette dressing.

He was so dedicated to his diet, he didn't eat the dessert a resort made for him when he was on vacation in Greece.

(Yeah, seriously.)

Some outlets reported James diet at the time was a low-carb diet, while others said it was Paleo, probably due to the fact that James' former Miami Heat teammate Ray Allen started a Paleo diet in 2013.

Both diets do overlap, with the guiding principle of limiting processed foods and foods high in carbohydrates, and instead reaching for whole foods such as lean meats, fish, and vegetables.

LeBron James' Training Diet

NBA games run for 48 minutes, but that doesn't count when the clock stops for fouls and timeouts, or when games go into overtime. That's a lot of active time, and that means the athletes need big-time calories before a game.

In 2016, James spoke with Business Insider about how he fuels up before game time. "Before competition for me would be like a chicken breast and maybe a little pasta. The carbs help because you're going out and playing a lot of minutes," he said. "But a salad and some veggies will have me perfectly fine. And before the game I might have a protein shake and some fruit, and I'll be ready to go."

Comparing himself to swimmer Michael Phelps, who is known to eat massive omelets, stacks of pancakes, and full-size pizzas during training, James said he'll "wait for that after the game. I can't do that before the game."

And as Stack reports, the NBA star slightly changes his approach when it's playoffs time. "The thing that I started cutting down is the sugars. When it comes to the playoffs, it kinda slows down the process of recovery. Throughout the regular season it's okay to have a little bit of it. But in the postseason, optimal recovery—whoever can recover the fastest from game to game is going to put themselves in position to be successful the next game," he said during a video on his UNINTERRUPTED platform.

James continued: "So the sugars I kinda cut out, but the carbs I kinda ramp up. Because you're losing so many calories, you're burning so many calories, burning all your energy throughout those games. So I kinda go heavy on the carbs because it gives you energy. It's worked for me."

Post-game, James reportedly rehydrates with a combination of water and a carbohydrate-rich recovery fluid provided by his personal trainer, Mike Mancias, to replace fluids lost.

As CBS Sports reports, this helps to refill his levels of glycogen, which is a stored form of carbohydrate found in the liver and muscle tissue that helps to provide the body with energy.

James then eats a meal with high quality-protein and carbs, much like his pre-game meal.

King James had also been known to get drinks from The Juice Spot post-workout. The now-closed juice shop was owned by his wife Savannah, and it offered juices, smoothies, and acai bowls. The "Peanut Butter Dream" smoothie that James was seen drinking on his Instagram featured ingredients like almond milk, peanut butter, whey, maca, cinnamon, and agave.

LeBron James' Cheat Day Diet

If his Instagram is any evidence, James is known to enjoy a good glass of wine. He told ESPN that he drinks wine "pretty much every day," and former Cleveland Cavaliers teammate Kevin Love mentioned that James "has a supercomputer in his brain" when it comes to wine.

While studies differ, most doctors agree that when consumed in moderation, red wine has health benefits, from increasing your levels of good HDL cholesterol to lowering your risk of heart attack, hence why James hashtagged one of his photos, "#GoodForMyHeart."

James also reportedly indulges himself at Blaze Pizza (though he's an investor, franchisee, and paid endorser of the made-to-order pizza company). In 2016, he shared a copy of his receipt when he ordered a pizza there, and his DIY pizza had a whopping 16 toppings on it — including, but not limited to, fresh basil, turkey meatballs, banana peppers, and kalamata olives.

LeBron James' Protein Shake Recipe

As previously reported by Men's Health, James' go-to shake tastes like a Reese’s cup crossed with a banana.

If that's not enough to sell you, it also contains 26 grams of muscle-building protein, delivers heart-healthy fats from the peanut butter, and provides enough energy to withstand endless Michael Jordan comparisons.

What You'll Need:
1 packet Ladder Chocolate Plant-Protein Powder
1 frozen banana
1 heaping Tbsp peanut butter
8 to 10 oz vanilla unsweetened almond milk
Handful of ice cubes

How to Make It:
In a blender, add the first 3 ingredients and puree until well combined. Then add the almond milk and ice until the desired consistency is achieved.

Nutrition per shake: 445 calories, 26g protein, 53g carbs (6g fiber), 15g fat