National Football League

Nick Hardwick drops 85 pounds after his Chargers retirement

Published Jun. 4, 2015 2:54 p.m. ET

foxsports

Nick Hardwick looks nothing like the guy who entered the league with Philip Rivers and played ten years as the Chargers' center.

That's because he no longer needs to maintain his 305-pound playing weight as the anchor of San Diego's offensive line. He's lost nearly 85 pounds since his retirement in February, according to Sports Illustrated's MMQB.com.

Hardwick had to obsess about his playing weight in order to stay that size. He said consumed an insane amount of calories on any given day, including, but not limed to:

Said Hardwick: "I was disgusting."

But the former center is far from alone in this routine. Plenty of current and former NFLers are, as Hardwick said, "not naturally" big people.

For many of those players, post-NFL life is a relief. But not Hardwick, who approached weight loss with the same intensity he once saved for weight gain -- fasting, yoga, walking five miles a day, etc. etc.

He's down to 225 pounds now, less than one year after his final NFL season. And needless to say, Hardwick feels (and looks) like a totally new person.

Great spending time with my man @raoulfox5. Wonderful interview. #truepro #madeiteasy pic.twitter.com/e0JcP7zUi6
— Nick Hardwick (@hardwina) May 28, 2015