Ipswich Town’s top nutritionist has praised a group of overweight men who put their skills to the test on the pitch while shedding an impressive 400kg in 13 weeks.
Players participating in weight loss tournament Man v Fat, which came to Ipswich’s Portman Road stadium for the first time in July, have lost more than 60 stone in the space of three months thanks to their team spirit and commitment to healthy eating.
Each 14-week programme sees teams play 30-minute games of six-a-side football, helping them get active and improving their fitness.
This time around, 60 men enrolled – to qualify, they had to have a BMI score of at least 27.
Man v Fat coach Tom Irving said: “I got involved with Man v Fat because I’m the club nutritionist at Ipswich Town so I look after guys that are at the other end of the spectrum, the elite athletes and so on.
“Man v Fat has opened it up to the guys who feel they want to improve their quality of life and start to get a hold of their weight.
“They are all above 27 with their BMIs which puts them in the category in order to qualify for this and they are accountable to one another, obviously they are accountable to themselves, they are part of a team.”
He added: “They can score for their team by losing weight and they can score for their team on the pitch which you can see behind me, so there is a double incentive there.
“They don’t lose all of their weight by playing one game of football a week although it can contribute to their activity levels.
“They lose weight because they are accountable to one another and because they really want to do it for themselves as well as the team. So far it has been pretty successful.
“Certainly our boys here – we’ve got 60 players and between them they’ve lost in excess of 400 kilogrammes over what is so far a 13-week period.”
David Atkinson has lost 10.5kg in 12 weeks.
He said: “There’s a lot of camaraderie and lots of good laughs, people will sky the ball over the bar and we will take the mickey but everyone is so supportive.
“Lots of the lads have lost a lot of weight in a short amount of time and it’s really inspiring.
“Before I wouldn’t be able to run a length of this pitch and now I can.
“Of course not very quickly, but I can and not be completely out of breath.
“So for me personally it’s been brilliant, it’s been the best thing I have ever done.”
Sign up for the next league by visiting the Man v Fat website.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here