These linemen that weigh at or over 300 are almost always the product of an intensive training regime that calls for massive calorie intake. Once they’re off that regime, and in an environment where their calorie intake is more controlled (ie the miltary) they will deflate back to normal physique levels. Most muscular 6-3 to 6-7 “big guys” who are in shape would generally settle in around 220 - 255 lbs.
It’s the army, why would you think common sense has anything to do with it? That’s why one of the most often heard phrases in the army is, “I shoulda joined the Air Force.”
This isn’t necessarily true. Keep in mind the larger you are the more calories your body burns every single day just to do its day-to-day operations (digest food, breathe, etc) and that does not count ordinary daily activities (walking, standing up/sitting down etc) that also require your body to use energy.
When talking about metabolism it is hard to generalize. But yeah, if you maintain a really high calorie diet (as you absolutely must to maintain a weight of 350 lbs. if you also rigorously exercise every day) and then have a sudden drop off to a lower caloric intake you are going to see pretty dramatic weight loss.
You’d probably have to consume over 4500 calories a day (and that’s being conservative) to maintain a weight of 350 lbs. if you’re an active person, in all honesty I imagine a football player consumes more than 4500 calories per day during the season if they are linemen.
You would see dramatically rapid weight loss if you cut your caloric intake down to a 2000 calorie a day diet, maintained a fitness program, and were at a weight of 350 lbs.
In some people such a shift can however, cause a change in your metabolism as your body could be tricked into thinking it is starving and it will attempt to make more efficient use of energy (thus slowing weight loss.) But that also may not happen, and if it does, it’ll take awhile before it kicks in, and in that time you will lose a massive amount of weight.
Losing 145 lbs. in two months is probably unreasonable, but maybe 100 pounds is a bit more so over 3-4 months if we’re talking about these unique circumstances.
I think Tripler’s numbers are a little off, if his friend was 350 lbs. losing 145 lbs. would put him down at 205 lbs. I don’t know about the Air Force standards but in the Army at 6’4" (76 inches tall) a man at college football age could weigh 212-217 lbs. and be just fine by the height/weight charts (so a 350 lbs. man would not need to lose 145 lbs.) And a man who is probably in good physical shape (although probably developed a belly) and gets down to something like 250 would more than likely be okayed after a secondary metric was employed.
Wow. Can you picture a 300 lb guy…that was fast enough to be a linebacker though? That guy would be so heavily fellated by NFL recruiters he you-know-what would fall off! :o :o :eek: 
Be cool to watch too. Him playing football, that is.
If they can’t cut weight, they have the option of being castrated for the Secret Service eunuch detail. 
A total hijack, but maybe of some interest.
By the time he graduated from the Naval Academy, Robert Renneman had grown too tall, at 6’ 7", for shipboard duty. He switched over to the army, and the rest is history.
You probably won’t believe me, but you’re wrong.
I went from a horribly out of shape 370 to 225 in the span of 6 months - and I was in vastly better shape than I was when I started (it won’t some crazy starvation thing or anything). It just takes a lot of hard work. For a guy with that much muscle mass, it’s not hard to believe he could lose a ton of weight quickly.
People who struggle to lose 10 pounds a month, or whatever, either aren’t putting in the work, or aren’t doing it right.
I do believe you. From what I’ve read, such massive and sudden weight losses are brutal on the heart and frame. I’m glad you were able to do it in a healthy way.
What’s yer secret ??
I don’t see why weight loss inherently would be hard on the heart and frame, but there may be correlation there because massive weight loss might be the result of malnutrition and starvation and such. In that case, it’s correlation, though, and not causation - the damage to the body is a symptom to malnutrition, as is the weight loss.
There’s no real secret - I followed a strict low carb diet with as few refined foods as I could, with a wide variety of nutrients, with no attempt at calorie counting/starvation and worked out a whole lot. Strength training is the primary part of losing weight - too many people try to aerobically excercise their way into weight loss, and while that will indeed lead to some weight loss and is of course good for you, increasing your muscle mass is the best route.
I tended to use a combination, when I was in good enough shape to do it. Since I started in really bad shape, I had to ease my way in with walking, swimming, etc… but a few months into it, I’d do a set of reps on an upper and lower body muscle group, hop on a treadmill for 5 minutes, do another set, stairmaster for 5 minutes, etc, always keeping my body going at maximum exertion but with different muscle groups. Eventually I was able to do those sorts of workouts for 1.5-2 hours. Then I’d usually swim or play sports later. On my rest days, I tried to swim for at least 1.5-2 hours. Didn’t splurge once, or deviate at all from my diet in 6 months, and didn’t miss a single day of working out (maybe I did due to pulling a muscle or something, but I can’t recall that happening).
Well for most humans losing 10 lbs a month is just fine and quite healthy. Losing 145 lbs in 6 months is 24.5 lbs per month and equates to calorie deficit of approx. 88,200 calories (24.5 x 3600) per month, which equals .816 lbs per day or a deficit of 2937 calories per day (3600 / .816) Let’s say if you’re eating 1500 calories per day or so on your no carb diet, your daily energy needs (to lose .816 lbs daily) would need to be 1500 (consumed & burned) + 2937 (burned from body fat) = 4437 calories per day.
So theoretically it’s possible to get to the point that you’re burning 4437 per day, but most people would have to be exercising for at least 2 -3 hours + per day with few breaks to get to that level of energy consumption. If you’re a naturally larger or taller person the amount of exercise required would be somewhat less.
I graduated from Annapolis this past May.
After the last day of football season, midshipmen on the football team have until commissioning day to make height/weight standards and pass a service academy regulation physical readiness test.
It’s as simple as that. If a person doesn’t meet certain physical requirements for a certain warfare comunity, ie, “he’s a huge dude but still wants to fly”, he can apply for a medical waiver.