For nine seasons, Eric Wood battled in the trenches of the NFL, maintaining a weight of over 300 pounds to gain an advantage on the field. "As an offensive lineman, you get paid to be big," Wood stated. However, his career took an unexpected turn in 2018 when a neck injury forced him into early retirement. This marked the beginning of a new chapter, one focused on health, family, and inspiring others.
The Turning Point: A Career-Ending Injury
The week leading up to his son’s birth was a whirlwind for Wood. The Buffalo Bills had just broken a 17-year playoff drought, and Wood, a team captain, had played every offensive snap. He had even signed a two-year, $16 million contract extension four months prior. However, his year-end physical revealed a neck injury, the severity of which would soon become clear.
While at the hospital for his son’s birth, Wood received a call from Bills spine orthopedist Dr. Andrew Cappuccino. The news was devastating: a disc was pressing against his spinal cord at C-2, C-3. Surgery could alleviate the pressure but would render him unable to play football again.
"It’s bad," Wood recalled the doctor saying. "You have a disk sitting right on your spinal cord at C-2, C-3. We can do surgery to pull that off, but that surgery will make you too unstable to play football again. You’ll never pass a physical after that surgery, and you’ll never pass a physical if you don’t have surgery.”
The diagnosis was a crushing blow. Wood, a respected leader and integral part of the Bills' offensive line, was forced to retire. His farewell news conference was clumsy, and he retreated home to Louisville to focus on his family.
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The Weight Loss Journey: A Focus on Health
Retirement presented Wood with a new challenge: transforming his body and adopting a healthier lifestyle. His number one priority was to lose weight. Since then, he's lost 65 pounds and is focused on living a long, healthy and active life.
During his playing career, Wood had an experience that stuck with him. "I remember sitting with my wife’s grandmother in Naples, Florida at their church service one Sunday during my playing career," recalls Wood."Most of the congregation was over the age of 80, and the thing that stuck out to both of us was how much bigger, especially heavier, I was than everyone else there.
He made significant changes to his diet, including restricting his eating window to 8 hours a day and reducing his consumption of simple carbohydrates and processed foods. "I became more aware of sugar intake throughout my playing career," says Wood.
Key Dietary Changes
Wood's dietary transformation involved several key strategies:
- Time-Restricted Eating: Limiting his eating window to 8 hours a day helped regulate his calorie intake and improve his body's metabolic processes.
- Reduced Carbohydrate Intake: Cutting back on simple carbohydrates and processed foods stabilized his blood sugar levels and promoted fat loss.
- Focus on Whole Foods: Emphasizing nutrient-dense, unprocessed foods provided his body with the vitamins and minerals it needed to thrive.
UCAN: A Source of Sustained Energy
UCAN is an integral part of Wood's diet for healthy, all-day energy to accomplish the various passions he’s pursuing in this next phase. As an NFL player, Wood relied on UCAN for long-lasting, stomach-friendly energy to achieve peak performance. He was originally introduced to UCAN by Will Greenberg, Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach with the Buffalo Bills. The team would provide bananas and peanut butter & jelly sandwiches to the players, but it didn't sit well in Wood's stomach. He found UCAN to be a great alternative to sugary products and foods. Wood's game day routine included a serving of UCAN Energy Powder the morning of the game, a second serving pre-game, and a third serving at halftime. "The goal for an offensive lineman is to never come out of the game the entire time. With UCAN, I never felt like I had to hold anything back.
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From Gridiron to Golf Course: An Active Retirement
Today, Wood is an avid golfer, still works out, and loves being active with his young kids. While some of the habits he picked up as a pro no longer serve him in retirement, there are certain healthy habits that he continues to follow on his fitness journey.
Despite the abrupt end to his football career, Wood has embraced his new life with enthusiasm. He remains active, enjoys time with his family, and has found new passions to pursue.
A Lasting Legacy: More Than Just Football
Eric Wood's impact extends far beyond the football field. He was a three-time captain, twice a Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee, a Pro Bowler, and trusted by his teammates as their union rep. The Eric Wood Fund will stay in Western New York to raise money and provide support for seriously ill and special needs children. His candidacy for the Bills’ Wall of Fame is valid.
“The people of Buffalo just adored Eric from the moment he was drafted,” Leslie said. “Before they really knew his character, they just kind of embraced him and hoped he would be an awesome football player. I’m super proud of what he did. He didn’t waste his time.
Overcoming Adversity: A Testament to Resilience
Wood's career was marked by numerous injuries, but his resilience and determination always shone through. He battled back from a compound fracture, bone spurs, and a torn knee ligament, earning the respect of his teammates and fans.
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“When I saw that injury in Jacksonville, I wasn’t sure he was ever going to walk again,” Jackson said.
Leadership and Maturity: Evolving as a Player
Wood's leadership style evolved over time. Early in his career, he was known for his fiery passion, sometimes resulting in outbursts on the sideline. However, he learned to channel his emotions and became a more effective leader.
“I was a big helmet-thrower on the sideline, a guy that would get in a shouting match with a coach,” Wood said. “I thought all that stuff showed passion, but it was immaturity. I really rode those highs and lows. One of the things I thank Doug Marrone for is when he got to the Bills, he said, ‘Hey, we want you to be a captain and a leader for this team. Quit throwing your helmet and quit making a scene. This isn’t about you.’ It was exactly what I needed to hear at that point.”
A Simple Strategy for a Positive Mindset
Eric Wood has a brilliantly simple strategy for dealing with the problem of maintaining a positive mindset. His approach involves a simple system of daily journaling. Once in the morning and once before bed for no more than 5 minutes. The first journal Eric recommends maintaining is a “gratitude journal.” A gratitude journal is very simply a collection of things you are grateful for. Every morning, Eric writes three things in his journal that he’s grateful for. Just three short bullet point entries. They can be big or small. Life isn’t always filled with big special moments, so it’s important to capture the small things that are going well. Recording a podcast. Eating a nice meal. A hug from your kid. Eric makes this part of his consistent morning routine. His specific routine centers around his faith and getting his morning started healthily. Reading the bible gets him centered spiritually. Eating well gets him centered nutritionally. "You fuel yourself in a number of ways," says Eric. "You fuel yourself with the workouts that you do. You fuel yourself with what you put into your mind and what you put into your body. What you feed yourself from a knowledge standpoint will come out of your mouth. What are you filling your mind and your heart with? How you fuel your body determines if you have the energy each and every single day to be able to show up for your loved ones, show up on a podcast, show up at work. The second journal Eric recommends is a “what I did well today” journal. Renowned running coach Greg McMillan calls this an “awesomeness journal” and it is a growing practice in both the athletic and business worlds. The negative things in our lives are on our minds constantly. As Eric says in our conversation, “Track your wins because what happens for most individuals is at night, you go to lay down the pillow. You haven't recounted your day at all, and you focus on that one negative thing. That one time you lost your temper. That one time you said something stupid. The one time you failed on the sales call. That's all you focus on before bed and you don't derive confidence from all the wins you stacked up throughout the day." By simply writing down three areas you did well, you counteract the default mindset of criticism and blame. You remind yourself that regardless of whatever mistakes were made, you did good things too. No, you weren’t perfect, but you have a choice to focus on what you did well or what you did poorly.
Finding a New Voice: Broadcasting Career
Since retiring from the NFL, Eric Wood has transitioned into a career in broadcasting. He provides color commentary for Buffalo Bills radio broadcasts and hosts his podcast, "What's Next?".