Lap-band surgery can take former NFL player only so far

NFL athlete Keith Sims once worked hard on the football field. Now he works hard to stay in shape off the field.

Sims played for the Miami Dolphins and the Washington Redskins in the 1990s. When he retired, he quit exercising, ballooned to 380 pounds and began having serious health problems. “I was embarrassed,” he says in a South Florida Sun Sentinel story. “And my weight was holding me back from enjoying time with my young kids. Getting on the floor and playing with a toddler was a challenge.”

Even for a former athlete, the path to health hasn’t been easy. Lap-band surgery in August shaved more than 100 pounds off his frame but he also had to get back into a fitness routine.

“I started walking,” he told the paper. “At first, I couldn’t walk half a mile, but then I did a mile, then two miles. Now five miles, an hour and 20 minutes.”

And he realized that staying healthy is a “lifelong journey” – not just prepping for Sunday football games. Read more about Sims and his return to health in the full story here.