From player to club facilitator, read on to hear about how Kev got started with MAN v FAT, his great success, biggest achievements and challenges he faced along the way.
How did you hear about MAN v FAT Football?
I had a meeting with Deb Chessum from North Kesteven District Council re my health and went to a follow up in Sleaford where I was given some options, one of which was a new scheme starting up in Lincoln called Man v Fat. As someone who used to play football many years ago I was happy to give that a go even though I was 56 years old at the time!
Describe your journey with MAN v FAT Football?
The journey was stop/start to begin with as I attended the first ever Lincoln meeting on 15th January 2020 weighing in at 122.6kg. On 11th March I was 116.3kg, but then lockdown stopped sessions until 16 September 2020 when I was 120.3kg. Unfortunately, after the session on 28th October when I was 118.8kg we had another lockdown!
Thankfully on 14 April 2021 MvF restarted, although I had gone up to 123.7kg, and it has been ongoing since. My weight on 10th August 2022 is 91.4kg which meant I hit my 25% weight loss.
A few months ago I was asked to become a Player Facilitator at Lincoln which I was delighted to accept as anything I can do to help I am happy to do.
What support did you receive?
As much support as I wanted. Jake and Amber are excellent coaches and very approachable so I was never battling alone. The team aspect of the scheme is excellent too as it saw us all supporting each other to do well for ourselves, but also the team.
What were your barriers or challenges?
My willpower was the biggest barrier as I had never really been committed to a long term weight loss programme before. I’d been to some national schemes and done well for a time, but struggled to go and get weighed each week and gradually dropped out and put all the weight back on.
I like to eat all the bad foods (take-aways, crisps, chocolates, cakes and ice cream) so I had to moderate what I ate, but also had to exercise more than I ever had done before to allow myself those treats on a regular basis.
What were your goals at the beginning of the programme?
My general goals were to lose weight and get fitter. I set myself small, achievable targets so they were always in sight rather than just some pipe dream in the future.
What are your goals now?
To keep losing weight steadily and aim to become a BMI boss which is something I would happily have told you was not possible when I began at MvF in January 2020, then even more so when it restarted after the Covid lockdown in April 2021. It is still a long way off, but I want to do it and as long as MvF continues I have a chance.
What has been your biggest achievement?
Earlier this year I was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer (I’d been aware it may happen which was one of the reasons for my weight loss). I had a Prostate removal operation on 8 June this year and was weighed on the morning of the operation at Lincoln County hospital and was told that my weight meant I had just crossed the boundary and was officially overweight, but not clinically obese! I did offer to kiss the male nurse who told me that, but thankfully the offer was declined.
The same day the surgeon who performed the operation told me that if I had been 123.7kg instead of 96.0kg the surgery would have been a lot harder for him to perform and my recovery would be far harder and much longer. Man v Fat enabled that result and I’m forever grateful.
Four weeks to the day after surgery I played football on the Wednesday night. There is no way at all that I could have done that if I was my original weight when starting MvF.
What advice would you give to anyone who in unsure about joining?
Just do it. What’s the worst that could happen? There’s no prison gates to stop you leaving if you find it isn’t for you, but it could just change your life in the way it has changed mine!
Looking for life changing weight loss results like Kev? Check your eligibility and sign up to a club near you on the MANvFAT website.
.jpeg)
