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Professional Hawley (l.), Fellow players of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2015:
"As soon as you are out, they treat you like a broken product"
Photo: Elsa / GETTY IMAGES
When Joe Hawley signed his contract with the Atlanta Falcons in the National Football League (NFL), he was hoping to be strong enough for a position on the offensive line, the front line of attack.
He'd played at the University of Nevada for four years, lifting irons almost every day, and pushing his weight to 150 pounds.
At a height of 1.91 meters.
But in the first few training sessions with the Falcons, Hawley was pushed around a lot.
"I was one of the skinny ones on the team," he says.
If he wanted to move into the main lineup, he should put on a few pounds, the coaches recommended.
So Hawley crammed everything the buffet in the club's training center had to offer.
After getting up he drank a three-quarters of a liter protein shake.
For breakfast he loaded his plate full of ham, eggs, and pancakes.
At lunchtime and in the evening there was steaks, hamburgers, XXL pizza, and in between chocolate bars, chips or sandwiches.
During the day, Hawley consumed up to 10,000 calories - about four times the amount an average man consumes.
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