Man v Fat. Where men lose weight.
If you’re a man that wants to lose weight, MAN v FAT is behind you all the way with diet tips and weight loss motivation for men. Our philosophy is simple: all the information, support and tools you need to improve your health, with a refreshing no-nonsense approach.
90% lose weight *
* Based on those who complete their first season with us.
AS SEEN IN
what we offer
We’ve helped thousands of men lose weight, and we can help you too.
Whether you fancy getting back on the pitch or just want a little online support, we’ve got you.
Football
Weekly matches with qualified referees, an experienced coach, and the support of likeminded teammates. From just £31 a month.
- Competitive league with weekly games
- Accountability from your team and coach
- Weekly weigh-ins and progress reports
Tools & Tips
Not ready to sign up? Check out our range of tools to help you lose weight, including weight loss stories from real men, recipes, and much more.
- Articles full of weight loss tips & tricks
- Healthy and delicious recipes
- BMI calculator, TDEE calculator and more
Real men, real weight loss stories
We call them Amazing Losers, but you might know them as weight loss before and after stories. They’re motivating, honest, and there’s not a magic pill in sight.
Triathlon Weight Loss Story – Rich Shirley #AmazingLoser
- Name: Rich Shirley
- Job: IT Support Technician
- Height: 5′ 10″ (177.8 cm)
- Age: 27
- Highest weight: 280 lbs (127 kg)
- Lowest weight: 154 lbs (69.9 kg)
Rich, you’re a great example of just how completely anyone can turn their lives around – you were 20 stone at 19 and now you’re representing Great Britain – does it seem weird?
I was speaking to a friend the other night and they were asking how it was going, and I told them I was loving all the training I’ve been doing. They turned around and said, ‘If you’d said that to me two years ago, I’d have just laughed.’ I’m as fit as I’ve ever been in my life, so it’s paying off for sure.
What’s your background with weight then – have you always been bigger?
As a kid I was always outside doing things and while I was big, I wasn’t really overweight! I started to pile on the pounds when I hit my teens though. Through a combination of getting into PC Games and bullying. At school I was the fat, quiet kid with a girl’s name for a surname. The bullying was never anything violent, just people calling me names and making jokes about my weight. My family aren’t exactly overweight but they’re big. None of them are really sporty; they try to be healthy but it’s not really the same as what I’m doing now.
Amazingly, your lifestyle change really started at university, which is unusual as most students tend to be more concerned about the cheap beer.
Before uni I worked in a supermarket and my life used to be to go to work, come home, sit around and play computer games, eat, and occasionally go out and drink and see some people. It was very boring, not very active at all. Then I got a place at Cardiff Metropolitan Uni and one day I just decided I was sick of being how I was. I look back now and I still don’t really know why. I was just miserable and I wanted to get out and do something.
I began eating more healthily and joined a local gym which was a little bit daunting. I avoided the running machine like the plague, because I just couldn’t run. I would use the bike, the cross-trainers, the stepping machines – anything to get me moving. By the end of uni I was training for two hours a day, five days a week. It was difficult to get the motivation to go some days, but I would go and feel so much better for it.
Was there a particular lightbulb moment or was it just a growing, gradual feeling that you wanted to change?
The worst point was when I would sit down on a chair and eat dinner and felt out of breath. That wasn’t the catalyst that made me change my life though, but it was definitely the low point!
How had you changed your eating?
Initially, I started changing my diet towards a healthier, more balanced one, at the same time as taking small steps to change my lifestyle. Such as walking to places instead of the bus and using the stairs. The weight quickly fell off me and I could see the changes taking place and wanted more! I quite rapidly got down to 16 stone where I unfortunately hit my first plateau.
By this point I was hooked though, and decided to sign up for the Bristol Half Marathon to raise some money for Help For Heroes. Despite spending so much time in the gym, my running ability was awful! On my first road run I got 400m before I was that out of breath I had to walk. Now I can quite comfortably go for 18 miles on a Sunday morning. It’s amazing how quickly things change!
After the Half Marathon I wanted another goal, which I decided would be the 2011 London Triathlon. And well, as they say the rest is history…
How did your eating habits change over the course of your journey?
Before I lost weight I’d skip breakfast and then I’d eat crisps, chocolate and sweets through the day. Lunch was a large cheese sandwich. I’d have takeaways for dinner and finish off the day with several pints of cider and then cheese and biscuits. These days I have Weetabix for breakfast, I tend to avoid snacks or have something like a small fruit bar. Dinner is food that I cook myself with real ingredients.
You mentioned a couple of plateaus what’s your advice for how you cope with those?
I did plateau at 16 stone and again at 14 stone. There’s not much for it, you just need the sheer will power and bloody mindedness to stick with it!
How has life changed now you’ve lost the weight?
The single biggest thing for me was finding Triathlon and subsequently Duathlon. I now represent Great Britain at an Age Group level at Long Distance Duathlon and have competed at the World and European Championships. I’ve also completed an Ironman. Three things I thought I’d never ever do if you asked me 10 years ago. But they are without doubt some of the best experiences of my life so far!
It’s great to see that where you’ve needed to you’ve gone out and recruited coaches to help you, which is something we emphasise with other men who want to lose weight, or progress in activity -who have you worked with?
Over the last three years I have had several triathlon and duathlon coaches. They have helped immensely in getting my levels of fitness to where I want them to be to compete at an International level. For the past two years I have been working with John Wood of Tri-Coaching in Bristol who has helped me race at the World Championships where I Placed 6th in my age group and the European Championships where I placed 8th.
Do you ever feel tempted to go back to the way you were?
I’m partial to a bit of cake and I do treat myself, especially when I’m cycling, but my mindset is completely different from when I was bigger. It has surprised me how once you’ve lost the weight, you do everything in your power to keep it from piling back on. When I say my lifestyle has completely changed, it genuinely has! I probably eat as much as ever, but it’s all the “right stuff” as I need to stay properly fuelled to train 10-12 hours per week.
For me I wish I’d lost the weight sooner, it was the best thing I’ve ever have done! I’ve found the sports for me, met loads of new amazing people through it and it’s now that much of a part of my life I’ll most likely be doing it for the rest of my life – when I take holidays these days it’s around competing and training! It’s very much a part of me now and I feel like a better person because of it.
What would you say to help readers who want to lose weight?
I don’t think I’d say anything. If you’ve not got the drive or determination to get up and do something about it. Why force people to? They’re only going to resent you for it… it has to be a personal decision. At the end of the day you can blame other people, the government, or food companies for you becoming obese all you like. But ultimately it’s your life, and you’re the only one in control of it.
Massive congratulations to Rich (follow him on Twitter here) on his triathlon weight loss and we’re proud to have you on the site. If you want to ask Rich anything then head on over to Talk and if you’re an Amazing Loser, or you know of one, then get in touch like Rich did and share your story and inspire the rest of us!
Massive Weight Loss Story – Tony Edge #AmazingLoser
- Name: Tony Edge
- Job: Business development director at Deminos
- Height: 6′ 2″ (188 cm)
- Age: 49
- Highest weight: 352 lbs (160 kg)
- Lowest weight: 214 lbs (97 kg)
Tony you join our very exclusive Amazing Loser club who have lost over 10 stone. That takes some doing – how did this all come about?
Well, it is a love story really, it started because of the love of food; firstly bad food and then good food, but mainly it’s about the love of my family and life itself.
Fantastic, we like a bit of love and positivity here at MAN v FAT – tell us what life was like at 352 lbs.
I’d never really dieted before and I didn’t actually think I needed to. I had just gradually got bigger and bigger and thought that this was a natural part of the ageing process so I just began buying bigger and bigger clothes. I realised that when I could only buy clothes from specialist men’s shops that maybe something should be done, however I never really took any action.
One day Sabrina, my fiancé suggested that we go on a diet. I wasn’t that keen even though by that stage I was over 25 stone, had back problems, gout and fatty liver – not to mention struggling with everyday life. I agreed to start on the following Monday.
That’s quite a list of health concerns, what else was going wrong?
This list could be very long, however the main ones were: fatty liver, gut, back and neck pains and frequent bouts of non-specific illnesses. Frankly, everything felt like an effort and as a father of six that’s challenging in itself. Travelling was always hard especially on public transport as I felt uncomfortable, in the way and always very hot and stressed. Also, people have a certain attitude to you when you are overweight. It’s hard to be specific but you could always tell what people were thinking.
So Sabrina had laid down the law, how did you find the change?
Day one went well, I was not hungry and liked the water drinking and coffee restriction. Come day two I had decided I would quit but then thought that the previous day’s effort would have been a waste so I carried on. By the end of the first week I felt at least 25% better, I had more energy, fewer headaches and a feeling of achievement. I didn’t look any different, but I felt different and I was 100% confident that I would achieve my weight loss goal which excited me and kept me strong when the doubts crept in. As a “mind-set” person I just cast the doubts aside as I had by then adopted a no option approach to the process.
Did you do a particular diet?
For the first month I used Juice Plus shakes for two meals a day and then an evening meal of 600 calories, fresh-cooked, healthy food such as grilled chicken or fish with whole grains, veg or salad. Then from month two I just began to eat healthy food, all of which was home cooked with fresh ingredients.
I gradually found things that I really liked that were naturally healthy – things like low fat, good carbs and high protein and so I began to put more of these in my daily food list. The list has grown which enables me to have a varied diet whilst always maintaining healthy eating and balancing my carb, protein and fat intake.
Throughout the diet I drank at least four litres of water a day and usually do now. This had many benefits the main and first which I noticed was that it gave me more energy. The increase in energy was great for staying motivated and I found the more energy I had the more I wanted.
What would you say the biggest element is in regard to losing weight?
For me it was about changing my lifestyle, I went from inactive to active, unhealthy eating to healthy eating and changing all the bad habits for good habits. I measured everything at the start, all body statistics, weight and what I ate, how much I ate and what the carb, protein and fat composition of each meal was. I found My Fitness Pal very good for that and never missed an item. I have to say that losing weight was very easy as the benefits of feeling good, then looking good as well as finding ‘new’ healthy foods was very motivating.
I also found out what my basal metabolic rate was [check yours here, Ed] and then worked out how many calories I would need to burn to lose weight in terms of calorie intake. I found that the more I was able to measure, the easier the diet became. I use a pedometer to measure steps and began increasing my daily target to become more active and burn more calories.
Once I had lost three or four stone I began gentle home exercising every day and kept a record of all the exercises I did, which I still do and I calculated the calorie burn for the sessions. The more active I was becoming the better I felt and I noticed that each week my fitness was increasing. I used these additional burnt calories to increase my food intake but again only on the basis of good food and with everything being measured.
What’s a typical daily intake like now?
Breakfast will be half a grapefruit, two or three boiled eggs, or porridge and a slice of wholemeal toast. Lunch is a turkey sandwich on wholemeal bread, sometimes tuna or chicken. 200 ml of fruit juice and sometimes crackers with peanut butter. Dinner is usually grilled fish or chicken, lots of veg and something like quinoa. For pudding I’ll have Fage 0 yoghurt with raisins or almonds in.
How has life changed now you’ve lost the weight?
It is completely different, I have a fitness age of 32, which is down from 54 – all of which has been achieved in 16 or 17 months. I am now a keen cyclist and aim to ride 100 plus miles per week, go to the gym four times a week and have a personal trainer that is helping me gain a physique of someone 20 years my junior. I feel that I can do anything, go anywhere and have taken up Northern Soul dancing and enjoy the lifestyle and fashion image that goes with that. At work I am now able to do more travelling and spend two days each week out of the office meeting clients which is something I had found difficult and missed previously.
Who helped you the most and who got in the way?
Sabrina helped the most, then James and Katherine at Wolds Way Gym in Driffield who are both very good trainers. No one really got in my way, however the media and supermarkets have a lot to answer for in general as they push poor diets on their shoppers with low cost offers. I have noticed that in general you spend more to eat healthy.
You’ve made incredible changes in less than two years – what do you wish you could have said to yourself while you were at your biggest?
Ha! Preaching to the unconverted is never that effective, but maybe I would say, “Lets have a bet, give this dieting and food choice changes one week and I guarantee that you will feel noticeably different at the end of the week.”
Massive congratulations to Tony – we think you’ll agree he’s looking like a completely different man now. If you want to ask Tony anything then head on over to Talk and if you’re an Amazing Loser, or you know of one, then get in touch like Tony did and share your story and inspire the rest of us!
LighterLife Weight Loss Story – Neil Corder #AmazingLoser
- Name: Neil Corder (ask him anything on Talk)
- Job: Business owner
- Height: 6′ 3″ (177.8 cm)
- Age: 45
- Highest weight: 327 lbs (148.3 kg)
- Lowest weight: 203 lbs (92 kg)
So Neil, it’s great to see that you’ve got the classic standing-in-your-massive-clothes picture done perfectly – full marks! What is it like to see that picture now and look back?
The best thing about losing weight is being happy, having confidence and being able to live life. I am a keen fisher and my job is very active – before I started on LighterLife I really struggled with physical activity but now I find myself running around all over the place with no problem! My dating life is also better and unlike before where I hid from the camera, I am so proud of my new body that I now love posting photos on social media. I am a million per cent happier, I am a clothes shopaholic and this filters through into other areas of your life; losing weight helps you to think clearly and make sensible life decisions. It’s amaziing how much of a knock-on effect it has and it’s also a great feeling to inspire other people.
There’s been a huge physical change – how has that been for you?
Some of my old clients do not even recognise me anymore, I have had to show before and after pictures to prove who I am at times! Losing weight also gives you the confidence to get back into old hobbies. I have taken up drum lessons again and I hope to join a band as I improve. I am also looking into dance classes as a fun way to stay in shape.
So let’s rewind – what happened to get you fat? What went wrong?
For me it was the stress of a bad relationship which took its toll and caused my weight to soar. I was stuck in an unhappy place, I lost my confidence and the pressure of being with my, then girlfriend, meant I turned to food as a form of comfort. I was miserable because my clothes didn’t fit, people looked at me in the street. I found myself not eating through hunger but as a habit and a form of comfort because I was in an unhappy place.
Was there a single point where you remember saying, this is it – this is my change?
Well, I split up with my partner and I wanted a new life. I decided to start again and do things that suited me! I got to a point where I thought enough is enough, I was fed up of being overweight and wanted to be able to go shopping for nice clothes. I knew it was either carry on as I was and die, or get my life in gear. I ended my unhappy relationship and started on LighterLife almost immediately.
So how did you get involved in LighterLife then?
Funnily enough, it was my ex-wife, who is still a close friend, who lost a great deal of weight using it and it inspired me. I also give full credit to the diet – LighterLife was great and I was motivated by seeing results every time I had a weigh in. Being able to see the weight loss first hand spurs you on.
[blocktext align=”left”]If it was up to me I would put LighterLife on the NHS[/blocktext]
What did you have to do then?
Quite simply I stuck vigorously to the diet packs that they give you whilst having an energetic job and the two went hand-in-hand very well. I also set an end goal – promising myself I would buy a pair of my favourite Levis 501 jeans as a reward. I also had great support from family and friends.
Over the course of a day I’d eat LighterLife porridge for breakfast, the chocolate shake for lunch, and then the mushroom soup or spaghetti bolognese for dinner. The spag bol meal was my favourite! Overall, the whole journey was very straight forward. I surprised myself at how disciplined I was. I had the end goal in sight and stuck to the packs.
What do you think of LighterLife – there are plenty of critics?
I surprised myself in terms of motivation and how strict I was with myself – for me LighterLife is a great way to lose weight. If it was up to me I would put LighterLife on the NHS as I think it is such a good way for big people to lose excess weight. It is far less intrusive than a gastric band and I am the walking evidence that it works!
Did you get much support or was it something you did on your own?
My family, friends and my ex-wife all supported me. She has been a fantastic support throughout my weight loss journey and is like a best friend to me. The only thing that got in the way were people questioning me as to why I was losing the weight and whether it was sensible to follow a diet. You can’t please everyone though and I feel so much healthier and happier now! My doctor has also confirmed this so I am over the moon.
There you go then – we’ve had a couple of LighterLife fans on the site now and it seems that the very proscriptive approach really works for some blokes – essentially you get your packs of food and that’s it done. What do you think? Is it something you would be interested in trying? Don’t forget you can ask Neil anything over on Talk and if you’re an Amazing Loser, or you know of one, then get in touch.
Cancer Weight Loss Story – Stuart Wayment #AmazingLoser
- Name: Stuart Wayment (ask him anything on Talk)
- Job: Company Director
- Height: 5′ 10″ (177.8 cm)
- Age: 54
- Highest weight: 203 lbs (92 kg)
- Lowest weight: 161 lbs (73 kg)
Hi Stuart, we’ve talked about your story not necessarily being a good model to follow for other people as it takes in a really rather serious illness. That said, I think it’s important to look at all forms of weight loss and yours is a really encouraging story that shows that even a period of illness can lead to a much healthier time. Do you want to start at the beginning?
Sure, my story starts in August 2012. I went along to the blood donor’s suite to give a pint, something that I have been doing for well over 30 years without so much as a dizzy or light-headed feeling. I originally started giving blood for the extra hour off that my employer at the time used to give you, as well as the tea and biscuits! I have gone on to be a silver level donor (25 donations) and I’m working towards Gold (50). However on this particular occasion I wasn’t allowed to donate because the testing showed me to be a bit on the anemic side. I was sent home with a leaflet about anemia and the suggestion that I should have a good steak to bolster my iron count, and talk to my GP.
The next morning I went along to my gym and did my usual morning workout, when I came out I was a little surprised to find three messages on my mobile phone asking me to call my GP. Returning that call to my GP led me to visit her and after a few questions saw me admitted to Bournemouth hospital that same day for investigations.
During that first admission I was told that they suspected that I had a Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumour (GIST), but that further blood tests, scans and gastroscopies would be required. The information leaflets I was given were from Macmillan Cancer Support, so the Cancer word had been well and truly mentioned.
I know that you had a fight to get the right diagnosis and the right sort of care, but it ended up with you needing a Whipple’s Procedure, (also known as a pancreaticduodenectomy) – how was it when you were waiting for the operation?
I’m not blessed with huge amounts of patience nor am I particularly a worrier and so my attitude was, “There’s something wrong, it needs fixing, now let’s get on with it.” If I’m really honest I probably didn’t go into the operation with my eyes fully open and nor did I really believe the length of time it would take me to recover. Others around me, notably my wife, took on board what we were told and in truth probably did most of the worrying for me. I often think it must be harder for those around you than it is to be the patient.
I was admitted to Southampton General for surgery on the 30th October 2012. Looking back it seems surprising that all of this happened in just three months, it felt at the time like a lifetime. I had after all been told at an early stage that there was a 90% plus chance that the tumour was cancerous, so I just wanted to get on with things. The operation itself took ten hours. I remember very little about the first few days, which were spent in intensive care feeling like I’d been hit by a bus.
How long did it take to come out of hospital?
I was in for 14 days, during which time I lost two and a half stone, as well as various bits of internal plumbing, pancreas, duodenum and stomach and a rather large tumour, and I woke up with what looked like a railway track running from my chest down and round to my hip and three drainage bags uncomfortably stuck to me. Looking at my scar my first thought was that I needed to tattoo some tooth marks around it and make out I was a shark attack victim. It was also at this point that I realised that I would have a long list of drugs to take for life. Sitting around in hospital there was plenty of time to reflect on the fragility of life. This illness had come as a complete bolt out of the blue and I resolved to recover my levels of fitness and live life to the full.
So you’d suddenly lost all of this weight and you’d been through a really traumatic operation, how did that impact your recovery?
When I did finally go home in the middle of November, the reality of how weak I was hit home. I couldn’t manage the full two flights of stairs to bed without a sit down halfway and I had virtually no appetite. Lots of seemingly small things become real milestones and my next target was to get rid of the drainage bags, finding ways to stay comfortable with bags of fluid taped to you was a real challenge, as was having a shower, which in itself was an exhausting process. I had two of the bags removed in mid-December and the third one thankfully just before Christmas.
It was after the removal of these that the pace of recovery moved on. The family photographs of Christmas 2012 include some rather gaunt looking pictures of me trying on some new running clothes. I couldn’t really walk very far to start with and on a few occasions we went to the beach where it was all I could manage to get from the car park to a bench by the beach, (probably no more than 100 yards) but that was an opportunity to set new targets and gradually the distance I could walk increased. My next milestone was to do a full lap of the woods behind our house. It took some time and initially I had to do the lap using the easier, downhill route, but I did get around to doing the full mile.
I’m generally fairly active and for me holidays have to be either up in the mountains or under the water. We missed both our summer scuba diving holiday and our winter skiing holiday in late 2012/early 2013 so the next target was to be fit enough to catch up on those activities. By now I had let my gym membership lapse so I set up a small area in the garage to do some work outs and chose the most challenging workout DVDs that I could find to prove a point to myself. In October 2013, just two weeks short of the first anniversary of my operation, I got back underwater with a 45 minute 15 metre deep wall dive followed by a 48 minute 10 metre marine park dive. They must have improved my breathing too because I don’t usually manage that long!
Next up in March 2014 it was off to the mountains to play in the snow and thanks to a new app I was able to record a top speed of just under 30mph in the Canadian mountains and a blast or two down their black runs. It’s a shame that the ski app didn’t also work in the hire car because on the way back to the airport I fell foul of the Mounties and their strict speed limits and ended that holiday with a speeding fine!
I know that all of this has impacted on your weight in a couple of different ways.
It has, my consultant has told me that because of the extent to which they removed my pancreas (about half of it) that makes me potentially susceptible longer term to being more prone to diabetes, so that’s a factor in wanting to manage my weight loss and stay as healthy as I can be.
Not all of the weight loss has been because of the operation has it, how have you changed your eating then?
I’ve learned to eat a lot more mindfully. I used to have a takeaway probably at least weekly now it’s less than monthly. My real food issues were portion control and habits. I would eat a lot of bread, not particularly because I enjoyed it, but out of habit, gorging on chip butties and that sort of thing. I’d also use the excuse of not liking to see waste so I never left anything! I’d also cook a four person quantity and eat most of it.
I’ve never been a snacker between meals but I ate lots at mealtimes, sometimes too late in the evening and often I’d eat late after a social occasion, not becauseI was hungry but because I never skipped meals. Since I was ill I also cut out alcohol and was amazed at how much of a difference that made. It changed things from two aspects. Firstly, just how many calories there are in alcohol and also because when I had a beer I’d often eat a family-sized bag of crisps with it. Making those changes has seen me return to a healthy weight. In all of this the biggest surprise for me was how much small changes had a big impact.
Now you’ve returned to full health I know you’ve set yourself some pretty amazing health challenges.
That’s right, I’ve become passionate about raising money for PLANET and I’ve done a fire walk and now I’m planning to swim the Solent with seven other guys. I’ve really challenged myself with the swim because in January I was a leisure swimmer who was barely able to do two lengths of the pool and now I’m doing about 7km a week. It’s also helping me to focus on my weight and I think I’m down another half stone since I started and I’ve lost a couple of inches off my waist too. If you’d like to support the swim then please donate here.
What have you learned about life from the process of being ill?
I’ve learned that there is plenty of life left after a Whipples, with lots of exciting things to do but I’ve also realised that there’s lots of simple pleasures to be gained from being with friends and family, walking dogs on the beach or just making the most of every day. I may not ever be able to get round to giving that 50th pint of blood, but that’s a small price to pay.
It obviously doesn’t need to take a serious illness to make you decide to change your health for the better, but Stuart is living proof that even when life knocks you down you can still make positive changes. Ask Stuart anything over on Talk now and if you’re an Amazing Loser, or you know of one, then get in touch.
Running Weight Loss Story – Iain Littler #AmazingLoser
- Name: Iain Littler (ask him anything on Talk)
- Job: Business Recovery Administrator
- Height: 5′ 10″ (177.8 cm)
- Age: 30
- Highest weight: 231 lbs (104.8 kg)
- Lowest weight: 148 lbs (67.1 kg)
Hi Iain, now we know that no one looks good in graduation robes but you’re clearly a lot Littler now (sorry, I promise that’s the only time I’ll make that joke).
I’ve heard it before! I’m sharing my story because I want everyone reading this who is overweight or obese to note that I was in the same position and, with dedication, achieved results that I am really proud of. There is nothing to stop you doing the same if you really want it.
Weight loss in my opinion is a 50:50 proposition. 50% of it is educating yourself so that you know what goes into the food you eat and what you need to do to burn it off. The other 50% is the dedication to reduce your calories intake accordingly and exercise even when you don’t feel like it. It is easy to make excuses for yourself and indeed I regularly am tempted to miss sessions when it is windy or rainy. If you persist regardless of the conditions then you will get the results you deserve.
You calculated that before you changed your ways you were eating over 4,000 calories a day – what on?
I’d eat nothing for breakfast, maybe a couple of biscuits or a piece of toast occasionally. At about 11am I would have a chocolate bar, a packet of crisps and a can of diet soft drink! Lunch would be either a chip shop, soft drink and some snacks. I would generally snack through the afternoon on more crisps, sweets and chocolate before dinner. A typical dinner would be a large pizza with a stuffed crust, chips and beans, with yet more soft juice and some bread. After dinner, I would generally have some cake, more sweets, thickly buttered bread, ice-cream and anything else I could get my hands on. I also drank a lot more alcohol back then which can’t have helped.
You’re actually an example of a New Year’s Resolution that stuck – what happened?
I weighed myself at the tail end of 2008 and saw I was a fair bit over 16 stone for the first time ever. Having put on a stone in the past six months I was worried about what weight I was going to end up at. It was also having an impact on my health and my confidence. I was out of breath even walking up the stairs and I also got affected by the general teasing that comes of being a “big lad”. People don’t realise how hurtful it can be when you make fun of them about their weight and how it leads to you have no confidence whatsoever in social settings, despite seeming like you’re laughing it off. So, at the start of January I decided to try to lose a bit of weight.
What changes did you make?
I immediately cut back my calorie intake and to assist with this I started to read food labels. This gave me an appreciation of what things were the worst for me. In general I knew that things like chocolate, pies etc were bad for me, but I wasn’t aware just how much of your daily calorie allowance these things took up. I tried to stick to 1500 calories a day as much as possible. In addition, for the first time in my life I started to regularly eat breakfast. I wasn’t aware before doing some research that this would kickstart my metabolism and stop me snacking by mid morning.
Reading food labels is a great piece of advice – what should readers look for?
What surprised me when I started was just how many calories and how much fat were in certain products. For example, a regular supermarket pizza can have over 40% of your saturated fat allowance for the day and around a quarter of your calorie allowance! The three main things a look at on a label are calories, fat and saturated fat. The limits, or at least the percentage used of the limit, should be apparent from the packaging, but beware that these are not always 100% accurate as they take into account the average person.
And you began this transformation into a award-winning runner about then as well? How did you do that?
The most important part of my weight loss journey though was without a doubt the exercise side of it. I started by going to the local social club gym three nights a week. I was typically doing about an hour of cardio during each session – 15 minutes of the treadmill (alternating jogging and walking to start with), 15 minutes on the cross trainer, 15 minutes on the bike and 15 minutes on the stepper. It was at this point I truly realised the value of calories as I was truly knackered at the end of each session and was only burning off around 600-800 calories – or a couple of chocolate bars and a packet of crisps. This drove me to restrict these kinds of foods even more!
I lost a stone in the first two weeks and this drove me to work even harder, as I knew that weight loss would not always be this quick. I kept up my efforts in the gym and continued to restrict my diet to 1,500 calories a day as much as possible. I lost over five stone in a few months and by May 2009, I was down to 11 stone. This was a weight I wanted to stay at so I increased my calorie count such that I stuck at around this weight. The only time after this that I went much below 11 stone was when I dropped down to about 10 stone 7 lbs in 2011 when training hard for my first half marathon.
What has been the best change?
I am now confident in my own skin and am a far fitter and healthier person both in body and mind. I don’t worry about people looking at me and thinking ‘look at that fat sod’ anymore and indeed get plenty of compliments about how I look.
You properly got into running and you look like a natural now – how did that change happen?
Towards the end of my weight loss journey I realised that I was getting bored of the gym and that I would need to find something else to keep me active. At this time one of my mates convinced me to sign up for the Paisley 10k against my better judgement. I remembered all to well the suffering and humiliation of the 1500m at school and was nervous about running in public. Regardless, we trained a couple of times a week and before I knew it the day came around. I set myself a target of finishing in under an hour and amazed myself as I managed to finish in under 50 minutes (49’23”).
I had caught the running bug and five years later I am a veteran of nearly 140 parkruns (including two wins!), numerous 10ks and two half marathons. I run for Cambuslang Harriers and with Nike+ Run Club and have personal bests of 17’41” for 5k, 36’41” for 10k and 1h 24′ 24″ for Half Marathon. I do two sessions of intervals, a parkrun and a long run each week in addition to two gym sessions. I could never of dreamed of this six years ago!
You lost the weight very quickly and clearly the combination of a restricted calorie diet and plenty of exercise that you enjoyed was key for you – what’s surprised you about the difference?
The big thing is how much easier even the simple things like walking are. Obviously you are carrying a lot less weight and therefore every motion you make is easier than it was at your original weight. It also amazed me how addictive it got setting a goal for the next week and the great feeling that you get when you achieve it. Running has replaced this goal-orientated approach now and it what keeps me fit and healthy in the main, apart from injuries!
The election is coming up – what would you change about the world to make it healthier?
This is a tough one. Things like putting a message on high calorie food or making exercise at school compulsory never really works as you have to want to achieve weight loss to get it. I would say that subsidised gym membership and personal training sessions would be a good thing to provide to those who are wanting to get into shape as the cost of these things can prove prohibitive to many. I try to help with this myself as I am a regular volunteer at Great Run Local Glasgow Quays which has the expressed goal of helping people lose weight and stay fit.
Our thanks to Iain, for telling us how he did it – now it’s over to you. If you want to make a change in your life sign up for a Great Local Run or a Parkrun. They’re free and Iain proves that you won’t be the first fat guy to turn up. Don’t mess around, do it now. Ask Iain anything over on Talk now and if you’re an Amazing Loser, or you know of one, then get in touch.
Extreme Diet Weight Loss Transformation – James Turner – Amazing Loser
- Name: James Turner (ask him anything on Talk)
- Job: Strength coach at Body And Soul Fitness
- Height: 5′ 10″ (177.8 cm)
- Age: 33
- Highest weight: 266 lbs (120.7 kg)
- Lowest weight: 140 lbs (63.5 kg)
James, I’m really pleased to be sharing your story not only because you’re a great inspiration, but also because you freely admit you lost weight in the wrong way with an extreme diet. I know from emails and posts on the forum that it’s something that crops up time and time again with guys – tell us what happened?
To start with I began with a really simple plan, I would eat three meals a day and not snack at all. I also cut out alcohol completely to begin with which was quite a tough ask given I was at university at the time! I started to notice the weight coming off and the more I noticed this, and other people began to notice the more addictive it became.
I had heard about the Atkins diet but didn’t research it properly so perhaps my understanding of it wasn’t right. I literally just ate meat and yoghurt. The weight fell off me, at around 7 lbs a week. I was also going to the gym three times a week and just doing cardio. It became a complete obsession, NOTHING would pass my lips that wasn’t what I perceived to be the right things. I remember one time I was on an aeroplane and they passed around boiled sweets to help with ear pressure. I sucked the sweet until the plane landed then spat it out and spent the rest of the day panicking about the extra calories this might have added!
Wow, that’s really extreme, how on earth did you manage to keep it up?
Well, I eventually got down to 10st. I still thought I looked fat but looking at pictures of myself at this time I looked ill. In fairness I was ill. My skin turned yellow through liver damage and I looked gaunt and tired all the time. Eventually, my friends and family persuaded me that enough was enough and I started eating carbohydrates again. I had decided by this point that I wanted to train as a personal trainer so I could help others and felt that my experiences would give me the empathy and understanding that perhaps other PTs might lack.
I take it you didn’t start marketing the meat and yoghurt diet plan then?
No! Through my personal training course I had my eyes properly opened to correct nutrition. I went on to complete an advanced nutrition course and these days I eat a healthy, balanced diet. It is a high protein diet as I am a competitive U90kg strongman. My weight is currently 14st but with a body fat of 12% I am, for the first time in my life, happy in my own skin. I eat sensibly and treat myself when I want to – I train hard so the odd naughty day will do me no harm!
Had you always been interested in strongman competitions?
I was never into sports. I had friends but none of them lived near me as a child so I was never really playing out in the streets or running about much. I was mostly into books and computer games, both very sedentary activities. As I got older I obviously starting going drinking with friends and this exasperated the situation. I would love to say there were excuses for all the weight I put on, but there really aren’t. I have to hold my hands up and say I was lazy. Lazy and a pig when it came to food.
What sort of mistakes were you making on the foods and drinks you had before you changed?
In a typical day I would eat two bowls of cereal for breakfast, usually something like Coco Pops or Frosties but I would add a lot of sugar on top too, all with full fat milk. Or if it was the weekend a full English fry-up would be more likely. I would pick throughout the day on crisps and chocolate. I was a big lover of chocolate milk and could drink up to two litres of this a day.
Lunch would consist of something like pizza and chips or if I couldn’t be bothered cooking I would eat maybe a packet of crisps, a chocolate bar and a fizzy drink. Dinner would usually be my healthiest meal of the day such as chicken with potatoes and vegetables, but then I would ruin it with several slices of bread and butter on the side. I would then snack into the evening.
It wasn’t even necessarily nice stuff. If there were no treats in I would literally eat plain slices of bread. Looking back it’s embarrassing and pretty disturbing but I was eating for the sake of eating and was pretty much always looking for something to consume.
Something big must have happened to create such a strong change in the way you lived and motivate you to keep it going?
What happened was that I was walking down the street and my shoelace came undone. I physically could not bend down to tie it up. I had to keep walking until I found a bench so I could sit down in order to tie it. Literally 10 minutes after this somebody walking past me in the street said to his friend, “Jesus Christ, look at that lump”. This happened a lot. It never fails to amaze me how people always felt it was acceptable to pass comments openly. That night I resolved that enough was enough. I started the very next day.
You talk about the comments and it’s something that so many readers have experienced, how is that different now?
The way people change towards you when you lose weight is incredible. The opposite sex is an obvious one, and understandable. But from your peers too. I have been treated with a huge amount more respect since losing weight by other men. This is sad, and wrong, but I suppose it is human nature.
The other horrible thing I remember about being obese was sweating. I always had to think very carefully about the colours and materials of clothes I would wear. I remember one night I was out for a meal with friends and was wearing a lime green shirt and I could feel and see huge sweat patches under my armpits. I spilt a drink on myself on purpose so I could go home and change into a black shirt.
Thigh chafing was another, if I would walk for anything more than 10 minutes my thighs would chafe together and cause a rash which was obviously very uncomfortable. And not being able to do the things your friends did growing up was horrible – I couldn’t run, play football, climb trees etc. Being so large is very restrictive.
As someone who openly admits you didn’t do this in the right way, at least initially, and as someone who has changed a lot since then what are your thoughts on how you lost weight?
The whole process was mentally and physically draining. I think once you have been fat, that never leaves you mentally. You will always have a slightly odd relationship with food. I’m ok with that because food and nutrition is important and to have that at the forefront of one’s mind I think is a positive. I think carefully about what I consume now, but my head is screwed on these days and if I want a treat I have one. I never binge anymore, I think that’s the important thing. Binging is damaging in every respect.
How has life changed now you’ve lost the weight?
Everything has changed. As I say to my clients, everything improves when you lose weight and live a healthy and fit life. I am fitter and stronger at 33 than I ever have been and I think that’s pretty cool. I rarely get ill, my skin is better, I am happier, more balanced, a better friend, partner and father. Too many people self-diagnose themselves with depression without first looking at what they are polluting their bodies with. If you are regularly smoking, drinking alcohol and eating processed and fast foods then of course you won’t feel at your best.
What myths did you discover while you were losing weight?
I guess I kept telling myself that it was in my genes, I was “big-boned”. I have clients who say this to me now. They’ll say “Well, I know I’ll never be a slim man” and I say “Why? You can be anything you want to be.” As I mentioned earlier, the way society treats you differently when you are a healthy weight is staggering.
That’s so true, men are always doing that – limiting what they can achieve by what they say, “I’ll never, I can’t…” It drives me mad! Do you have regrets about how you lost the weight?
It’s very easy to say I’d go back to me before this process and tell him to think about his actions, explain what he was doing wrong but if I am being completely honest I wouldn’t say anything. I am extremely proud of the person I have become and my experiences of being fat are a HUGE part of that. If I hadn’t had that journey then I wouldn’t be who I am today. Hopefully, because of what I experienced others won’t have to experience the same. On a more general note however I think education on nutrition at schools and college would play a key role. I am still amazed at the amount of people who come to me without even the most basic understanding of nutrition.
You’re Prime Minister for the day, what one law do you bring in to help others who are obese?
As I mentioned above education on nutrition is key. I don’t buy into this idea of taxing ‘unhealthy’ foods. That promotes a nanny state and at the end of the day people have to be allowed to make their own choices. A treat is just that, a treat. McDonalds and the like aren’t inherently wrong, but like anything if they are abused they can have a detrimental effect on your health. I think alongside education I would introduce free counselling and/or support groups for the obese because whilst it wasn’t the case for me I believe many eat to support or mask psychological issues.
Our thanks to James, for sharing his incredible story so honestly. Don’t forget you can ask him anything over on Talk now – like, how the hell did he survive on meat and yoghurt for so long?And if you’re an Amazing Loser, or you know of one, then get in touch.
Getting started with weight loss
Want to lose weight but not sure where to start? We’ve all been there. Get all the info you need right here.
How Losing Weight Affects Your Poo
Here at MAN v FAT, the number 2 most recently asked question we get about weight loss is how it affects your poo. If you’ve already been losing weight, you may have noticed changes in
Fat Men’s Health: Everything You Want To Know About Your Prostate
As part of our series on the health issues that sometimes impact bigger guys, we’ve arrived at the prostate. Please remember, it’s the prostate, and not the prostrate, which means to lie on the floor
Trick or Treating With Every Premier League Club
To celebrate Halloween and with the Premier League season now in full swing, our football friend Nathan Spafford has given us the lowdown on each club’s Trick and Treat so far this season. If you’ve