Rex Ryan is a big dude. He recently admitted that he gained 30 pounds to reach a whopping 340 last year. As a result, he’s recently gone on a liquid diet thanks to the Jets’ medical staff. Looks like New York will have a Sexy Rexy of its own in a matter of weeks.
Via New York Daily News:
CORTLAND – Rex Ryan had just completed his first training-camp practice as an NFL head coach, the realization of a lifelong dream. His team finally whole – running back Leon Washington ended his mini-holdout – Ryan had a lot to feel good about Friday morning, but there was one item on his agenda he dreaded.
Lunch. His menu: A vegetable shake that included a yellow onion. “That,” Ryan said, “will be absolutely brutal.” Welcome to his training-camp battle.Stunningly candid, Ryan admitted his weight has ballooned 30 pounds since the end of last season to 340. Members of the Jets’ medical staff gently encouraged him to address the issue, prompting him to start a five-day liquid diet Friday at breakfast – a citrus concoction of grapefruit, lemon and oranges.
The irony is unavoidable. Every player on the team made his prescribed weight and passed the mandatory conditioning test, Ryan proudly announced, but the coach himself is fighting obesity.“Let’s see if I hang in there with this diet,” said Ryan, a self-proclaimed food lover. “I’m sure there will be a lot of bets around here. I’ll bet on myself.”
Ryan has no qualms about discussing his weight problem. He recently admitted he suffers from dyslexia, showing he’s not shy about publicizing his personal life – a quality that humanizes him in a profession of automatons. He casually mentioned his diet to reporters after noting how backup nose tackle Howard Green (6-2, 320) had dropped 20 pounds.The self-deprecating Ryan fired off funny one-liners about his weight gain (“It was a good summer,” “There are so many Italian restaurants” in New Jersey), but he recognizes the serious nature of his condition. This isn’t his first diet – in Baltimore, he dropped 30 pounds as part of a fund-raiser for his son’s travel baseball team – but this time he’s serious.
Tags: football, new york jets, NFL, Rex Ryan
