We all love the idea of stuffing our faces but, dammit, there are only so many protein shakes that a person can drink.
Six months ago, Nick Hardwick weighed almost 300 pounds and was throwing his body into defensive linesmen for the San Diego Chargers.
The 33-year-old has since ended his season thanks to a serious neck injury but he recently revealed the ludicrous number of calories that he was taking in in an attempt to sustain the weight necessary to succeed in the NFL.
This is what his daily diet looked like, according to an interview with MMQB.com today.
Before morning training – 600-calorie protein shake and a bar that packed 20 grams of protein
Post-workout – 300-calorie Gatorade protein shake
After shower – large smoothie “with everything imaginable in it”—such as five eggs, sausage, and 32 ounces of whole milk
Watching film – Bag of mixed nuts
After meetings – 700-calorie protein shake
After practice – Another bloody protein shake
Lunch – Large salad with as much protein as possible
Dinner – Relatively normal portion of meat, potatoes, and vegetables
90 minutes after dinner – Cereal poured over a 32-ounce tub of Greek yogurt
Nightcap – 1,000+ calorie pint of Ben & Jerry’s
“I was disgusting,” Hardwick told Emily Kaplan when looking at old photos of himself.
Since his 2015 retirement, Hardwick decided to focus on losing all the weight that he had spent so many years piling on.
“I had been overweight nearly my entire life, and I knew I could get skinny,” he said. “I wanted a magazine six-pack, to look like Brad Pitt in Fight Club. That’s never gonna happen, but I might as well try.”
Hardwick now weighs in at around 225lbs thanks to the initial cutting out of carbs before slowly reintroducing them to his diet to fuel him post-workout.
In terms of exercise, he began doing Yoga and walking 5-6 miles a day and he looks and feels healthier.
As happy as we are for Hardwick, we very much like looking at his old diet and thinking “if a pro athlete can eat a pint of Ben & Jerry’s, then so can we.”
