LenDale White Weight Loss: 'I Cut [Patron] Out of My Diet All the Way'

LenDale White went through a serious weight loss training program this past offseason. At least that's what everyone thought when he showed up for training camp 30 pounds lighter than previous years.

Even though "one reason or another" was the suggested (albeit ambiguous) cause, it was just presumed that White was busting his tail to get in shape with exercise and a proper diet. Turns out, he just quit drinking booze. Seriously.

"I really got to be honest,'' White said. "It wasn't a lot of major diet changes. (It was) watching what I drink. I was a big Patron consumer. ... That's what it was. I was drinking a lot, drank a lot of alcohol. I cut that out of my diet all the way. I don't drink at all. I cut the drinking, I stopped drinking for six months.

"It started falling off.''

"Your parents always say you're going to learn. You're going to say it takes a while. It took me three and a half years, but I think I caught it right on time,'' White said.

Initially, when White's weight loss was reported, it seemed reasonable to suggest that he might be less successful this season without the extra poundage. After all, Chris Johnson was Tennessee's most productive running back overall, whereas White was the goal-line specialist and the perfect "pound it up the gut" complement.

So this news changes everything -- plenty of healthy people consume alcohol and there's no reason to think you can't drink and still be successful. But if you drink a lot and are out of shape as a result and then you put the cap back on for a few months, you're suddenly going to find yourself with a lot more energy, a lot more stamina and in much better shape (trust me on this one -- it's true).

As a result, it seems perfectly reasonable to now think that White could be in line for a monster season and to actually project that the Titans' running game will somehow be even better in 2009. Which is a relatively terrifying idea for opposing defenses.