The New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor isn’t afraid to indulge—and he’s not asking for permission, either. The four-time All-Star recently told PEOPLE that he keeps his diet flexible during the grind of the MLB season, admitting he enjoys “cookies, pizza, ice cream,” and isn’t afraid of the calories that come with them.
“I try to keep a diet,” Lindor said, “but at the end of the day… I worked hard enough, I’m going to celebrate with the stuff that I like.”
Cue the pearl-clutching. But before anyone starts pointing fingers or questioning his commitment to the Mets, let’s rewind to 2010 and revisit a much stranger, much sweeter story: the Twinkie diet.
The Twinkie Diet Proved a Bigger Point
That year, Mark Haub—a professor of human nutrition at Kansas State University—embarked on a 10-week “convenience store diet.” His goal? To prove that weight loss depends more on calorie intake than food quality. For 10 weeks, he dined almost exclusively on Twinkies, Doritos, powdered donuts, sugary cereal, and other snack foods. And he lost 27 pounds doing it.
Haub’s results didn’t just stop at the scale. His “bad” cholesterol (LDL) dropped by 20%, his “good” cholesterol (HDL) increased by 20%, and his triglycerides decreased by 39%. All while two-thirds of his daily intake came from junk food.
The point isn’t that Twinkies are good for you—Haub himself doesn’t recommend the diet—but that human health is more complex than we like to admit. The obsession with perfect, rigid diets overlooks the reality that balance, moderation, and sustainability are equally important, if not more so.
Lindor’s Balance: Fuel, Family, and Giving Back
Which brings us back to the Mets All-Star shortstop.
Lindor isn’t crushing candy bars between innings. He’s a world-class athlete who trains intensely and makes room for celebration. His message isn’t about abandoning nutrition. It’s about not shaming athletes—or anyone, really—for enjoying food and finding balance.
And there’s more to Lindor’s indulgences than just taste. His recent partnership with Dairy Queen for Miracle Treat Day helps raise money for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. For every Blizzard sold on July 31, a minimum of $1 is donated. Lindor’s personal Blizzard of choice? Cookie dough.
“I love cookies with the Blizzards,” he said, lighting up at the mention of ice cream. But the cause, not the calories, is what ultimately sold him on teaming up with DQ. “Something that I’m very passionate about is helping kids,” Lindor added.
That passion extends off the field, where he’s also navigating life as a father of three. Lindor and his wife, Katia, welcomed their son, Koa, in March, joining their daughters, Kalina and Amapola. The role of dad has changed his perspective.
“It definitely made me more sympathetic,” Lindor said. “It made me try to live life more in the moment… Live in the moment. Be present for them.”
That ethos—being present, celebrating wins, savoring joy—is reflected in how he approaches food, family, and baseball. And if that includes a scoop of cookie dough ice cream, so be it.
So the next time someone wants to lecture Lindor about pizza or a Blizzard, just remember: a guy once ate Twinkies for 10 weeks straight and his cholesterol improved. Perhaps we don’t know as much as we think about what “healthy” really means.
Mets All-Star Indulges Without Apology: ‘I’m Not Afraid of Calories’