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.
Future Amazing Losers – Paul Dolman-Darrall
If you’ve spent time on the MAN v FAT forum then you’ll probably have already met Paul Dolman-Darrall. He’s a very vocal presence and often brings his considerable experience to help others who are looking to lose weight. Although he’s already shifted a lot of weight – down from 210 lbs (95 kg) in January to 155 lbs (70.1 kg) – the reason he’s in a Future Amazing Loser post is because he still feels he has a lot to go. Not so much with weight loss, but with how he builds himself up afterwards.
We spoke to him about snacking, the calories in chocolate biscuits and what mistakes he’s made along the way.
Amazing Loser – Jon Calvo
- Age: 25
- YouTube Star
- 5’6″ (167 cm)
- Heaviest weight: 340lb (154.2 kg)
- Lowest weight: 152lb (68.9 kg)
Why were the videos so popular? I think part of the reason they gained a lot of success is because it’s just a story of hope. I think people just need to see that hope is possible. In their own lives maybe they didn’t think it was possible or they gave up on themselves. When you fall into that hole and you keep digging, you don’t know if you can ever get out. Seeing something that can bring other people hope about their own situation is something that can inspire people. I think that’s one reason. Also it was me just acting like a jerk.
Let’s start at the YouTube videos which might be where a lot of people are going, “Oh yeah, I knew him from somewhere!”
In the beginning it was just that I wanted to create videos for my close friends and family on Facebook. A lot of my videos are just like me acting weird! [ED: It’s true, check out his channel! Then subscribe to ours!] But that was just to be entertaining for my friends and family. But I had no idea that the videos would get seen by a lot of people. Being accountable is a huge thing for weight loss as well. Taking responsibility. There were a lot of people I knew who made videos at the same time as me who just dropped off, I don’t know why but I just kept going.
As far as making YouTube videos were concerned I can say that it helped me. Making videos isn’t a magic thing though. It’s all supplemental. Like taking supplements – I know guys who take supplements thinking it’s going to fix their weight problem – it’s not! It’s supplemental to the main activity, they’re not a cure in themselves. YouTube is a supplementary activity, if you’re vlogging. It’s very good though for when you know you’re going to succeed to have something to look back on.
What is your favourite video?
I made a video called The Man Who Never Gave Up, right? (See below) And over the next year when that video started gaining more views I was faced with so many points in my life where I just felt like giving up! But the thing is, because that video is who I was and who I am – every time I looked back on that video I realised it’s actually me speaking. I began to realise that no matter what I was faced with it’s like it says in the video: I can’t give up. I’m that person who will never give up. I think that type of resilience is in everyone, but it all begins with a choice.
Have you always struggled with weight?
I grew up as a military brat. My father was in the army and we travelled around everywhere. I lived overseas in Korea for about 10 years on and off. I travelled throughout the US so I’m not really FROM anywhere! I was big all my life. Growing up. I didn’t really have the best diet. As far as I can remember, I was kind of a skinny kid up until about age 4 or 5, but really as far back as I remember 6 and onward I was a big kid. I was always the fat kid in class and then as soon as I got to my teenage years I got morbidly obese.
What were you doing that was causing that?
Mentally, I just wasn’t ready to take responsibility for my actions. As far as my diet went I didn’t eat a lot of protein. I ate a lot of processed foods, that was the majority of my diet. A lot of snacks. I was never into sports growing up. Really – weight lifting was the only thing I was interested in. I’m still a big gamer. Losing weight doesn’t have to be giving up everything about your old lifestyle. I still eat a lot of junk food. I do it maybe 20% of the time. So 80% of the time I eat whole food, quality ingredients, nutrient dense, a lot of sweet potatoes, a lot of animal meats, a lot of whole foods. I’m not hardcore strict dieter, in fact I have the appetite of a competitive eater.
We’ve seen some of your cheat day meals – how is that a diet!
I have the appetite of a competitive eater. I can put away like 8-10lb of food in a single session. So after exercising and losing weight my appetite is way bigger. I still eat junk food – I have so many favourites. My favourite is a pineapple and ham pizza. I love chocolate cake, cheese cake, ice-cream! I’m an all or nothing kind of guy. I don’t believe in moderation! I don’t believe in eating small amounts! But for me, it just wasn’t right, so I had to find something that worked for me. Not everyone can eat small amounts of food. Intermittent Fasting taught me discipline, taught me that I can still have my giant meals and I don’t have to eat like a chipmunk. That works for some people – fine – it doesn’t sit for me. I’d rather stick to one or two giant meals!
So how did you lose the weight?
When I first started out I started out small, which is surprising because the other times I’d tried to lose weight I’d dived in head first. But four years ago I started off drinking more water, less soda. I’d walk at every chance I could. I’d eat junk food twice or three times a week, rather than every day. I did that for a while and then I started going to the gym. When I first started I didn’t even touch the weights because I believed in the myth that if you’re big and you lift you’re just going to convert everything to muscle and be gigantic but muscled!
Anyway, I started using the elliptical, and doing low-impact cardio. When I lost about 50 lb I started into weight lifting. I had my brother show me how to do squats and deadlifts and bench presses. I started getting into weight lifting. Nutrition wise I was doing low carb paleo style for about a year and a half. Then I hit a plateau for about a year! And I gained about 20lbs off doing the low carb approach. I made a mistake because people say that calories don’t matter – you hear that a lot from the low carb people but they have to keep in mind that calories matter regardless of what you’re eating – if you’re eating 5000 calories a day of meat and clean foods – you’re still going to gain weight if you’re not active enough – I was eating huge amounts of chicken wings and tree nuts.
I ended up gaining weight. From 205 to 235. That’s when I knew I had to change up my methods and do more research. Things were getting stagnant. That’s when I learned about Intermittent Fasting (IF) which I’ve been doing for about a year and a half.
Intermittent Fasting (IF) is still a relatively new thing in terms of dieting – what do you find the benefits are?
IF has a lot of benefits, short periods of fasting a minimum of 16 hours can boost your growth hormone. So 16-20 hours of doing IF you can boost your growth hormone by up to 2,000%. It’s huge for a variety of things – muscle building and even some weight loss benefits as well. But it works also just from realising the difference between psychological hunger – that we’re conditioned to feel – and actual hunger. It also taught me discipline, which was something I really needed at the time.
Nowadays I’ll eat 8-10lb worth of food. On a work out day – I’ll have 2-3lb of potatoes, 2lb of chicken, a pound of boiled carrots, six eggs, some almonds. All very clean. Very simple whole food diet. On a rest day – a bar of 85% dark chocolate, two handfuls of almonds, eight eggs, 2lb of chicken, 2lb of broccoli. I eat a lot. I stay within that 6-8lb range.
The thing about whole food is that the calories aren’t very dense so you can eat a lot of it. When you gain experience of cooking I tell a lot of guys there’s a lot of seasonings that you can use to make your food taste amazing which are pretty much zero calories. Hot sauce. There’s a lot of ways to make things more interesting when you’re preparing your food. Like I used to grill my chicken but now I boil it for about 20 minutes and then shred it and cover it in hot sauce.
What advice would you give to other men looking to lose weight?
My biggest advice is to focus on the mindset. A lot of people come to me for weight loss advice and the majority of the time what they’re looking for is a method or a dietary system – you know what exercise programme or new name diet should they do. But you know the reality is that you can really lose weight on anything – as long as there’s a calorie deficit – but then there’s the mindset. I have friends who’ve lost weight using drastically different methods. Some who’ve lost weight just eating junk food. So long as you’re in a calorie deficit it will work, but it’s about what’s going on in your mind too.
The mindset of success is always the same. I see a lot of people who put themselves down. I guess it’s like a self-deprecation. They put themselves down and I don’t really feel that’s a good thing to do. Even when I was over 300lb I was happy with myself. The moment I did decide that the weight loss thing was going to happen it just became an inevitability because of my mindset. I knew I was going to lose it, it wasn’t a struggle. It was less of a fight. Time’s the only thing that’s holding me back. It’s so important to be happy with yourself.
So how can you check your mindset?
One exercise I think is interesting is if you could take your shirt off and look in the mirror. Can you do that – no matter what weight you are and know that you love yourself on the inside? That’s a big thing. Back when I was big, I’m not going to lie, I’d look at myself with my shirt off and I’d just break down crying. I know there are so many men out there who have the same experience – they won’t want to admit it because it’s degrading. But just to be able to look at yourself and acknowledge that you love yourself enough to get to where you want to make that change for yourself.
The reason I think this is important is that I don’t know how people view me but I’ve had a lot of hard times in my life. Especially in recent months. When someone doesn’t value themselves and they’re faced with those hard times which hit us all at some point, in some way, then it’s easy to rebound and go back to putting on weight. If you don’t feel that love for yourself.
I know that you had a lot of excess skin when you lost weight, which is a concern for a lot of readers – how have you coped with that?
I had a lot of excess skin. I know this sounds weird but it wasn’t something that really bothered me. Granted it seems like it would be and I know how much it bothers some people – but often these were people who were thin at some point. I think because I’d always been fat it never bothered me. It was the only body I ever knew. I’d always had a lot of excess skin – I’d always had big breasts! When I lost weight – when I got down to single digit body fat percentages I guess it didn’t bother me as much as it was really all I knew.
I did have the skin surgery. I was very pleased with the outcome it was night and day. You can see from the photos. I was really pleased with the results. I never knew what a flat chest would feel like. What a flat stomach would feel like. In all seriousness I was already happy with myself. Before any of this even happened I was feeling like I was on top of the highest mountain. When I had the surgery it just added to that. I always tell people to try and be happy with their situation it’s easier said than done, but it goes back to their mindset – if you’re hating yourself and they’re putting themselves down.
Future Amazing Loser – Adam Windass
It’s the same for everyone – before you become an Amazing Loser, by default you are a Future Amazing Loser. This week we’re speaking to Adam Windass (or Adamski as he goes by on the forums) to ask him about his weight loss, what he knows that trips him up, to share what he’s learned so far and find out what he’s planning to do next.
You can see Adam at his heaviest on the squash court picture above and on the right when he lost the weight before. It’s a frank and full discussion covering Quavers, emotional eating, what it’s like to hit target and then put the weight back on and why he’s struggled since giving up rugby. We should also point out that Adam’s getting married this weekend, so join with us in wishing him all the best as he gets spliced. Have a great day Adam and remember that we’re all here waiting to see you after the honeymoon…
Amazing Loser – Ira Rainey
- Ask Ira anything on MAN v FAT Talk (@ira-rainey)
- Age: 45
- Height – 6″ (183 cm)
- Software developer and author of Fat Man To Green Man
- Heaviest weight: 245 lbs (111.1 kg)
- Lowest weight: 192 lbs (87.1 kg)
Your book Fat Man To Green Man documents an incredible phase in your life where you lost nearly 50 lbs and took up ultramarathons – have you always had a passion for running?
No, not at all! The thing is inherently I am a very lazy person. I’ve never been interested in sport and was never really into keeping fit or exercising. I first started running in 2000 when I entered the Bristol Half Marathon and I only did that because I thought it looked like fun!
I’d never run before and during training I just plodded a few miles and just about got around the race. Then I threw my trainers back in the cupboard for a few years. I wasn’t a runner, I just saw the half marathon as a challenge and once I completed it I was done with it. Box ticked.
So did you not run again after 2000?
It was only a good few years later when I became aware that I was putting on weight that I decided I had to do something about it and started running a bit more. I never took it very seriously, and still didn’t really change what I was eating so I didn’t lose weight, but I thought I was doing better because I was running. I’m living proof that you can’t just exercise the weight off.
Before you lost the weight what were you eating on an average day?
I would often tend to skip breakfast at home and grab a McDonalds on the way to work, two egg and bacon McMuffins, hash browns and coffee was my standard order. If not McDs then I would buy a few croissants or a sausage and bacon breakfast baguette.
Then I would often buy a baguette from the sandwich lady in the office, which I would often eat before lunch, then at lunchtime I would walk into town and generally buy something else. If there were cakes or biscuits around in the office then I would snack on those all afternoon. If not I would buy a bar of chocolate (or sometimes two) from the vending machine.
Tea at home would generally be healthy if we weren’t having a takeaway, but I would often have a good chunk of beer of an evening. Worst case scenario I would probably average 3 – 5 pints a night for 4 or 5 nights a week. Not even counting the kebabs on the way home from the pub or late night pizza orders when drinking.
What made you decide to change?
Very suddenly a friend of mine who I worked with was diagnosed with terminal cancer and given 6-9 months to live. It was such a shock and it was the slap in the face that made me realise that maybe everything won’t always be OK. He was fit and healthy, yet his life was still cut tragically short. It really made me think about my own mortality. When I was younger I’d always thought I was a robot! Then over time I realised that was daft, I wasn’t a robot at all – I was bionic! I’ve always been a bit of a dreamer and I just had this strange sense that I was different and didn’t need to worry about mortality or health. When Remo got ill I suddenly had to think again.
What made it different from the times before?
The shock of what had happened to my friend brought it close to home. It made me realise I wasn’t doing my life any justice. I ran, but not really with any effort. You kind of think that because you’re doing some exercise you’re doing OK, but when you’re cancelling out the benefits with all the crap you’re putting back in it’s a bit of a pointless task.
Reading the book there seems to be a real sense of guilt about getting that news, is that fair?
You’re right. I felt guilty with myself that I wasn’t doing what I should be doing to enable me to live as long and as happy a life as I could. I wasn’t looking after my health and worst of all I wasn’t really living. I thought I was, but when you sit back and look objectively you see you’re really not. Remo paid the ultimate price, despite the fact that he was slim, fit and seemingly healthy. He didn’t smoke, he didn’t really drink, yet he still paid the price. I know that these things strike anyone, but surely the most important thing is to give yourself the very best chance. It was a real wake up call to my own mortality.
So you were running, albeit half-heartedly, what did you do to shift the weight?
I don’t buy into any kind of diet plan. You need to learn to eat properly, not with something labelled or set out for you in points. I’ve seen people on Weight Watchers eating sausage sandwiches for breakfast because the had the points for it. That doesn’t teach you anything. I just cut back on the junk, ran a lot more, and learnt to moderate myself. One of the most important things was stopping drinking for a bit and getting that part of my life back into proportion.
Was it a fairly straight forward or were there problems?
It was fairly straight forward. Once you get your head into it and start to see a benefit then it gets easier. After a little while, once you lose a bit of weight and it starts to slow the danger is that you take your foot off the pedal and things slide back up. It’s important to bear that in mind.
[blocktext align=”right”]When you’re not fit or you’re overweight there is no such thing as an easy run. [/blocktext]
For me, because I’d stopped eating so much crap and because I was running so much in training for the Green Man Ultramarathon the weight was coming off quickly. The other thing that kept me focused was the fact that I was raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support and it was difficult to moan about my problems when Remo was going through much worse. The biggest suprise was how much easier running became and how much faster I could run, and how much more I enjoyed it. When you’re not fit or you’re overweight there is no such thing as an easy run. When you’re fitter you can choose to take it easy or not.
What would you eat on a normal day now then?
I always have breakfast at home, either Weetabix with raisins, or poached eggs on toast, or kippers. Then for lunch I often have some soup or noodles, or some leftovers from tea such as chilli and rice. I no longer load up on double lunches or eat the cakes or chocolates spread around the office. For tea, as a family we try to eat together and generally it’s healthier options, such as a low-fat chicken korma, or salmon and jacket potatoes, chilli and rice, homemade pizza, or roast and veggies. That kind of thing. I still enjoy a few beers, but maybe once or twice a week. Nowadays instead of three or four pints I’ll drink smaller bottles. Everything in moderation I think is key.
There’s an incredible twist to the story isn’t there – because although you completed the Green Man it wasn’t quite a simple happy ending…
Not quite! I completed the 46 mile Green Man Ultra on the Saturday, then for some crazy reason we’d decided to do the Bath Half Marathon the following day – which again I finished with no real problems. I decided to take some time off running and then two weeks later I was driving to work and got pins and needles in my arm and leg, which then spread to my face. I rang 111 and they told me to get to hospital as they thought it might be a stroke. In total I spent a week on the acute stroke ward at Bath Royal United Hospital.
Whilst in there I underwent a huge amount of tests, one of which detected I had several blood clots on my left lung, so I was given emergency anti-coagulant drugs. The stroke symptoms passed and the weirdest thing was that the hospital could find no evidence of a stroke. In the end it was deemed either to be a migraine or a TIA (mini-stroke). When I was discharged I was also put on Warfarin for six months because of the clots.
[blocktext align=”left”]By the time I returned to work in July I had lost all my fitness I had gained and a simple 3 mile at lunchtime nearly did me in.[/blocktext]
That still wasn’t the end though! The following week when I was recuperating at home I developed a pain in my back which went on to turn into chronic sciatica which stopped me from being able to stand up for more than a few minutes. I couldn’t walk anywhere, let alone run. I was in a serious amount of pain and ended up having MRI scans to determine the problem, which turned out to be caused by spondylolisthesis which is a slippage of the vertebrae causing a pinching of the disc and the sciatic nerve. None of it – the blood clots or the sciatica were connected to running but I ended up being off work for 14 weeks unable to do much for myself, and high as a kite on a serious amount of morphine to manage the pain. I didn’t walk for a couple of weeks, and then slowly with help of the drugs eased back into it.
By the time I returned to work in July I had lost all my fitness I had gained and a simple three mile run at lunchtime nearly did me in. I had to start from scratch getting back up to my previous fitness. I slowly built up enough enabling me to run the Chippenham Half Marathon in September in 1:47 and then continuing to train and completed the 53 mile Highland Fling Ultra in Scotland in April this year. What happened to me just goes to prove that none of us know what is around the corner in life and all we can do is get out there and live while we can. I am now training for TransGrancanaria, which is 77 miles from north to south of Gran Canaria with 28,000 feet of climb in March 2015 and the South Downs Way 100 miles in June. It turns out I’m not bionic but I think it shows that no matter who you are we can all do something with our life.
Our thanks to Ira for sharing his story and if you’ve not read Fat Man To Green Man then it’s highly recommended. Stay tuned this week as you’ll be able to win a copy on MAN v FAT. And don’t forget that you can chat to Ira on MAN v FAT Talk at anytime.
#FutureAmazingLoser – Adam Barrett
MAN v FAT is where men come to get information and ask questions, so in time they can become Amazing Losers. This week we’re meeting #FutureAmazingLoser Adam Barrett or @adambarrett82 as you may know him on the forums.
Adam has struggled with his weight since his secret eating began when he was starting high school, and despite getting down to 210 lbs (95.3kg) a few years ago he says he is a classic yo-yo dieter from the Oprah school. He is currently a member of Trim Down Shape Up in Wigan and by eating a balanced diet, walking and getting back into football he’s now lost 21lbs from his starting point of 333 lbs (151 kg).
You can catch up with Adam, ask him any questions or simply cheer him on by visiting this thread.
Amazing Loser – Chris Oliver
- Ask Chris anything on MAN v FAT Talk (@cwoliver) – the thread is here!
- Age: 54
- Height – 5’10” (177 cm)
- Consultant trauma orthopaedic and hand surgeon in Edinburgh
- Heaviest weight: 377 lbs (171 kg)
- Lowest weight: 210 lbs (95 kg)
Like many men Chris Oliver found that his weight gain was directly connected to his work. In our first ever YouTube #amazingloser we speak to Chris about the surgery that saved his life, cycling across America and how NHS staff need to get into line with healthier choices.
What had caused you to gain the weight?
I do not think I really overate or had a significant eating disorder, I just stopped exercising for ten years! I spent my time looking after my patients instead of looking after myself. I was fit as a medical student and ran marathons and whitewater kayaked all round the world. In the gallery below you can see a picture of me when I was younger and more active. When I qualified as a doctor and studied to be a surgeon I stopped exercising and put on over 10 stone in weight. I have ten degrees and over 400 publications/presentations but I lost the plot with the work-life balance!
What made you decide to change?
I was lecturing in China and was unable to climb a flight of steps on the Great Wall due to obesity and lack of fitness. My family all went on and climbed the steps and had a great time and I was left behind. I realised I had to do something. I had tried diets but they had all failed. I went directly to my surgeon Mr David Galloway who assessed me and said “I think you will do well after the surgery”. After that I felt I had to prove him right. I had the laparoscopic gastric band fitted privately in 2007. Your food intake is so significantly reduced you lose weight.
I lost about seven stone over the next seven months and started to get back into exercise. It began with going to the gym and seeing that they ran an aquacise class there, so I thought that would be good because it wasn’t putting a load on my joints. So I did that. Then at the gym they had exercise bikes and I started to work on those and joining in with the spinning classes. It took me a year before I could do the whole class including the hops and the standing up, but I wasn’t embarrassed, I just kept going.
That was just the beginning of the love affair with cycling wasn’t it?
When I had the bariatric surgery I had three weeks off work and actually stopped, which is very unlike me. During that time I made a bucket list of things I wanted to do. It started with the easy stuff at first like aquaerobics, I never dreamt it would lead me to cycle 3,500 miles across the USA on a bike six years later. The exercise just got a bit out of hand! The band has been a tool to make me and help me change my life.
How was the journey across America?
It was an epic adventure! I’d already cycled from Lands’ End to John O’Groats and the same company who did that put me in touch with another organisation who support the cycle rides across the States. It seemed like a momentous thing to symbolise the change in my life. My motivation was to get back to doing the things I did as a young man. None of us are getting any younger and I think exercise and looking after your health is a step towards keeping that at bay. With the journey across America I pretty well achieved that, but it took me a good three months to recover and I did get post expedition depressive syndrome on completing the cycle ride.
How has life changed now you’ve lost the weight?
There are lots of changes. My patients come to see me in clinic and ask to “see the consultant Mr Oliver”. I then reply I am “Mr Oliver”. MY identity has changed; physically, mentally and professionally.
What surprised you about losing weight?
I never dreamt I would ride 3,500 miles across the USA! You can read some more about the journey here. I also never thought I would inspire so many people and I certainly never thought I would end up being a national advocate for cycling, obesity and physical activity.
If you could go back to the person you were at your heaviest – what would you say to him?
I wish you will never need to have a gastric band when you are age 47, keep exercising, stay fit and look after yourself better!
For the full interview watch the film! Don’t forget you can ask Chris anything simply by jumping on the Talk forum. Let us know what you think of the video and don’t forget to Subscribe to the YouTube channel.
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.
Fat Men’s Health: What The **** Is Cholesterol And Why Should I Care?
Hooray! It’s National Cholesterol Month, which just so happens to be our joint-favourite health-themed month, tied only for top place with joint health month. National Cholesterol Month is organised by our chums over at Heart
Five Great Songs About Being A Fat Man
We love music here at MAN v FAT and given that we’re all about supporting men who want to lose weight and get healthier, it’s inevitable that sometimes our playlists veer in that direction too.
What Does Your Partner Really Think About You Being Fat?
If you’re a bloke with a bit of weight to lose, then there’s a reasonable chance that you’ll already know that the world at large has an opinion about your size. Every so often those