Lakers' LeBron James Talks Eliminating Alcohol, Diet Changes During Back Injury Rehab

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James says he gave up drinking wine and eating chocolate chip cookies for two months while recovering from his back injury earlier this season.

"I missed the first 14 games of the season. I wasn't playing in November. Missed all of training camp, everything," James told Steve Nash in Tuesday's episode of their Mind the Game podcast. "So I was like, 'Alright, I gotta take something out. I've got to sacrifice something.'"

James said that started with him cutting out wine, liquor and dessert for the month of November.

"Once I got to December, I was like, 'Oh.' I kept going. I didn't have my first drink, and my first piece of dessert, until New Year's night," James said. "So I ended up going basically two months."

James continued, "I was starting to round myself back into shape, and doing things that I couldn't do throughout the summer because of the back issue, and things of that nature. So, wanted to kind of give myself the best opportunity to doing the things I needed to do on the floor."

The most difficult part of the diet was stopping himself from eating cookies with ice cream, James told Nash.

James, who been limited throughout training camp and the preseason by what the Lakers described as sciatica on his right side, made his season debut on Nov. 18.

He hasn't missed any more extended periods of time since his season-opening injury, although he's been regularly sitting out one part of back-to-backs during his age-41 season.

James had averaged 22 points, 5.8 rebounds and 7.1 assists through 36 starts heading into last weekend's All-Star break.

He and the Lakers, which currently sit at No. 4 in the West with a 33-21 record, return to action Friday with a home game against the Los Angeles Clippers.