***THIS OFFER IS NO LONGER VALID***
The Beast of the East was not going to stop us from bringing you your weekly dose of news, and this week we’re turning our attention to spring. As it is Mother’s Day this weekend, we reveal some tasty low-calorie treats all the family can enjoy. Also this week, a poignant reminder from the world of football to enjoy every second of life, how you can get your hands on a quick and easy fiver and a word of advice on managing calorie intake.
NEWS FROM THE MAN V FAT FOOTBALL LEAGUES
Stop what you’re doing and listen up because we have big news in the MAN v FAT Football world this week: our new and improved player referral scheme is finally up and running (I know, exciting right?!). To the mere mortal this might not mean anything significant at all, but for everyone involved – players and admin – it is a much simpler, faster and beneficial process.
For anybody looking to refer a friend, your first port of call is to head over to the Refer a Friend page on the MAN v FAT Football site. Once there you will notice a box instructing you to enter an email address. It might seem logical that you are to enter the email address of the player who you are hoping to join, wrong. That is an important part, because should you do that it will come up saying “EMAIL ADDRESS NOT VALID”. You must enter your own email address, more specifically the email address you used to register for MAN v FAT Football with.
Once this is done it generates a referral link, which will pop up – this is unique to you and it is vital that anybody you wish to refer, must sign up through your link. If they register through anywhere other than that link it will not count as a referral, and you won’t get the bonus.
Previously when a player referred a friend they’d get a £5 gift voucher for the MAN v FAT Shop, with the newbie getting a 10% discount on their registration fee, but this has now changed completely. If you refer a friend, you’ll now get a fiver paid directly to you and your friend via PayPal, with most cases receiving that extra cash within five weeks.
It offers an extra incentive to those players already a part of MAN v FAT Football to share the gift of losing weight, while playing football with as many people as possible.
OTHER NEWS
The legendary Italian football coach Arrigo Sacchi famously stated: “Football is the most important thing of the least important things in life”, something that was most definitely put into perspective last weekend when Italian and Fiorentina centre-back Davide Astori tragically passed away just hours before he was set to captain his team. With the cause of death still being described as a “mystery sudden illness”, it shows just how devastating life can be at times, with Astori, a married father, passing at just thirty-one years old.
Many of you reading this will probably be a similar age or older, showing just how heartbreaking this tragedy is; a player who had experienced most things there were to experience at the highest level of football – a level most of us could only ever dream of reaching – having everything taken away just like that. Astori would have had the best medical care possible, daily check-ups to ensure his body was constantly performing at its maximum potential, but in the end that all did not matter because each and every one of us is still human.
The passing, which shocked and stunned an entire nation and the footballing world alike, is a stark reminder to all to live your life to the absolute fullest because you never know when it all could come crashing down.
WHAT WE’RE EATING
As you may know, it’s Mother’s Day this weekend (quick – go buy a card!), so that means all of us are legally obliged to give back to the ones who gave so much to us, even if it is just for one day! Here are some healthy treats for you and the kids to whip up, so that you can treat that special mam, mother, ma or mum in your life while keeping the calories down.
GLUTEN FREE VANILLA CUPCAKES
These gluten free bites are light, scrumptious, but most of all incredibly simple to make. There will be no need to make a last minute dash to the supermarket for all the ingredients, as you’ll find most of its content nestled in the kitchen cupboards. You’ll spend no longer than forty minutes on these tasty treats and all of the family (not just the mums) will enjoy sinking their teeth into these. Have a crack at them here.
CHOCOLATE CHIP OATMEAL COOKIES
Now for a fans’ favourite, but while choc-chip cookies might be great to eat, they are deadly on the waistline. This quick and easy recipe has most definitely solved that conundrum. With only a few alterations to the traditional cookie recipe, this safe and simple treat is another one all the family will love to will enjoy nibbling on. What’s more, is there anything better than indulging in a fresh batch of warm cookies straight out of the oven? You can have a go yourself here.
PEANUT BUTTER & CHOCOLATE BANANA SMOOTHIE
It’s not just bites to eat that you will be able to treat your dearest mother to this weekend as this unusual but utterly delicious smoothie recipe will leave your taste buds jumping for joy. These two flavours might not be the first things that come to mind when you think ‘delicious’, but I urge you to experiment with this exotic concoction. You could even replace regular milk with a non-dairy alternative to bring the calories down even more. You can find the recipe here.
WHAT WE’RE READING
Over 47,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year (according to figures from Prostate Cancer UK) and it can take an average of around six weeks to get a diagnosis. Groundbreaking new treatment could see this time slashed to just a matter of days.
Doping has rocked the world of sport for the past couple of years and a recent report is grim reading for British sport.
Could poverty, not individual willpower, be the reason behind our extraordinary obesity levels?
WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT ON THE MAN V FAT FORUM
Here is everything you need to know about consuming healthy amounts of protein, while on a vegan diet.
Thinking of installing some exercise equipment in your home? Hold that thought and have a read of this first.
Let’s talk audiobooks: have you got any you’d recommend to your MAN v FAT counterparts?
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“The only advice I found when I started looking around was to try and spread your daily calorie intake over the first 24 hours which forces you to be really clever with your food choices. If I wanted volume to feel full I would eat very large bowls of salad or a hot dinner with lots of vegetables.” – @Remoh2003 on how to cope with shift work.
