For Redskins’ Williams, slimming down is a weighty matter

Enisha Williams only noticed the change in her husband, Mike, around Christmas when she looked at some pictures and had a means of comparison. It was both a shock and a revelation.

“He’s not a blubbery guy,” she said, “but in his face, you could just see it.”

Mike Williams, a retired NFL offensive lineman at the time, had become obese. Even when carried on a 6-foot-6 frame, 450 pounds is way too much - blubbery by any standard.

“He was not in a good place,” Enisha said. “I almost cried [when I heard how much he weighed]. My heart just hurt. I felt I was slowly but surely killing my husband.”

Williams, who is working with a personal trainer in Arizona as he prepares for training camp with the Washington Redskins, blames only himself. Enisha brought the fruit punch and juice home from the store, but nobody forced Mike to drink gallons of it. No one made him scoop the ice cream and crack open the cookies at 1 a.m. or sit on his butt for countless hours in lieu of exercising.

“You eat beyond what your body needs, and I got into a routine of eating beyond what my body needed,” said Williams, who has missed the past three NFL seasons. “And I was doing it for two years. I didn’t have any obligations. I didn’t need to be on the field. I did my business behind a desk. I stayed behind the computer six, seven, eight hours a day.”

Williams last played in 2005. A former All-American at Texas drafted fourth overall by Buffalo in 2002, he started at offensive tackle for three years, then got hurt during his fourth and was released. Jacksonville picked him up, but Williams hurt himself lifting weights and was later cut.

He played at 370 pounds in Buffalo, and even though his performance was less than what many expected, he said his weight was never an issue. Ever since his growth spurt began at 14 or 15, he was always big. He weighed more than 300 pounds throughout high school but wore it well, maintaining his quickness and agility from when he played tailback and some soccer in middle school.

“As a family, we never addressed [his weight],” said his brother, Kevin. “He was never quote-unquote fat.”

But last Christmas he was. In February, Williams checked into Duke’s Diet and Fitness Center, committed to losing more than a hundred pounds to get to 345 - which is what he weighed his junior year at Texas - by the start of training camp. By the time he checked out in April, he had lost 40.

That was only the start.

Since then, Williams had dropped another 40, down to about 365. Twenty to go - the hardest 20 - with a less than a month remaining. A Web site that tracks his weight loss has a poll on whether Williams will make his goal. At the start, a majority voted “no.” But since the pounds started melting, Williams has resoundingly turned the numbers around.

Mike Williams calls his regimen “the grind.” It boils down to exercise and common sense.

“Calories in and calories out,” he said. “Old-fashioned down and dirty.”

No pills or any other assistance. He never skips a meal, even if the meal is just a protein bar. Red meat is out, except for bison, which has almost no fat and he said is delicious. Chicken, fish and vegetables are in. Nothing fried. No carbs at night; no more of that juice. Water is the beverage of choice, more than eight glasses a day. Fruit? It has too much sugar to be a big part. And he never cheats - except for an occasional sandwich, on whole wheat, naturally.

Story Continues →