- Eli Manning told Insider that he's lost 10 pounds in retirement by not "force-feeding" himself.
- Manning said he used to have to eat extra food to keep weight on, but now eats and exercises like a "normal person."
Eli Manning has slimmed down a bit in retirement, just by virtue of not having to play football anymore.
Speaking to Insider on Tuesday to promote his partnership with Quaker Oats and the Quaker Hunger Clock food insecurity initiative, Manning estimated he's dropped about 10 pounds since retiring from the NFL.
"I'm probably down 10 pounds if I had to guess, something in that area," Manning told Insider. "And not on purpose, not trying, just don't have too much concern with [weight]."
Casual fans don't often think about quarterbacks having to keep weight on like, say, offensive linemen, but Manning said his diet in his playing days consisted of "force-feeding" himself.
"For me, it was more about I had to keep weight on," Manning said. "And so I was eating, along with my oatmeal, shakes and protein shakes and huge, huge lunches, big dinners, just trying to consume a lot of healthy foods.
"And so I guess since playing football, I'm not force-feeding myself probably as much anymore, but I'm not also exerting as much energy at practice and workouts and lifting and everything as much."
Manning played with the New York Giants from 2004 to 2019. His NFL.com profile lists him at 6-foot-5, 218 lb.
Manning, who said he's eaten oatmeal almost every morning for 15 years (making the Quaker partnership a natural fit) said he now lives — and eats — like a "normal person." He said he still tries to eat healthy and work out daily but certainly not with the same intensity.
Manning joins the ranks of former NFL players who have lost weight by changing their diets. Former Cleveland Browns offensive lineman Joe Thomas, for instance, played at 310 lb and lost 50 lb within one year of retirement.
"You just don't eat until you feel like you're gonna throw up at every meal and all of a sudden the weight falls right off," Thomas said on NFL Network.
Indeed, Manning said he had seen the "big commitment" it took from linemen to keep weight on.
"You kinda have your second breakfast at like nine in the morning. You would have a big snack at three. You'd have your second dinner at eight o'clock," Manning said. "And so it's just, they had a plan and a system how to keep their size, keep their strength up throughout the course of the season. And it was a big commitment on their end."
In the spirit of excess food, Manning told Insider that he was happy to support the Quaker's campaign, which has a goal to raise $500,000 for Feeding America by the Super Bowl to help combat food insecurity. The company will match all donations up to a total of $250,000.
"I believe that the circumstances of life should never be a barrier for good nutrition," Manning said.