Our MAN v FAT Rugby programme got started in the Autumn of 2024 and is already seeing some great successes across the first three clubs in Birmingham, Cheltenham and Leicester.
In our Leicester club, we had our first ever 10% weight loss, with Gareth Robinson the first to hit that landmark among our initial rugby members.
We caught up with Gareth to talk about his successes so far and his motivations for joining the programme.
1) What was it that made you join MAN v FAT Rugby in the first place? Did you have a reason/target for your weight loss?
I have tried losing weight on my own before with mixed results, sometimes I would do OK but would always fall back off the horse and put the weight back on, so I was looking to try something different to see if that would work for me.
I didn’t really fancy Weight Watchers, but I saw the adverts for MAN v FAT Rugby on Facebook and it seemed like a good opportunity to try it out.
I am trying to lose weight for two main reasons, one is for my health, as I have a family history of cardiovascular disease, so losing some weight and getting fitter will help with that, and I have two young children who I just want to be able to do more with/keep up with.
2) You’ve enjoyed great weight loss so far – what has been the secret to your success to date?
I have been tracking my calories and trying to stick to a low target, if I can stick to it then great, but if I go a bit over then it’s not the end of the world as I am already targeting lower than the RDA.
I am also trying to do more exercise outside of MAN v FAT Rugby, so I have been going to a circuit training class and I am now trying to get back into doing some running.
I also deliberately don’t log my exercise on my calorie tracker, so even if I have burned some calories I still try and stick to the original target, so hopefully that helps to lose a bit more.
3) What do you think are the best parts of MAN v FAT Rugby and its community?
The rugby is definitely the main thing for me, I used to enjoy the social side of rugby when I played a few years back, and we get a bit of that on a Monday night now.
The teams are all supportive of each other and there is good atmosphere. I think that the chat on Whatsapp is starting to pick up a bit too, and the guys are sharing their tips with each other now, which is great.
I also really like to see the other guys doing well and celebrating their successes, as I know that they are all working hard to shift some weight too.
4) How has MAN v FAT Rugby made you think differently about your weight loss efforts?
I think it has added an additional element of not wanting to let the team down. I go to the weigh in wanting to have lost weight for myself, but also for the team.
There is a level of competition for each team to want to win the matches on the pitch and on the scales, but I would be lying if I said it didn’t feel good to be the first to get to a personal milestone as well, so that is something we can all individually aim for as well.
Congrats to Gareth for his success so far!
We are set to launch a number of new clubs in early 2025, so keep an eye on www.manvfatrugby.com for more details.
