At certain points during his playing days, Russell Okung weighed over 330 pounds. As an offensive lineman, he used that size to his advantage—Okung made two Pro Bowls and won a Super Bowl during his 11-year career. But his bulk also came with burdens: there were injuries, other internal issues, and a gnawing feeling that he was drifting apart from his family. He played his last NFL game during the 2020 season, and after fielding and rejecting offers from teams since then, officially retired earlier this month, choosing to move onto a new chapter of his life.
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And while plenty of newly-retired NFL players make waves by dropping weight soon after hanging up their cleats, Okung did them one better: he shed over 100 pounds by embarking on a 40-day fast, during which he consumed nothing but water. If that sounds crazy, don’t worry—Okung has heard that before. He was laughed at by family members when he told them of his plans, but quickly learned that he had more support around him than he ever could have imagined. In a recent chat with GQ, Okung walked us through his decision to fast, and what it’s like to spend 40 days sans food. He’s a soft-spoken man who exudes a calming energy when he speaks—not exactly what you’d associate with a big bruiser who played 131 NFL games. But those days of bulldozing grown men are in the past. Now, Okung is finding peace in nature, spirituality, and encouraging others to pursue their own health goals.
GQ Sports: When did you decide that you wanted to lose the weight?
Okung: I’ve been trying to tell people that this pursuit cannot be about weight loss alone. For me, as I reflect back on my career, there were a couple of issues. I went through a pulmonary embolism, I had lacerated lungs, a series of surgeries, ligament and tendon damage—getting up every day was hard! I thought, magically, that when I finished playing it would be easier. But it actually got harder. I had completely depleted testosterone. I have two kids, a wife, and a life which has demands. I couldn’t meet those demands. When I was playing, I didn’t think of these things. When I took a step back, I could see the reality. I was in my youth, but I didn’t feel vitality. That’s what led to the change. I felt very desperate and I needed to make a strong, powerful decision in order for things to feel different.
What sort of research did you do at that point? I’m sure you were exploring a lot of different avenues.
You know, it’s funny. I have a deep love of history: biblical history, African history, Hebrew and Islamic culture, the Babylonians. Fasting was a very integral part of those societies. Not only was it commanded—sometimes it was voluntary—but more importantly, it was ritualized. This has been a large part of the formation of the world and antiquity. So, could this make sense for me now? The answer was absolutely yes.
Had you ever fasted before?
I had done vegetarian fasts. I did one during the season, during the [Seahawks’ 2013] Super Bowl year, actually. If I was going through a challenging obstacle, I would periodically stop eating, just trying to find a glimmer of hope or some understanding for what the situation was. It’d be random. But my family has done this for generations. This was new to me, but after researching more of my family and getting to know them, I learned that this is very normal. People would always fast, and it never made sense to me. Maybe I saw it when I was younger, but this has been part of my culture for hundreds if not thousands of years. My ancestors live through me.
What was the hardest part of the 40-day fast?
The fourth day is the hardest. After the fourth day, it all gets easier. People have this assumption that you’ll be dealing with hunger and insatiable desire every single day. That’s not so. The body adapts. It’s very primal, and natural to me, in a sense. The larger issue is that we were dealing with addiction—an addiction where a person cannot function without coffee. When you don’t have your coffee, you get sick and your head hurts. You’re irritable and have no control over yourself. [Okung clarifies that he has never had coffee in his life, but others who did the fast struggled with this.] The problem is over consumption. That issue is rampant in the West.
Do you know how much water you were drinking per day?
Let’s see. I wasn’t really counting the amount of bottles I had, but if I were to put a number out there, maybe six bottles? I’d just sip throughout the day. It essentially becomes your food. Before you know it, you’re taking down a bunch of them. Reusable, I stay away from the plastics. If we’re going to be serious, taking in plastic bottles of water would be one of the worst things you could do if that was your only form of sustenance.
Was there a food that you missed the most?
No. [laughing] The thing I missed the most—you know, food is very communal. I would dare to even say a sacred experience. I missed that component: eating together, laughing, praying, all the things we usually do. I’m just kind of sitting there. I’m hanging out with my water and the kids are getting food all over themselves. The first four days I would usually tape my mouth shut because I was so used to feeding the kids, and if something fell on to my hand, I would just lick it off.
You’ll feel a depletion in energy during those first four days. You’ll feel tired. That’s when you’ll feel your hungriest. After that, you’re rolling. People would be surprised at what the body is capable of doing! That’s the journey. We haven’t unlocked the capacity of human endeavor yet. I truly believe that. I am interested in pursuing that.
What kind of reactions did you get from other football players?
I haven’t received, directly, one negative comment. Not one. What I’m hearing from players—and this is deep to me because I love my brothers and understand their pain—a lot of them are fighting demons. I think when they see something like this, they think, “I can fight my demons and I can get through whatever I’m going through.” I pray that I’m an encouragement to them to take whatever journey they want to. It doesn’t have to be this. I’m not a medical professional! If you want to find a doctor, go find a doctor. But if you can learn anything from my experience, you can see a person that believed something and tried it.
Have you heard from players—current or former—who want to try this now?
Yes, absolutely. Every day it’s a new person saying they want to try it. I’m always like, “Dude, it ain’t hard!” You don’t need to pay Tony Robbins $5,000 to do this. Just create a plan, get some support around you, it ain’t rocket science. Just, whatever precautions you need to take, do so.
Yeah, it feels like there’s a lot of paths here for people to tailor this to themselves rather than fully committing to the full 40 days if they don’t want to.
I think health is part of our intrinsic nature. This concept of, “Health can only look like this, losing weight, getting in the weight room”—no! Health is a series of things. It’s a mix of authentic medicine, your inner person, relationships, nutrition, exercise, skill. How do you move? Most people don’t know how to move! It’s crazy to me! Being out of sports now, I can’t believe how many bad movers there are. No wonder people are in pain all the time. Restoration. How do you restore?
So, I would push back on you a little bit. I don’t think there’s any casual way to go about this. When we look at the feats of Michael Jordan or Tom Brady, we’re in awe of them because they’ve taken their respective courts and gridirons and done something great. What I’m trying to get people to understand is that the same ability lives in you today! Don’t lessen yourself.
What kind of toll did this have on you mentally?
I’ve spent my entire life, since I was ten years old, lifting and moving people. I made a living doing that. But it’s just a reality that the body weakens. I can’t lift my kids as much as I want to. That’s painful. They get it, but I miss doing that at times. You gotta be really careful to not stress the body too much.
How did your family help you during this process?
They would give me tips. I have this uncle, and I told him I wanted to do this 40-day fast. He laughed at me! But then he goes and calls his daughter, his wife, and his sons. Within a day, they were like, “Not a problem. We’re in.” For most people, this is crazy. But we’re talking about African cultures who know what deprivation is like. You are significantly depending on something larger than yourself every single day. So, I’m mulling it over, and when he hears I’m about to do it, he spoke for his entire family and said they were in.
Generally speaking, how do you feel now?
Oh my goodness. I feel alive! I feel more connected with nature. When I say alive, I feel detached from my body. Detached in a sense, that my essence runs through the birds, the trees, and all of nature. I feel more attached to that than my physical composition. There are a series of cultures that have learned about this experience. Hinduism, Buddhism, Canaanites, West African empires, these are ancient truths that I think are coming back into the consciousness.
What does your health plan look like now?
It’s actually something that I’ve been developing for over a year now. Ultimately, there are three different components to my health and food value system. I’m prioritizing three things: soil, water, and air.
There it is.
The relationship I have with soil, from seed all the way to table, can it satisfy my needs? Is it all going through a sacred process? I’ve been developing this now for a good amount of time, testing it on myself and my wife and kids. It’s been amazing so far. I hope people like it too.
So you’re growing your own food?
I’ve been growing my own food. For sure. I deal with local farmers, I have a deep relationship with my food and the hands that prepare my food. Things that people spray in foods—most of these farms that say they’re organic are not organic. We have to look at alternatives.
There’s real passion in your voice right now. I love that.
I love what I’m doing. I don’t know how receptive everybody is, but that’s okay. If I can help five people, I have done my job. Seriously. When my time is said and done, people can say. “Yo, well done.”
