My wife is my inspiration. She has consistently improved herself for years and always found what works for her. If something stopped working, she’d find another way. 

I, on the other hand, was stubborn, always believing I could exercise my way out of weight gain trouble. I was in denial about my general health and fitness until early 2017 when I noticed I was starting to lose a bit of weight, mainly down to eating weight watchers friendly meals with my wife at home. And it inspired me to take control of the situation. 

Calorie counting worked for me, using myfitnesspal for tracking/logging and a spreadsheet I devised based on readily available information about what and how much I should be eating/drinking. The crucial thing was to keep monitoring and adjusting as I lost to ensure I was maintaining my loss targets.

It was about this time that MANWELL arrived in my life, so I was geared up and ready to take on a challenge and was happy to share my learning and learn from others. 

The Results: 

In January 2017 I was 15st 13.4lbs (223.4 lbs) By September 2017, when my MANWELL journey began, I was 15st 3.2lbs (213.2 lbs)

Now, in March 2018, I’m around 13st 3lbs - 13st 5lbs (185-187lbs), which has been steady since the end of January.

Overall, I’ve lost 16.3% of my weight in just over a year. Under a third of that I did on my own, over two thirds of that loss is down to the motivation and support gained through MANWELL.

Not only have I lost weight, but I can now run and play football confidently. Clothes shopping is fun, not a chore. Cooking and food shopping is something I enjoy, not dread. 

Shifting the weight and changing my lifestyle required effort and determination, particularly on the difficult days when food can offer comfort. But there’s always a healthier option (generally), and having a better understanding of the relativity of different food and drink helped me make decisions on a day to day basis about what to have.

And in all this, I’ve not stopped eating ready meals, takeaways and chocolate and I’ve not stopped drinking beer or whisky. I’m just much more aware of the need to have balance and about the hurdles you potentially put in front of yourself by making the wrong choices.

I want to judge myself on 5k and 10k times how many passes I can make in a game. I don’t (ever again) want to judge myself on my waist size, my hangovers and the number of takeaways I’ve had in a week or month.

Most of all though - I’m happier. I feel less insecure, more confident and know I can do a hell of a lot more in life than I used to give myself credit for. And I tell you what - if you haven’t seen a friend for a while and they notice your achievement without you saying anything, it’s a fantastic feeling.

I’ve never been skinny, but then I’d never been over 21 stone, either. Well, I was. I reached those dizzy heights of obesity when I allowed myself to balloon out of control, largely due to depression, of which my size was, ironically, a tiny, tiny part of.              

I knew I wouldn't live to reach 30, so I just didn’t care.

At 23, I tried to end it all. I failed - I became even lower as a result.

After that, I bumped into a girl I used to go to college with. She saved me from myself, in one respect, yet in another, a gang of misfits I decided to play football with, after not playing for the best part of a decade, saved the rest of me.

I love football. I realised I was crap from a very early age, so, with a footballing family around me, and a middle name of Shankly, I watched the game in an analytical way. I tried to outsmart my opponent, as I knew I would never be good enough to match them technically or physically.

But then I even began to fall out of love with the game, because I couldn't be a part of it. How could I play now? I’d have someone half my size and half my age running away from me. I could never stick to diets. I would feel ashamed going to the gym or out exercising in public.

Then MANWELL showed me the way. The community of like minded men who enabled me to feel part of something that I thought had gone. I rediscovered my love for the game. I discovered that I could lose weight, and keep it off, even after injuring myself a week before the season started and not being able to run since.

Do you know what I did? I watched what I was eating. I counted the calories in everything that passed my lips, and I stuck to it, because I had a team and a group of men around me who made me feel good about it. A group of men who made me feel normal.

So, although we are still at the beginning of our journey, and I plan to lose much more than the 3 stone 4 I have already shed, I thank you for what you have done for me in helping me to do so much, whilst doing so very little.

So, how did I lose weight? I calorie counted.

Why did I lose weight? Simple. I had a band of brothers standing at my side each step of the way, and they continue to do so.

I was 258 pounds, 18 ½ stone, 117 kg.  Why did I decide to lose weight?  I had recently been made redundant and was due to go for an interview.  I needed a new pair of trousers as my 40”   trousers no longer fitted me.  I was now in 42” trousers and an 18” shirt. 

Going for a jog with my son or playing football was a dream I’d given up on.  In many ways I’d given up on life.  

I’d tried the gym and diets and failed at both.  Friends and relatives used to ask why there was no photos of me at weddings and social gatherings.  I was ashamed and embarrassed of who I was. Sorry if this sounds a bit depressing but it does get a bit more uplifting.  

Before I would eat the following:

Breakfast: cereal, two pieces of toast one with jam and one with peanut butter.

Lunch: 2 sandwiches - four rounds of bread, crisps, bar of chocolate and a diet can of Coke.

Tea: pizza, chips with everything, beans on toast with four rounds of toast. Crumble and ice cream. 

Snacks: crisps, chocolate. 

Now I eat:

Breakfast: porridge and blueberries. 

Lunch: John West tuna light lunch or soup. Fruit

Tea: four egg omlette, rice, veg and salmon. 

Snacks: almonds, fruit, rice pudding Skyr yogurts, popcorn and dark chocolate. 

I have two cheat meals every week and never really deny myself anything I just have it in moderation.  

I am now 204 pounds, 14 ½ stone, 92 kg. I wear 34”trousers and 16 ½ inch shirts.  I recently completed a 5k run with my son and 60 minutes playing football on a full sized pitch with MANWELL which have been some of the proudest achievements of my life. I even pose for selfies now with my daughter. 

Was all this easy? No. 

Was it worth it? Yes.