What was your lifestyle like before you joined MAN v FAT Football?
Before joining MAN v FAT, my lifestyle wasn’t the best. I was hardly ever active my diet wasn’t the best and the late night snacking only made things worse. I had gained a lot of weight over the years and had also been diagnosed with sleep apnea and high blood pressure. What negative experiences did you have because of your weight? Every day things like putting socks on in the morning was becoming harder because of where I carried my weight and normal day to day activities were also becoming difficult. My blood pressure was at a dangerously high level, I was regularly in hypertension stage 2 so I had to start taking blood pressure tablets to try and stabilise my blood pressure.
What made you decide change was needed?
I had known for a while I needed to do something about my weight. After having a chat with my wife I decided to sign back up to the gym but I also had a look to see if MAN v FAT had a league closer to me as I had played previously in Ipswich but changing jobs made it too far to travel to play. That was when I see they had started a league in Thetford so I signed up straight away.
What did your food and exercise look like before you decided to change?
I did little to no exercise every week my job does involve some heavy lifting at times but there is also a lot of quieter times where I would be sat around with nothing to do. My diet wasn’t terrible but the late night snacking and take aways along with the little to no exercise was not a good combination.
What does your food and exercise routine look like now?
Now I count my calorie intake daily making sure I am in a calorie deficit I can still have treats and so on in moderation, as long as it’s within my daily calories. I’m also not strict on myself where I won’t allow myself to have anything bad at all, a treat every now and then isn’t the end of the world it’s just getting back on it the next day that makes all the difference. I play football once a week now have started to go on walks on my days off and have also just signed back up to the gym.
What was the hardest thing about your journey so far and how did you overcome this?
The hardest thing was being so inactive for so long – trying to go back to playing football was hard at first. I still remember how much I ached the next day after that first game back. But I kept at it making sure to rest when needed so I could make it back every week.
How has your life changed since losing weight and changing your lifestyle?
My life has changed so much for the better since losing weight. I’m not as tired anymore, I have a lot more energy and my blood pressure has come down a lot since losing the weight. My overall fitness has improved aswell, I only had to think about running when I first started and I would get out of breath! Now I can run up and down the pitch and close people down without nearly dying.
What has the experience been like becoming a part of the MAN v FAT Community?
The support of everyone has such a huge positive impact – no matter what your fitness/skill level, everyone is there for the same reason and everyone is so supportive. Our coach Lee is great he’s always supportive and always asks how your getting on and really cares about every player. He sets weekly challenges to keep us working towards the bigger picture all the time and it also gets your team really bonding on trying to achieve these targets. The team group chats are a really good thing as if you’re ever having a bad time your team will always have your back and pick you back up in no time. The biggest positive is you’ll make some really good friends, all the while getting yourself fitter and healthier.
What 3 tips would you give to other men starting their journey with us?
Don’t be nervous when first joining – yes you won’t know anybody there but, once you first meet everyone, you will feel like you have been there for years. Find a good fitting pair of astroturf boots – after my first game my feet were in bits, so I shopped about for a better fitting pair and haven’t had an issue since. After your first session you will hurt no doubt about it, but try not to over do it, just work to your current level. You don’t have to impress anyone if you need to sub then sub and just make sure you rest up the day after and you will be ready to go again the next week and I promise it does get easier!
What were your thoughts / feelings leading up to your first session?
I was very nervous before my first session, not knowing anybody there, worrying about my fitness levels etc. I hadn’t done any sort of sport or exercise in years you always tend to over think everything and always think the worst will happen, but I couldn’t have been any more wrong.
If you could give somebody starting who may be anxious about joining some advice, what would this be?
Just do it – no matter what your fitness skill level is everyone is there for the same reason and has the same goal in mind. You won’t find a better group of lads who will always welcome you in with open arms and be there to support you every step of the way.
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