My weight loss journey by Bryan Williams

Since 2015 I have been struggling to keep my weight/waistline from getting bigger, after losing over

2 stone by doing slimming world around 2013, and then putting it all plus more on once finish with

that diet, the one thing that it didn’t teach me was portion control.

So even though I could eat the right foods (according to SW) the food & drink that everyone likes

really are almost banned (they call it sins) although I am not slating SW in any way as it did teach me

some good healthy cooking options.

So fast forward to 2018….. I was and have been for a while around about 15 stone (approx 96kg) 36”

waist (but should really be 38”) refused to buy any bigger clothes

This picture was taken at a Bike rally in July 2016

So in April 2018 my neighbour Gaz Nicholson asked if I wanted to come along to Man v Fat, 6 aside

football aimed at overweight guys that want to lose weight, have a kick about and meet like minded

guys, https://manvfat.com

So in May 2018 my journey began…

With MvF you get a player hand book which is a food diary with helpful tips and pointers on how the

program works, I would say that you really do have to be self motivated, as it’s not a diet it is a life

style.

So the season consists of 14 weeks (10 weeks of league games and 4 cup games) it’s all to play for as

not only do you get points for scoring goals on the pitch, you also get points for completing your

hand book and bringing it every week, losing weight and team goals, after all there are individual

goals and team goals in everything we do at MvF.

I did also use an App called My Fitness Pal, which really helped me calorie count (as long as you are

honest, as everything has calories, even gum!)

So within the first 6 weeks (beginning of July) I had got a hat trick of weight loss, one small gain and

hit my 5% goal

As I was only just over 6 weeks in I found that this spurred me on even more, I had got down to

87.4kg (13st. 8lb), although that’s great I wanted to see how far I could take this and stay healthy, if I

could continue then there is a massive health benefit at the end.

So as I continued it just became routine, eat healthier, drink more water, smaller portions and cut

out sugar, for me that was the hardest bit as I loved biscuits & cakes

I found substitutes like Snack a jacks; I didn’t give up on takeaways and alcohol, just cut them back,

Friday night treat if you like!

Breakfast was basically cereal, milk & coffee most days

Lunch was Thins (as I had cut out bread, bagels, all of the stodgy heavy bread items really) fruit, a

flask of coffee, a snack a jack and a bag or two of lower fat crisps i.e. quavers, corn/maize snacks

Dinners were a little more varied as I had about 600-800 calories left

It’s all about balance and taste.

Throughout the rest of the first season I lost every week except one (I stayed the same)

But by week 12 I hit my 10% goal – WOW what an achievement

Only 2 weeks left of the season and I was down to 82.8kg (13st 1/2lb) How far could this season take

me with 2 weeks left?

Well apart from making some great friends, having fun on the football pitch and getting voted most

improved player by my team mates, I also finish joint top of the weight loss league, I ended up at

81.8kg (12st 9lb) I had lost 12cm form my waist and now comfortably fit in 34” waist jeans (with a

belt)

As a team we won the cup, which was a fantastic achievement as we struggled to win games in the

league!

Bring on season 2

The reason for season 2 as I wanted to lose a little more, see if I could maintain and stay playing with

friends.

So I started season 2 on 24/09/18 at 83.6kg not a bad gain considering I was wearing full on jeans

and jacket at the weigh in (a little cheating really) so the first loss was just shedding clothes

Again by week 6 I had hit my new 5% goal, but also lost every week on the way of doing it.

If you go back and compare this picture with the first one taken back in 2016, the T shirt may be

faded but you can see the difference

So the season continued up till Christmas, I have had 2 small holidays within this season and lost a

small amount of weight every week.

Let’s see how Christmas affects me? With only 2 weeks left we have a good chance of winning the

cup, 2 more weight losses and I will also get a final hat trick. I have however during this season

picked up an injury Plantar Fasciitis (heal pain/torn heal tendon), so it will be my last season, but

that won’t stop me from enjoying my new healthy lifestyle

So here I am New Year New Me, I managed to lose at the last two weigh in which considering I drank

alcohol pretty much every evening over Christmas it makes it a great achievement

Therefore getting my hat trick for the final game of the season, this also meant going into the last

game with a nine point lead (ours to throw away?)

So presentation night came and as you can see we won the Cup

There was another special recognition which I did not see coming, this was a certificate for me being

a BMI Boss – losing enough weight and maintain a healthy BMI

Even though I sustained an injury towards the end of the season, I still managed to lose weight by

maintaining a healthier lifestyle, if you like playing football and you are in the right frame of mind to

change your lifestyle I would recommend Man v Fat whilst using the My fitness Pal App, not only to

loss weight but to meet new friends and like minded guys, it really doesn’t matter on your football

ability as you can always help your team (and yourself) by losing weight every week.

My Man v Fat journey has now come to an end but. I will continue my new lifestyle from now on as I

finally reached 12st with a healthy BMI of 24 and fitting comfortably into 34” waist jeans (with belt,

32” just a little ambitious)

So new clothes will be in order for this year

If anyone wants to know more or would like advice I am more than willing to help, just contact me

through FACEBOOK, WHATSAPP or even INSTAGRAM

Bryan Williams