Bills DT Michael Jasper Promoting Nutrition at Buffalo Schools

At first glance, it might seem silly to have a 375-pound man promoting healthy eating to children.

But Bills defensive tackle Michael Jasper might actually be the perfect man for the job.

Jasper may be an enormous man, but he used to be even larger. Growing up in the South, Jasper was used to a diet with nearly everything deep-fried…even the vegetables. As a result, Jasper struggled with his weight throughout his life, ballooning to over 450 pounds during college playing career. Thanks to a promise from the Bills to draft him if he lost enough weight, Jasper got himself on a proper diet consisting of seven healthy meals a day. He’s dropped nearly 100 pounds and now sports a far-lower body fat percentage.

The (now smaller) big man recently visited with one hundred students and their families about the importance of staying active and maintaining a healthy lifestyle at the Health Sciences Charter School in Buffalo.

Jasper knows that this type of lifestyle switch is very difficult, which is why he wants to share his success story. Hopefully seeing a real-life success can inspire others. “I hope that people listened to what I had to say and can apply it to their lives,” Jasper said. “When you live a healthy lifestyle it makes it so much easier to get out of bed in the morning and you feel better.  I just hope that I could have helped at least one person and that would have made my visit tonight all worth it.”

Long-time BLD readers know that Jasper is a favorite of the site. His incredible story propelled him to cult favorite status with Bills fans following the draft, and Jasper was awesome enough to give us an interview during the 2011 preseason. He’s a great guy, and you can tell he’s really out to help others:

“It was such a great event. I’m so blessed to be in a great community like Buffalo,” said Jasper. “The other NFL cities are just not as lucky. The small town values of Buffalo really remind me of my hometown just outside of Nashville which is amazing. Sharing my story and speaking to the students is just another way that I feel more integrated into the community of my second home of Buffalo.”