Throughout the course of 2025, we’ve shared a host of remarkable stories from within our community. Tales of weight loss, life transformations and a huge step in the right direction for men’s wellbeing.
We end the year with one of our most impressive stories of the year – and potentially since MAN v FAT got started in 2016.
George Ferreira, of our Borehamwood club, has lost in excess of 20 stone on MAN v FAT, supported by his coach Victor and his teammates at the club.
Toward the end of the year, George reached 50% weight loss since getting started on the programme and his weight loss total of 124.8kg – or 275lbs – is the biggest individual loss in the history of MAN v FAT.
That weight loss has come with a lot of hard work, endeavour and ultimately a huge commitment by George to himself to turn his life around.
Looking back at the start of his journey, he told us: “I was in a bad place plain and simple. I had lost all structure in my life and any sense of normal routine.
“I barely left the house unless I absolutely had to, my sleep pattern was a mess, my diet had no limits and most days just blurred into each other. I wasn’t working towards anything and I wasn’t living a real life anymore. I was hiding from it.”
“Every part of life was affected. Walking short distances exhausted me. Sitting in chairs or getting up was uncomfortable. I didn’t fit into normal clothes or normal spaces. I avoided mirrors, avoided cameras, avoided going out and I felt embarrassed just existing in public. The mental side was worse than the physical constant shame, self-disgust and paranoia about how I looked and how people might see me. My confidence was completely gone.”
Over the course of the last couple of years, the opportunity to support weight loss through weight loss injections has been a huge part of the news and health agenda.
26-year-old George was presented with that opportunity and decided that he needed to do things his own way.
He added: “Doctors were starting to talk about weight loss surgery or potential weight loss injections. The thought of surgery terrified me and I absolutely did not want to go down the route of medication or injections either. That was a wake up call. I realised I had two options: let someone else try and fix me or try and save myself. It wasn’t confidence or motivation, it was pure fear of the future I was heading towards.”
MAN v FAT presented itself as an option for George to make the changes he was looking for. And whilst his current position is emblematic of significant progress, that hasn’t been a linear process and there have been many challenges along the way.
He explained: “On my very first weigh-in at MAN v FAT, the scale read 249kg. I hadn’t weighed myself in around 8 years before that and seeing that number genuinely destroyed me.
“It has been a mental battle. The loneliness, the self hate, the shame and the feeling of being different or not belonging. Turning up week after week surrounded by people but still feeling completely alone in your head is something you don’t forget. I didn’t defeat that with positivity, I defeated it by refusing to stop showing up even when I didn’t like myself.”
“Being with MAN v FAT hasn’t always been a fairytale. There have been supportive and motivating moments but also moments of isolation, awkwardness and feeling misunderstood. It hasn’t always felt like a warm “community”, sometimes it felt more like survival. But it is one of the things that stopped me from giving up completely.”
“At the very beginning Victor our coach showed belief in me at a time when I had absolutely none in myself. Even when we haven’t always seen eye to eye he has continued to answer my questions, help where he can and has often pulled strings behind the scenes to keep me settled at the club during my lowest points. That support mattered more than he probably realises.
“One moment that stuck with me was my very first session. I broke down pitch side after not being able to play for more than 2 minutes and being in extreme pain. At that point I genuinely didn’t think I would come back. Victor was there with me while I cried and pushed me to keep going instead of walking away. I didn’t overcome that moment with positivity, I overcame it by being pushed through it even when I didn’t want to be there.”
2026 looks like it will start on a brighter note for George, who continues to progress and prosper with Victor’s support.
Reflecting on his diet and exercise now, he said: “Now it is controlled and disciplined. I am extremely aware of what I eat, how much I eat and why I’m eating. I do not rely on motivation I simply rely on routine. Football is my main form of exercise along with walking and movement is now something I make part of my life instead of avoiding it.
“Physically life is easier in almost every way. I can move, breathe, sleep, fit into clothes and function more comfortably. I don’t avoid the world as much anymore.
“Mentally it’s still a work in progress. Losing weight doesn’t erase years of damage to your self image. But it has at least given me a chance to start rebuilding.
“Everyone at MAN v FAT is fighting something whether they show it or not. That made me feel less alone in the struggle.
“You either keep turning up or you disappear. And I chose not to disappear.”
Inspired by George?
If you want to follow in George’s footsteps, you can read more about our MAN v FAT programme here. We’d love to support you!
