[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2020\/06\/sports-nutrition-weight-loss\/#Article","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2020\/06\/sports-nutrition-weight-loss\/","headline":"Louie\u2019s Story: Sports Nutrition Helps Former Defensive Lineman on Weight Loss Journey","name":"Louie\u2019s Story: Sports Nutrition Helps Former Defensive Lineman on Weight Loss Journey","description":"\u201cLosing this weight helped me with closure. Finishing football after playing since I was six was hard, but this helped me realize that there is another chapter of my life, and it starts right now.\u201d \u2014Louie A Life-Changing Decision Since his sophomore year at St. Francis University, Louie had worked with the sports nutrition team […]","datePublished":"2020-06-18","dateModified":"2022-06-08","author":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.upmc.com\/services\/sports-medicine-regions","name":"Sports Medicine","url":"https:\/\/www.upmc.com\/services\/sports-medicine-regions","sameAs":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/sports-medicine\/","parentOrganization":"UPMC"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"UPMC HealthBeat","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/UPMC-HealthBeat-Logo.png","url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/UPMC-HealthBeat-Logo.png","width":600,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/sports.jpg","url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/sports.jpg","height":325,"width":754},"url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2020\/06\/sports-nutrition-weight-loss\/","about":["Health Topics A-Z","Sports Medicine"],"wordCount":582,"articleBody":"\u201cLosing this weight helped me with closure. Finishing football after playing since I was six was hard, but this helped me realize that there is another chapter of my life, and it starts right now.\u201d \u2014LouieA Life-Changing DecisionSince his sophomore year at St. Francis University, Louie had worked with the sports nutrition team at UPMC Sports Medicine\u00a0to gain and maintain muscle as a defensive lineman. In addition to working with several other Division I and professional athletic programs, the UPMC sports nutrition team provides nutrition services to all of the St. Francis athletes.Weighing 270 pounds in March 2019, with graduation approaching in December, Louie decided to ask the team about a new nutrition plan \u2014 a weight loss and healthy living journey to help guide him into this new phase of his life. They jumped right in.\u201cWhen I first began working with the team for weight loss, I was a complete beginner,” Louie says. “I had no idea how to lose weight through nutrition, so I had to start with the basics, like what my plate should look like at each meal. It\u2019s a lot to learn, but the team made me feel comfortable by encouraging me to ask questions, and that helped me so much.\u201dAs Louie progressed with his meal plan, he learned a lot from the nutrition team, eventually understanding the most in-depth conversations about healthy fats, macronutrients, and more. Not only was he changing his body, but he was changing his habits and learning the tools to stay healthy for the rest of his life.Finding InspirationA New Jersey native, Louie had moved home after graduation in 2019, but continued his journey with the sports nutrition team by email through February 2020. \u201cI was skeptical about keeping this up long-distance,\u201d Louie shares. \u201cBut it worked well over email. I still provide updates, and they help me stay on track.\u201dOf the challenge in changing his nutrition plan, Louie stresses what is perhaps the most important element of this process: self-motivation.\u201cYou can\u2019t be afraid. You have to want to do it, know why you\u2019re doing it, and be willing to change your lifestyle,\u201d he says. For example, one of Louie\u2019s biggest hurdles was changing his relationship with food. Often, Louie would turn to food to celebrate milestones and accomplishments in life. But with the team\u2019s help, he found confidence and new ways to celebrate.Sharing the JourneyIn January 2020, Louie met his first-phase goal of weighing in at 205 pounds — nearly 70 pounds less than he weighed only a year before. Phases two and three of his program focus on building core muscles, including working to sport six-pack abs.Ultimately, Louie hopes to inspire other former football players by sharing his nutrition, weight loss, and fitness journey.Many football players, especially those on the defensive line, are required to be great in stature and very muscular to satisfy the demands of their position.So, when their years of playing football end, it can be difficult for athletes to cope both mentally and physically — especially those who had played from a young age and were required to gain weight for their position.\u201cLosing this weight helped me with closure,\u201d Louie says. \u201cFinishing football after playing since I was six was hard, but this helped me realize that there is another chapter of my life, and it starts right now.\u201d Editor's Note: This article was originally published on June 18, 2020, and was last reviewed on June 8, 2022."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2020","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2020\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"06","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2020\/\/06\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Louie\u2019s Story: Sports Nutrition Helps Former Defensive Lineman on Weight Loss Journey","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2020\/06\/sports-nutrition-weight-loss\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]