A man has shared his incredible 8.7 stone weight loss after embarking on a journey to recover from the harmful habits he developed as a result of anxiety and depression.
Andrew Rowley, 37, is a member of the MAN V FAT Football weight loss programme in Newport. Andrew started his journey with the programme at the highest weight he had ever been at 27 stone but through MAN V FAT Andrew has lost 8.7 stone, now weighing 18.4 stone.
The programme was created by Andrew Shanahan as he found that many other weight loss programmes are targeted towards women rather than men. MAN V FAT Football is an award-winning weight loss programme for men aspiring to lose weight and play football with a team of other men with the same goal.
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Andrew said one contributing factor to his initial weight gain was his battle with depression and anxiety which led to unhealthy eating habits.
"On a typical day I’d eat chocolate, crisps, takeaways and all number of fatty and bad foods to comfort myself if I was feeling low," he said. With the help of the programme, he has reduced the amount of unhealthy foods switching them out for a more balanced diet consisting of "bran flakes and a yogurt for breakfast, scrambled egg on toast for lunch/chicken salad pitta and spaghetti bolognese/ steak and air fried chips for tea."
Andrew said that because of his weight he "had really bad back problems and struggled to walk upstairs" which eventually led to him needing to take time off from work. His motivation for his weight loss and change in lifestyle was his son. He said: "I knew I had to change for myself and my son, I wanted to enjoy doing things with him and be a good role model for him."
Andrew also said he faced an injury to his leg, stopping him from playing football. But that did not discourage him from doing at-home exercises and maintaining a healthy diet in order to reach his weight loss goal. After losing 8.7 stone Andrew said: "I feel so much better about myself. Just as importantly, my mental health is a lot better with the support network from football and I haven’t had back problems since I started losing my weight."
In March 2023, the MAN v FAT Football campaign is celebrating overweight and obese men across the UK losing a landmark 500,000 pounds of excess weight, the equivalent weight of two adult blue whales, through weekly six-a-side football sessions.
Since its launch in 2016, MAN v FAT Football has helped more than 20,000 UK men lose excess weight and adopt healthy lifestyle choices through sessions at 170 clubs across the country.
Find your nearest club here: https://www.manvfatfootball.org/Leagues/FindALeague
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