Joe Thomas is a true legend in the world of American Football, and he’s not just any legend; he’s a living one! This former NFL player has set numerous records and captured the hearts of hundreds of thousands of fans with his incredible skills.
One of his most remarkable achievements is holding the record for the longest streak of more than 10,000 consecutive snaps played. But how did he reach such heights? Well, there’s a fascinating story behind it.
Becoming the greatest offensive lineman in football history requires tremendous effort, and Joe Thomas had to overcome some significant challenges along the way, especially when it came to his fitness. In his early years, he wasn’t exactly in top shape. However, Joe’s passion for the game drove him to find a way to succeed.
One of the biggest hurdles Joe faced was dealing with fluctuations in his weight. He once recalled in an interview with Men’s Health, “When I stepped onto the campus at Wisconsin in July of my freshman year, I was 250 pounds. They were trying to move me to the offensive line. And 250 pounds wasn’t going to cut it.”
But Joe Thomas wasn’t one to back down from a challenge. He dedicated himself to improving his fitness, with a particular focus on gaining weight.
In just a few months, he achieved his goal by consuming “a sandwich every 30 minutes on top of my three main meals a day.” This remarkable effort saw Joe’s weight increase to 325 pounds.
Thanks to his determination and hard work, he secured the position he desired most: offensive lineman. Joe Thomas’s journey from 250 pounds to 325 pounds is a testament to the power of dedication and passion in achieving one’s dreams.
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Thomas’ Recent Weight Loss
Joe’s fitness during his whole career is a legendary and well-known story that we will touch upon later. However, the thing that has shocked everyone is Joe’s recent drastic weight loss. After retirement, Thomas’ fans didn’t get a lot of seeing him.
So, when they saw Thomas’ new photo, which was circulating on the internet, their shocking reaction totally made sense. Joe has lost 50 pounds and is still working on his weight loss.
So, the question is how did he do that? And we understand how much you guys want to know about his sudden weight loss. So, let’s dig in.
Joe Thomas’ Weight Loss Journey
Before we discuss how did he do that, another tempting question is why did he do that. Well, after retirement, Joe didn’t get to move much. Sure he was hitting the gym and doing workouts but the weight he had gained to play games wasn’t required anymore and it was becoming a kind of liability.
It was not only slowing Joe down but was also becoming a threat to his health. Joe’s irritation with his weight is summed up in his following statement, “Towards the end, I couldn’t wait until I was done playing and could lose weight and move around and feel better and go shoot hoops with my buddies again. I wanted to be the weight I was in high school: 250 pounds”.
So after answering the question of ‘why’, now let’s turn to the question of ‘how’. Thomas lost weight by changing his lifestyle radically. He changed almost every previous habit. Though his main focus was on his eating habits because that’s where the problem lay.
Besides his eating habits, Joe also started giving more attention and time to his workout routine. These two important habits combined helped him in getting over the growing weight. Here are the details:
Joe’s Diet Plan
First of all, Joe stopped consuming sugar. Because before starting his weight loss journey, he was consuming a lot of sugar and became addicted to it. Besides the love of sugar, Thomas also had the habit of overeating. Whenever he set to eat, he didn’t know where to stop.
Here’s how he, himself, described the situation, “You’re just eating until you feel sick at every meal. And that’s not healthy long term“. So, in order to cope with this problem, he started tracking things. Joe would keep the record of everything he ate.
For this purpose, he took the help of a mobile application, MyPlate Calorie Counter. The app is quite simple to use. All you have to do is input the name and amount of food you ate and the app will tell you how many calories did you eat. The information will accumulate throughout the day and at the end of the day, it will give you the whole report.
After using the app for a few days, Joe realized that he was consuming a very unhealthy amount of sugar and started working on it. Thomas not only succeeded in getting rid of sugar consumption he also gave up every kind of oily food.
He started fasting. “For me, fasting has the primary benefit of eliminating breakfast, which for me was 800-1,000 calories”, Joe explained his experience. In this way, Joe reduced the calories consumption and changed his diet plan from unhealthy to healthy.
Joe’s Workout Plan
Now, a diet plan without a workout plan might not be a good choice as burning calories is an important part of weight loss. Thomas followed a cardio workout routine. However, he had some problems with his joints. So, he did “low impact cardio”. “I fell in love with swimming and biking. Low impact cardio is best because I’m a bigger guy”, Thomas told the interviewer.
Along with cardio, Joe also practices Yoga. It helps him in achieving peace of mind and is a low-impact exercise as well. Though it does not save him from being made fun of by his wife. “My wife laughs. She calls it ‘Stretch’. But for me, it’s a great workout because I sweat heavily”, Joe said.
Before & After Weight Loss
With a spark of excitement in his voice, Joe couldn’t contain his joy as he shared, “I’m down to 255 pounds!” It was a remarkable moment for him, having successfully shed a substantial 50 pounds from his previous weight of 305 pounds. This journey was nothing short of extraordinary.
Joe’s determination and hard work had led to this incredible transformation. He embarked on a challenging path, making changes to his diet and exercise routine, which ultimately resulted in his remarkable weight loss.
It wasn’t easy, but his commitment to becoming healthier and more fit was unwavering.
Joe intentionally gained weight during his career
Joe loved his position and was ready to do anything to save it. The most important thing for him was stability in his weight. Thomas said that most players feared if they had gained weight because they would get fined but I had to keep up the weight.
Here is how Joe explains his problem “It was stressful because if I went two hours without eating a Thanksgiving meal, I knew I was losing weight”, he continued, “So I was the guy that was always sitting at the table cleaning everybody else’s plates”.
This pretty much explains his later problem with weight gain. However, the good thing is that he succeeded in getting rid of extra pounds and bad eating habits.
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Final Words
Joe’s weight loss journey is a very good example for anyone who is looking forward to getting rid of unhealthy and extra pounds. He took the right action at the right time and changed his health for the good.
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