The NFL legend tells PEOPLE how he was able to stop the progression of his metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, or MASH

Dan Marino didn’t have any glaring symptoms when he went for a routine checkup in 2007. The NFL legend tells PEOPLE exclusively he was “a little fatigued.” And, he admits, “I wasn’t really working out as much as I should — because I used to work out when I played all the time and I kind of got away from that a little bit.”

“Those are the things I kind of noticed,” Marino, 64, says. “Then they told me I had a fatty liver. I had MASH.”

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, or MASH, was formerly known as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. It’s when excess fat cells accumulate in the liver, which can cause chronic inflammation that leads to cirrhosis and liver cancer, per the Cleveland Clinic.

As the Hall of Famer tells PEOPLE, “the doctors right away said that can be reversible, it can be taken care of, but, mainly for me, they were saying, like, ‘You gotta work out. You got to lose weight,’ ” he said.

The former Miami Dolphins quarterback is speaking about his diagnosis — and how he turned his health around — as part of Novo Nordisk’s Unordinary Stories campaign, where athletes share their unique health journeys.

Part of Marino’s journey includes relying on friends and family to help him prioritize his health. Former teammate Terry Kirby trains Marino at his nearby gym, while his wife Claire joins him for nightly walks and bike rides. In a video for the campaign, he says Claire is “helping me with doctor’s appointments, being on time and making sure I’m doing the right things.”

He’s grateful for their support.

“It’s the people that love you and you love them,” he tells PEOPLE. “It feels like a little village.”

As for the diagnosis, he says he’s realized he needs to focus on his health on a “consistent basis.” “It’s the exercise, riding bike, walking, and diet, and then getting back to just being consistent — waking up and making sure you gotta do something every day.”

In Marino’s case, he thinks it was “mostly diet” that caused his MASH. As he explained to PEOPLE, when he was playing football, “you had weigh-ins, all those kinds of things.” But after he retired in 2000 after 17 seasons in the NFL, “I kind of let my diet go … that’s really where it kind of came about.”

He shared that his doctor recommended the Mediterranean diet, and to “cut back on the wine and pizza and candy, ice cream, those kind of things, you know — you can’t eat those as much.”

Marino said he’s sharing his diagnosis so people understand that “if you get diagnosed with fatty liver and MASH, doing the things you need to do, like I talked about — diet, working out — and staying consistent with it, that’s what our message really is.”

And these days, he says his disease “hasn’t changed … I get the ultrasounds and all that every year and so far it’s been fine” — and he believes his prognosis is “gonna get better and better and better.”

“That’s what makes me feel good about this [campaign],” he said, sharing he wants to “get people aware of it, so maybe they can get treated and it can make a difference in their lives.”

Dolphins legend Dan Marino shares liver disease diagnosis: ‘Doctors right away said that can be reversible’

The former Dolphins quarterback received the diagnosis back in 2007

Miami Dolphins Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino revealed that he was previously diagnosed with liver disease, according to an interview with People. Marino, 64, stated that he has metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). The condition was previously known as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Marino, who now serves as a special adviser for the Dolphins, was diagnosed with the liver disease back in 2007 when he went to the doctor for a routine checkup. At the time, the legendary Dolphins signal-caller felt “a little fatigued,” but wasn’t showing any other symptoms.

MASH takes place when fat cells show up in the liver, which can cause chronic inflammation and eventually lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer, per the Cleveland Clinic.

“The doctors right away said that can be reversible, it can be taken care of, but, mainly for me, they were saying, like, ‘You gotta work out. You got to lose weight,'” Marino told People.

Marino added that he has gotten better at altering his diet over the years and exercises often. He did state that he didn’t watch diet nearly as much after he announced his retirement in 1999. His doctors suggested he begin a Mediterranean diet and to “cut back on the wine and pizza and candy, ice cream, those kind of things, you know — you can’t eat those as much.”

As a result, he trains with former Dolphins teammate Terry Kirby at Kirby’s gym. Marino also takes walks and bike rides with his wife, Claire.

When Marino retired from the NFL, he held records for career completions (4,967), passing yards (61,361), and touchdowns passes (420), all of which have since been broken. Marino was a nine-time Pro Bowler, five-time passing yards leader, three-time passing touchdowns leader, and even won the NFL MVP in 1984 when he became the first quarterback to throw for 5,000 yards in a season.