A man who saw his weight rise to 22st 7lb after spending more than £ 200 a week on takeaway during the coronavirus blockade had an incredible 8st 5lb weight a year after joining the fat soccer league. I saw a decrease.
Ashley Smith, 23, from Bicester, Oxfordshire, says she’s always on the “bigger side”, but in a pandemic, her weight goes “out of control” after she spends more on takeaway. I sometimes ordered it twice a day.
However, Smith, who found an ad for the MAN v FAT Football League, decided to join and has since seen clothing sizes reduced from XXXL to L and weight reduced to 14st 2lb.
Smith said he was absorbed in takeaway during the pandemic and spent up to £ 40 a day on a 5,000-calorie meal of fried chicken, burgers and sodas. This is twice the daily calorie intake recommended by the NHS for men.
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“Binge eating went crazy,” he explains.
“I was watching Netflix all night. I got up at 2pm and went straight to McDonald’s.
“I don’t think I’ve noticed how unhealthy I am.”
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Smith also says he started avoiding socializing with friends and family as he gained weight and became embarrassed to look.
“I was too embarrassed to go out in public,” he says.
“I didn’t use FaceTime for my friends and didn’t want to see or hear them like I did.
“I was pretty disappointed to see how I lost control of my weight. I didn’t want to explain to anyone that I was so bad, so I stuck to myself.”
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The activity level of the bed salesman was also hit during the blockade.
“A lot of people went out for walks, but I didn’t do that,” he says.
“I didn’t like going for a walk because I sweat like a pig.”
He adds: “I used to only wear black and my clothes were always baggy because I wanted to hide.”
The turning point was in April 2021 when Smith came across an ad for a local branch of an overweight men-only soccer league who wanted to be slim.
Compared to 6ft 2in, body weight 22st 7lb, body mass index (BMI) 40.4, NHS healthy range 18.5-24.9, Smith knows that he is clinically obese and needs to make dramatic changes. So before I decided to give it.
Despite his concerns about being “the youngest and heaviest,” Smith actually found a supportive community of men who were enthusiastic about helping him reach his weight loss goals.
The match, which takes place every Friday, begins with weighing and adds 0.5 goals to the final score for each team member who loses weight. This gives players a great incentive to stick to their diet plans.
Smith decided to help the team win and started calorie counting, reducing their daily intake to about 1,500.
He also cut out takeaways on weekdays, made cheat meals and drinks available on weekends, and chose a healthy diet consisting of five fruit and low-calorie meals a day.
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Currently weighing 14st 2lb and BMI 25.4, Smith has achieved amazing results in the first year and is on track to reach his target weight of 13st 12lb.
“At first we went from goal to goal,” he explains. “Now I want to keep my BMI in a healthy range, so I don’t have to go far.
“I’m almost there and I feel good. I’m very proud of my trip so far.”
Now Smith wants to encourage anyone who wants to lose weight to do so in a “physically and mentally positive way” like him.
“Participating in MANvFAT has added a good decade to my life,” he says.
“The atmosphere when I go there is very positive.
“Because you’re all working towards the same goal, it’s a physically and mentally positive way to lose weight and make friends in the process.”
Losing weight also had a positive effect on Smith’s self-confidence.
“When my friend took a picture of me, I felt comfortable for the first time in a while,” he says.
“I’m very confident in meeting people, and hopefully I’ll meet someone romantically because I’ve reached this spring at my step,” he adds.
MAN v FAT will launch a fourth club in Abingdon, Oxfordshire in July. For more information, please visit Manvfatfootball.org.
Additional report PARealLife.
