Athletes who have lost a ton of weight, before and after
Many athletes struggle with their weight after retirement, or even in the middle of their careers. Below, see 12 current and former athletes who decided to make a change and saw the pounds melt away.
Drag the slider to see the amazing physical transformations.
Antone Davis
Weight before: 447
Weight after: 245
How he lost the weight: After signing on for season 12 of NBC’s The Biggest Loser, Davis underwent a shocking transformation. The former NFL offensive lineman had at one point ballooned up to 447 pounds after retiring from the league, but he lost a whopping 202 pounds in 10 weeks on the show.
Nate Newton
Weight before: 400
Weight after: 220
How he lost the weight: After retiring from the NFL, Newton packed 75 pounds onto his 325-pound frame. Pushing 400 pounds on the scale, he decided to undergo vertical sleeve gastrectomy, a weight-loss procedure that is similar to stomach stapling.
Alan Faneca
Weight before: 320
Weight after: 210
How he lost the weight: Following his retirement from the NFL, Faneca lost 110 pounds in a span of only seven months. He limited himself to 1,800 calories a day and took up running. Earlier this year he ran a marathon in New Orleans, finishing it in just under four hours.
Matt Birk
Weight before: 310
Weight after: 235
How he lost the weight: You wouldn’t expect a former 310-pound NFL offensive lineman to become a model, but that’s exactly what Birk is doing. He decided to change his diet and lifestyle, and after discovering the company ViSalus, he is focusing his post-NFL career on spreading the message of the importance of proper nutrition and healthy weight loss.
Damien Woody
Weight before: 388
Weight after: 314
How he lost the weight: ESPN NFL analyst and former offensive lineman Damien Woody is the latest ex-pro athlete to go on NBC’s The Biggest Loser. He was inspired to lose the weight by his former coach, Rex Ryan. After a four-month hiatus from ESPN, Woody is back looking slimmer and in far better shape.
Jordan Gross
Weight before: 305
Weight after: 235
How he lost the weight: Gross decided to hang up his threads in the prime of his career, leaving millions on the table to move on to a broadcasting career despite being selected to the Pro Bowl.
Gross now runs trails, and instead of having to consume massive amounts of calories a day in order to stay at a competitive playing weight, he says he just eats how a normal person should.
Brad Culpepper
Weight before: 275
Weight after: 195
How he lost the weight: Culpepper lost 80 pounds in only eight months following his retirement from the NFL, and the former defensive lineman is barely recognizable. Not having to eat so much extra food to maintain the type of weight necessary to play in the trenches played a big factor, but he also ran and rode a stationary bike.
Jeff Saturday
Weight before: 295
Weight after: 230-240
How he lost the weight: Saturday joins a long list of former players who lost a lot of weight after retiring and taking up a job behind the camera. Now a broadcaster with ESPN, Saturday no longer has to eat thousands of calories a day in order to keep his weight up.
CC Sabathia
Weight before: 315
Weight after: 275
How he lost the weight: Concerned about his long-term health, the New York Yankees pitcher decided to take his eating habits seriously. Going on a no-carb diet and taking extra care to watch his food intake during the offseason, Sabathia looks like a completely new man.
Pablo Sandoval
Weight before: 278
Weight after: 240
How he lost the weight: The San Francisco Giants third baseman has struggled with his weight throughout his career. After losing his starting job near the end of the 2010 season, he underwent an intense training regimen with Triple Threat Performance instructors in Arizona to lose nearly 40 pounds.
Sandoval eventually packed on the pounds again following his 2011 transformation, but he recently lost it again thanks to a renewed focus on training and nutrition. He did some running on a beach and track, did some work in a pool and did agility drills used by basketball and soccer players.
Charles Barkley
Weight before: 350
Weight after: 309
How he lost the weight: After being told by his doctor that he would either get diabetes, have a stroke or die, Barkley said knew it was time for change. Jumping up 100 pounds following his retirement from the NBA, the Round Mound of Rebound became a spokesman for Weight Watchers and changed his diet.
Barry Bonds
Weight before: 240
Weight after: Unknown
How he lost the weight: Bonds has apparently taken up cycling, and lost a lot of bulk in the process.
JaMarcus Russell
Weight before: 315
Weight after: 265
How he lost the weight: The former No. 1 overall NFL draft pick ate himself out of the league back in 2010. After spending several years out of the NFL, Russell signed up with the TEST Football Academy. He reportedly lost more than 50 pounds, getting back to his pre-draft weight.
