When tackle Joe Staley retired from the 49ers after 13 seasons, he instantly dropped weight.
“I guess now that I don’t have football, I workout for the looks, yes,” Staley said recently on the ‘4th and Gold’ podcast.
The 6-foot-5 Staley currently is weighing in at around 250 pounds, which is 60 pounds lighter than when he retired.
With our All Access Daily newsletter, stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams!
SIGN UP HERE “I think I was like 305, 310 when I stopped last year. It’s amazing what happens when you just eat healthy and you don’t have to stuff your face with a bunch of food,” Staley said.
Staley admitted that when he was playing it actually was difficult for him to gain weight. Through high school and college, he was a tight end, so when he transitioned to the tackle position, it was a tough task.
“I kind of got to that point where I was like 315 and I just couldn’t get any bigger, but I was losing weight if I wasn’t continuing to eat,” Staley said. “So for me, it was lucky because I was one of those kids that was just like -- I could eat whatever I wanted, and I had to eat whatever I wanted if I wanted to play as big as I had to play.”
San Francisco 49ers
Find the latest San Francisco 49ers news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Bay Area and California.
Staley wasn’t one to count calories either -- or pay attention to anything organic. He couldn’t care less.
“If I felt like a frozen pizza, I was eating a frozen pizza,” Staley added.
RELATED: What Staley, former teammate believes 49ers must do to improve
Now, during the week, Staley will eat fish or chicken and a salad for lunch and dinner and when it comes to the weekend -- he likes to live his life a little bit more.
Staley also admitted when he hit his early 30’s, his metabolism changed. So the young tight end who couldn’t gain weight was long gone.
Tell me about it.