Ryan tackles weighty issue
Photo credit: Freelance/Photo by Patt Orr | N.Y. Jets coach Rex Ryan fields questions from the press while moving in to the dorms at Cortland State Collage in Cortland N.Y. on Thursday July 30
CORTLAND, N.Y.
The quarterback competition between Kellen Clemens and rookie Mark Sanchez will take center stage at Rex Ryan's first training camp.
But the Jets' first-year coach is in the midst of an equally compelling battle with far more meaningful implications. It's the battle with himself.
A lifelong struggle with weight problems has reached the crisis point: After ballooning to 340 pounds in recent weeks - or about 30 pounds heavier than when the Jets hired him in January - Ryan has embarked on a mission to take off weight. And keep it off.
Serious stuff, even if he made the announcement in typically humorous fashion by suggesting that reporters might want to take bets on how long he'll stick to his diet. In an interview with Newsday after his media briefing, Ryan raised the humor level a notch.
"It's that old John Candy thing," he said, referring to the corpulent comedian. "I swallow a lot of aggression . . . along with a lot of pizza."
Funny stuff from a funny man. But this is very serious business. After all, Candy died of a heart attack in 1994 at the age of 43.
Regardless of his self-deprecating humor, Ryan, 46, knows it is a problem. He grew serious when addressing an issue that has afflicted him for most of his life.
"I'm way too heavy right now, and it doesn't make any sense to be this heavy," he said.
Ryan's weight gain in the offseason drew the attention of several people within the organization, many of whom urged him to tackle the problem.
"They've been telling me for a while now, and I said, 'We'll start in training camp,' " Ryan said. "It's typical of the organization. They try to do the right thing, not just for me, but for the players and the other coaches. They're trying to help me. It's something I've battled forever, so maybe we can get a handle on it."
Ryan will consume a liquid diet for the next five days and then will switch to solid foods, eating much smaller portions than he's used to. A similar diet helped nose tackle Kris Jenkins, who also has endured a lifetime of weight issues, during the offseason.
"I have a lot of the same struggles that a lot of people have," Ryan said. "Obviously, it's not uncommon with the general population."
Ryan hardly is alone in dealing with his weight issues. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 26.1 percent of United States adults were classified as obese in 2008, compared with 25.6 percent the year before. A person is classified as obese when his body mass index is 30 or higher. The 6-2 Ryan's index is approximately 43.
Being a football coach isn't necessarily the best profession to deal with weight issues. Eagles coach Andy Reid has struggled to keep his weight down, with only limited success. Reid often would lose weight during the offseason, only to put it back on during the non-stop pace of the regular season.
Ryan purposely waited until now to begin his weight-loss regimen.
"When I've done OK with weight loss [in the past], I have things to do, so I can't just sit around and eat all the time," he said. "Hopefully, I'll learn to eat right and make it a habit. I tell the players all the time, 'Master your habits or they'll master you.' Well, right now, that weight situation is mastering me."
Ryan has begun regular exercise under the guidance of Jets strength and conditioning coach Sal Alosi. It's a slow process.
"It's a Catch-22, because when you get this heavy, you can't run like you used to, so my exercise is walking ," he said. "We'll see what happens. Hopefully, by the time the season rolls around, at least I'll be OK."
Let's hope he's OK. As much as Ryan pokes fun at his weight, this is no joke.
