10 Athletes Who Have Lost a Ton of Weight

Pablo Sandoval and 10 Athletes Who Have Lost Tons of Weight

Thanks to social media, it's much easier to keep up with athletes during the offseason. Recently, a picture surfaced on Instagram from Pablo Sandoval's brother. The picture was of the San Francisco Giants' third baseman with a reporter. On first glance the picture was nothing special. But after you looked at it for a moment, you realized that there was a lot less of Sandoval in the picture. Translation - he's lost a lot of weight.

Since the photo of Sandoval surfaced, the third baseman has come forward and revealed that he's lost 42 pounds. That got me thinking, what other athletes have shed some serious poundage?

Losing weight isn't always in the cards for athletes. Depending on what sport they partake in, they might be required to gain, lose or maintain weight. The most extreme examples come from the world of amateur wrestling. Some of those guys put themselves through you know what to make weight. That can sometimes translate to the world of MMA as well. In some cases, athletes that try too hard to cut weight before a match or a fight, end up dead. It's an issue that's being addressed in both sports, but one that figures to always be around.

Some of the weight loss examples you'll see in this slideshow come from the players' post-career days. After big NFL linemen call it a career, they can finally go back to average weights. Many of them stayed large during their careers for obvious reasons. There's no doubt that linemen have lots of opportunity for success in the weight loss game.

So without further ado, here are 10 athletes who have dropped a ton of weight:

Matt Birk

Birk went from being a big center in the NFL, to a model in about six months after his retirement.

JaMarcus Russell

Russell dropped some serious poundage for his NFL comeback attempt in 2013.

David Ortiz

Big Papi isn't quite as big as he once was. He's rumored to have lost 25 pounds.

Jeff Saturday

We've all seen the dramatic difference in Saturday's appearance on ESPN this year.

Kendrick Perkins

The meanest looking dude in the NBA has slimmed down in recent years.

Josh Freeman

Freeman has never even been close to overweight, but he has shed a few pounds since breaking into the NFL.

Lendale White

White has been out of the NFL for a couple years now, but he claims he's dropped 30 pounds by not drinking tequila.

Nate Newton

The former Cowboys offensive lineman has dropped over 180 pounds after surgery.

Barry Bonds

Shocker - Bonds is looking smaller than ever these days.

John Lackey

Losing weight may have helped to save John Lackey's career. He's been a different pitcher after dropping 15 pounds.