Marshal Yanda, a celebrated former offensive guard for the Baltimore Ravens, has undergone a remarkable transformation since his retirement from the NFL at the end of the 2019 season. This article explores Yanda's weight loss journey, delving into the motivations, methods, and lifestyle changes that led to his impressive physical transformation.
The Turning Point: Frustration and a Peloton Bike
Following the Baltimore Ravens’ shocking loss to the Tennessee Titans in the divisional round of the playoffs, Yanda felt frustrated. This spurred him to embark on a path that would transform his 35-year-old body.
Yanda's anger spurred him to pick up the cycling shoes that lay on the floor for four months and climb aboard his wife’s Peloton for the first time. He furiously pedaled and pedaled, moving further away from a bitter end to an All-Pro career and embarking on a path that would transform his 35-year-old body.
The Marshal Plan: A Meticulous Approach to Weight Loss
Yanda approached his weight loss with the same dedication and meticulousness that defined his football career. One of Yanda’s first calls after the season went to Chris Doyle, the University of Iowa strength coach and his mentor, for a plan to shed the weight. Doyle said. "This is the next step. This is the goal. This the plan. This is how I’m going to methodically knock it out. This is how meticulous and detailed I’m going to do it. That was just the way he approaches everything. The way he approaches a pass set. The way he approaches the run game. The way he approaches game prep.
The Numbers: A Significant Transformation
Between his final NFL game and his retirement ceremony in early March, Yanda dropped a whopping 45 pounds. A revamped exercise routine, a couple of checked bags of tuna and a fierce willpower led Yanda to lose more than 60 pounds in his first three months of retirement. He went from being a burly 312-pound offensive lineman to resembling a rookie tight end at 245 pounds.
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Yanda explained he's reduced his daily caloric intake from 6,000 in the NFL to 2,200.
The Routine: Cycling, Sauna, and Family Walks
Yanda's daily regimen includes riding 45 minutes on the stationary bike -- he sweats so much that he bought a boot drier for his cycling shoes. He then hops in the sauna to burn off more calories.Now, five days a week, he’s putting in 4 miles in an hour alongside his wife, Shannon, and children Graham, Logan and Libby, all of whom are under the age of 10.
Cheat Days: A Necessary Indulgence
Once a week, Yanda treats himself to a couple of double cheeseburgers or a mini-barbecue feast that includes ribs, brisket, pulled pork, cole slaw, baked beans and, of course, cornbread."Now, the problem is, I eat too much and I’m so damn uncomfortable,” Yanda said. “My stomach is all in knots.”
Inspiration from a Former Teammate: Matt Birk
For inspiration to lose weight, Yanda didn’t have to look far. In fact, he only had to turn to his left. Former Pro Bowl center Matt Birk, who lined up next to Yanda in the Super Bowl seven years ago, lost 75 pounds and 10 inches from his waist line in 2013, his first year away from the game. Other linemen such as Faneca, Joe Thomas, Jordan Gross and Nick Hardwick have all dropped at least 50 pounds.
Birk said. "You like to have goals and focus on things. It’s like, well, football took up so much of that before and I don’t have that anymore. I might as well put some of that energy into dropping a few pounds.”
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Fishing for Fitness: Catching a 270-Pound Tuna
For Yanda, he combined a couple of passions with his free time, using his first big fishing trip in retirement to help him with his weight loss. He went to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and left with one of his primary sources of lean protein. Yanda caught his biggest fish ever -- a 270-pound yellowfin tuna -- which he proudly made his first (and currently only) post on Instagram. It’s quite an achievement considering he had never brought in a fish larger than 100 pounds. It was a 90-minute tug-of-war before he finally reeled it in.
New Habits: Embracing Change
Yanda is a creature of habit, although there is a purpose that comes with it. That’s why it’s been even more startling for some to see such drastic changes with someone who had been so set in his ways. Yanda is under 250 pounds for the first time since his sophomore year of high school. All of his dress clothes and jeans fall off him. He used to wear pants as big as size-44 waist. These days, the size-38 ones are feeling loose on him.
A New Look: Shaving the Beard
It’s not just the pounds that are missing. Yanda shaved the bushy beard that he had for most of nearly 15 years. The last time he removed it was after the Ravens won the Super Bowl in 2013, and he hated how round his face was. He grew it back for “camouflage.” After he dropped 30 pounds, Yanda was excited to see how he looked without the beard. He has been so pleased that he bought an electric razor and shaves every other day.
Life on the Farm: A Return to Roots
As he spoke on the phone Monday afternoon, Marshal Yanda was seated on a tractor. This is corn harvesting season in Iowa, so Yanda has been spending a chunk of his first year away from the NFL, helping out and doing work on his dad’s farm. Yanda lives about 22 miles away from the farm and on many days, he’ll get on his bike and make the trip in a little over an hour. Then, after a long day’s work, the former Ravens right guard will hop back on his bike for the trip home.
Reflections on Retirement: What He Misses and Doesn't Miss
I’ve transitioned to being a fan obviously because I care about all those guys in that building, so I want to watch them. Obviously, I miss Sundays. That’s why you play. It’s why I played. I loved it. Sundays are what I miss the most - a big game, waking up and wanting to compete against those guys. And then also, the locker room. I miss the camaraderie of the guys. When Monday and Tuesday comes around, I don’t miss feeling like I got the shit beat out of me and I’ve got to get the soreness and the stiffness out by lifting weights and all that jazz. Obviously, as I got older, the more you play, the slower you got over your soreness and your recovery. That’s what I don’t miss.
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A Word of Advice: The Importance of the "Want To"
"There are two words: It's the 'want to,'" he said. "If you want to do it, you'll do it. It's how bad you want to. People want to talk about it, but at the end of the day, do you really want to? That's important."