As we reach the end of 2022, it’s a good time to take stock and figure out what, if anything, we actually learned. In the wider world we experienced a number of unwelcome surges whether they were from the cost of heating a home, to the beast of inflation. But what did we learn in the world of weight loss? We took a look at some of the advice and inspiration offered from 2022’s Amazing Losers.
Our first Amazing Loser of the year featured this advice from MAN v FAT Football player Anthony Winstone, who has lost 36lbs, which is helping towards his aim of chasing his daughter around the park and driving a Ferrari (we’re assuming that those two aims aren’t connected!) His top tips, alongside drinking enough water was to ensure that the focus of any guys who were losing weight was to ensure your diet was in order.
75% of weight loss is what you eat, so put a massive focus on it. Anthony Winstone.
It’s a point well made, so often blokes can start a health kick by joining a gym, or a MAN v FAT Football league and feel that the uptick in exercise will be enough to help them lose weight. It’s obviously a huge factor, both for mental health, motivation and enjoyment but if you don’t look at your diet then there are no number of laps around a park, or games of football that will see you regularly losing weight.
After he was diagnosed with M.E. our Amazing Loser Vince H, has made significant changes to his lifestyle and his eating and drinking, which has seen him drop over 40lbs. As Vince had to work around the energy issues that the M.E. bought, he started off by simply changing his eating to a much lower carb diet and focused on simply doing short walks. This highlights an interesting point that it’s fine to start small. Even if you only feel that you can get to the end of the road and back – that’s enough, the more important thing is to begin your journey towards health.
The lifestyle changes that I have made are for life; one day at a time. If I slip off program, I quickly forgive myself and then get right back on it. Vince H
Interestingly, Tim Whitehurst was another Amazing Loser to make the point that starting small was a good way to begin.
Walking is vastly underrated as a tool to help you lose weight and it is low impact to your joints, I feel this helped me massively to
shift some of those first couple of stone which then allowed me to become more mobile and step up the activity levels.
Tim’s real insights came about in the field of mental health. He felt that it was his weight that was starting to cause issues with his mental health and since he has lost nearly 100lbs, he’s convinced that there’s a clear link between feeling good mentally and feeling good physically.
Outside of the nutritional advice I’ve read up on the link between physical exercise and mental health is just something that cannot be denied. I have found so many times if I’ve been having a tough time either with work or my personal life, then doing something active helps me to relax, reset my brain and look at things differently.
Alongside the connection between mental and physical health – a number of Amazing Losers pointed out just how important for their weight loss it had been to stop drinking. For some this meant pressing pause on the beer while they lost the weight, for others it meant a more permanent vacation from the booze.
When Jonathan Loesche turned 30 he started taking stock of his life and asking himself if he was getting everything he wanted. The answer was a resounding no and Jonathan stated that alcohol and his weight were two of the biggest issues that he faced. To combat one he stopped drinking, and for the other he sought the help of a weight loss surgeon. Combined with this was his work with a therapist, who helped him to see how he was hurting himself.
I’ve realised that I have an amazing support system of family & friends, who I couldn’t have done this without. I think through the therapy I’ve seen that life is worth living & that’s helped me to move on from being angry and bitter and wallowing in self pity.
Finally – one recurring theme from Amazing Losers this year has been the topic of accountability. It’s interesting that this has come up time and again and is perhaps a legacy of the introspection that we all engaged in during lockdown. Amazing Loser Ishaq Shakoor summed it all up nicely when he explained:
I’ve learned is no one is going to hold yourself accountable but you. If you feel people are watching you or judging you while you’re working out they’re most likely preoccupied in their own lives and if they are actually doing that then they’re pathetic and live a life without quality, so don’t let it stop you from improving yours.
It’s a fine challenge as we look towards what 2023 will have in store for us. What is holding you back from changing your life and if it’s something that you feel you can’t beat on your own, do you know that you’ve got help from others around you, and – of course – MAN v FAT? We can’t wait to tell your Amazing Loser story in 2023 and watch how you will inspire more men to win their battle against fat as well.
