Former NFL player says going vegan 'changed his life' after losing 40 pounds in six weeks

A 'life-changing decision'

David Carter went vegan while playing in the NFL (Getty)

Football and veganism may not go exactly hand-in-hand, but one former NFL player credits the plant-based lifestyle for helping him drop 40 pounds in just six weeks.

David Carter, 30, used to be a defensive lineman for the Dallas Cowboys - a position that required him to have a pretty hefty bodyweight that could stop the other team.

But after suffering tendinitis and high blood pressure at a weight of 305 pounds, a result of his high-fat, high-cholesterol diet of fast food and barbecue, the former football player had enough of taking painkillers on a daily basis - and decided it was time for a change.

Carter realised what he needed to do while watching the food documentary “Forks Over Knives” and drinking a milkshake, according to the LA Times.

Forks Over Knives “examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting animal-based and processed foods,” according to the film’s website.

Realising his diet could be a contributing factor to his tendinitis, the inflammation of a tendon, during a portion of the film that discusses the relationship between dairy and animal products contributing to inflammation, Carter paused the film, dumped his milkshake down the sink and emptied his fridge.

David Carter dropped 40 pounds in just six weeks after going vegan

“I realised I was causing my old-man illnesses. I was in my 20s and on all this medication. I was feeding these problems with the diet I was sustaining,” Carter told the LA Times, regarding his instant decision to go vegan.

And within six weeks, the pro-football player had lost 40 pounds - in addition to seeing an increase in stamina, an improvement in his sleep, and a lessened need for painkillers, as his tendinitis “disappeared almost instantly.”

He also had no problem keeping his weight up for work, despite switching to a completely vegan lifestyle.

According to Carter, protein shakes with fruit and vegetables, cannellini beans, flax, bananas and dates did the trick - which he consumed numerous times a day to reach his recommended daily intake of 8,000 to 10,000 calories.

The former NFL player now models

Now, since retiring from football, Carter, who weighs 265 pounds, has taken up modelling - and become an outspoken advocate for a plant-based lifestyle.

“It’s not always easy. People were saying to me, ‘You’re a football player You’re tough and strong and need to eat meat.’ But what’s the point if you’re dying at 50? Is it worth it?”