A 24-year-old man has lost 6st in 10 months after joining a football club. Charlie Hill discovered the MAN v FAT Football (MvF) programme through a 'fellow fat friend'.
It is aimed at men with a BMI of higher than 27.5, and combines weekly sessions with coaching off-pitch. Before joining, Charlie found it difficult to do every day tasks and had aches and pains in his body due to the weight.
Charlie, who has gone from 22st to 15st, said: "It's changed my entire life. I didn't really have friends round here before and now I'm part of a big community. The support is amazing.
"I had aches in my knees and I wasn't physically capable of doing things. I was around 22st for a year and built up to that weight for a long time," he said.
"Ever since I left school and stopped doing sports, I've been piling it on. I wasn't watching what I was eating sat at my desk. I ate whatever I wanted. I would struggle to take my dog on a walk and felt so heavy."
On a typical day, Charlie would often skip breakfast, have two meal deals for lunch then snack on a bag of chocolates in the afternoon. "I was diagnosed with exercise-induced asthma a while ago and my doctor told me to lose weight to improve my general fitness," Charlie told The Mirror.
Then in June last year, the 24-year-old was introduced to MvF through a pal, and his lifestyle took a dramatic turn. Charlie, who works in admin, said: "He recommended it to me as a fellow fat lad to help lose some weight. To summarise, you score points off the pitch as well as during the match.
"Bonus points include: losing weight, hitting a percentage weight loss goal or keeping a food diary." Chalrie uses on an app to keep track of his progress.
On how his diet has changed, he says: "I used to eat a lot of homecooked meals, like curries and stews, so that hasn't changed. But my portions have got a lot smaller.
"Now, I'll just have one meal deal for lunch and a pack of sandwich meat instead of chocolate, for a protein boost. Instead of having a large portion of chips, I'll have extra meat or more vegetables to fill myself up.
"I still have cheat days. If you try to be perfect every day, you're destined to fail." He plays footie five or six hours a week and also walks to work every day.
"It's not just the weight loss but the community. Coming to see people and play with or against them. We have a group chat too," he said.
"People really get along and talk to each other outside of the game. I'd 100 percent recommend it without hesitation. People of all shapes, sizes and varying footballing ability can get involved. It's a team effort and everyone is welcome."
Charlie paid approximately £10 to sign up and has since paid £31 a month for the football games, coaches, online classes and diet tips. "The community around MvF and the general positive attitude towards weight loss is incredible. Everyone supports each other," he said.
"I have something to look forward to every week now and can't imagine my life without it." MAN v FAT currently has 8,500 players taking part in 160 clubs in towns and cities across the UK. The total amount of weight lost at MvF currently stands at 545,000lbs.
Before matches, the players are weighed, which is followed by a 30-minute game of six-a-side, with extra goal bonuses awarded to teams based on the amount of weight players have lost.
