How Rex Ryan Dropped 100+ Pounds

[media-credit name="Photo credit: Denise Crew" align="alignleft" width="200"][/media-credit]There's a new addition to the New York Jets who's drawing plenty of buzz at the team's training camp this summer. His arrival was one of the most shocking moves of the NFL offseason, and the natural leader has a habit of causing hoopla wherever he goes—especially in the Big Apple.

No, we're not talking about Tim Tebow.

Instead, it's Rex Ryan, entering his fourth year as head coach of the Jets, who's making all the headlines. Controversy is nothing new for the brazen coach—see the bleep-filled press conferences, the bulletin-board brags, and the infamous foot-fetish videos—but this time, it's his waist size, not his big mouth, that's doing the talking.

Meet the newly skinny Rex Ryan 2.0, who has shed more than 100 pounds from his formerly fat frame—he once peaked at 348—since undergoing adjustable gastric band (lab band) surgery in March 2010. Ryan has been steadily dropping weight for more than two years, but is just opening up now after passing the important milestone. And since Ryan has a hard time keeping his mouth shut about anything, you know his big weight loss is a big deal.

Now, as Ryan prepares for another promise-filled Jets campaign—“I feel better going into this season than any other season before," he says—he wants to share his lifelong struggles with obesity and what it's like to weigh less than one Tim Tebow. (Looking for the ultimate weight-loss workout? Check out Speed Shred, the first-ever DVD fitness series from Men’s Health that's scientifically designed to boost your metabolism and incinerate fat.)

Men's Health: You've always been a big guy. Did you reach a literal tipping point that prompted you to finally try and lose weight?

Rex Ryan: I tried a million diets, and I was successful with a bunch of them. But I would just gain the weight right back. Once, during my first year coaching with the Jets, I literally thought my defensive coordinator Mike Pettine was behind me stepping on the scale as I weighed myself—but there was nobody there. I was 348 pounds! Oh my gosh. I knew I was having shortness of breath going up the stairs, and I knew I was heavy, but I just thought I was 300 pounds. I had no idea it had gotten that bad. So I knew then, after a couple of my former players had talked to me about lap band, that the surgery was exactly what I had to do.

Men's Health: Why do you think you weren't successful with traditional weight loss methods?

Rex Ryan: I lost discipline. Of the 50 people who successfully lose weight from diet and exercise, only one will maintain it over the long haul. For whatever reason, I could never get down portion control, and that’s something I tried over and over so many different times. So basically what the lap band does is teach you how to eat normally. (Do you struggle like Rex once did? Here are 9 Weight-Loss Rules That Work.)

Men's Health: But couldn't you have saved yourself the inherent risk with the surgery, and just stopped eating as much? Or were there psychological triggers that kind of got in the way with that?

Rex Ryan: I would think it’s more psychological. For someone who’s not heavy, they're able to push away from the table, do pushups, and win the battle of the bulge that way. But for those of us who are morbidly obese, trust me, there’s something else more to it than that. So this was just an easy way, and it's obviously been really successful.

Men's Health: How has your weight loss helped you as a coach?

Rex Ryan: I really don't know. I was always energized in football anyway, no matter how heavy I was. And there have been a lot of real successful guys that are heavy, and I certainly would not look down upon a guy because he’s heavy and can’t do the job. I totally disagree with that, because I spent my whole life doing a pretty good job being passionate about my position and having a work ethic as good as anybody. So I’m really not sure. I’m gonna look a lot better, but I’m a fierce competitor whether I’m 350 pounds or where I’m at right now. (For must-have weight-loss advice delivered directly to your inbox, sign up for our free Personal Trainer newsletter.)

Men's Health: Your brother Rob, the defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys, also underwent lap band surgery earlier this year. Do the Ryan brothers have a competition to see who can lose the most weight?

Rex Ryan: [Laughs] No, but I’m sure my brother will try and make it one. He’s down like 60 pounds already, but he's got a way to go. I wouldn’t be surprised if he can catch me. I’ve been able to help him with some of the steps, and I think once he really can recognize when it’s time to stop eating, practice portion control, and exercise, he’s gonna lose a ton more weight.

Men's Health: Are you getting any flak from your players now that you're not the biggest guy in the locker room?

Rex Ryan: That's true—and I found out that I weigh less than Tim Tebow! The guys are in a little better shape than me, though. [Laughs]

Men's Health: I assume you've had to ditch most of your old wardrobe, too.

Rex Ryan: I’ve literally had to just empty my closet and throw away or donate all my clothes and start new. That’s a bad thing financially, but trust me, I feel great about it.

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• The Tim Tebow Workout

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