A man who used to secretly scoff McDonald’s and binge on 7,000 calories a day has revealed how he shed a staggering 14.5 stone.
Alex Williams once tipped the scales at more than 30st and lived off pizzas, takeaways and fast food.
At his worst he would splurge up to £300 a week on junk – polishing off a family-sized Domino’s pizza before heading to McDonald’s and hiding wrappers so he could eat dinner again with his family.
READ MORE: ‘I look like Megamind’ Balding man’s head balloons in size after £3,500 hair transplant
- Advertisement -
The bingeing left him breathless walking upstairs, too ashamed to take his top off in the rugby changing rooms and terrified of going on holiday to face a swimming pool.
The turning point came after a painful break-up when a friend persuaded the 33-year-old to join a football-based weight loss programme.
Alex, from Roose in South Wales, soon ditched the 7,000-calorie days of fried breakfasts, burgers and biscuits for steak, salmon and chicken-packed meals.
And after years of hard work, he eventually went from 28st 2lbs to 13st 9lbs – losing more than half his body weight in the process.
“I always felt terrible,” he told What’s The Jam. “When I decided to lose weight, it was one of these things, like an epiphany moment.
- Advertisement -
“Mentally, I was struggling.
“I could have been consuming about 7,000 calories a day at the height of it all.
“I never wanted to take my top off in the changing rooms in front of other guys at rugby, and the idea of going on holiday and there being a public pool scared me.
- Advertisement -
“I hated my body; I hated everything about it.”
Alex saw his weight spiral out of control after suffering a career-ending knee injury while playing rugby as a teenager.
With no outlet for his energy, he quickly grew bigger.
By the time he hit his mid-teens, he was already wearing a 46-inch waist and comfort-eating sausage rolls, frozen pizzas and endless takeaways.
Turning 18 only made things worse with booze, burgers and late-night kebabs fuelling a dangerous cycle that pushed him to more than 30st at his heaviest.
He said: “It was an outlet source, it was the one thing I could control and do, that was what spurred the growth.
“I was always big but rugby player big, when I hit ages 14/15 I was shopping for school trousers with mum I was a 46 inch waist.
“I could easily polish off 8 sausage rolls in a pack which was ridiculous.
“It was frozen pizzas, KFC, all the terrible stuff, anything and everything I could get my hands on. I could easily obliterate a large Domino’s pizza too.
“I was doing a lot of secret eating as well.
“It got to a point where I would go to McDonald’s and then go home and then eat dinner with my family.
“I was spending up to £300 a week on sh** food.”
Now weighing 13st 7lbs, he plays five football matches a week, trains in the gym and even runs alongside much younger players in his local team.
And there’s been one food that’s been the “ultimate cheat code” to fight off his sugar cravings after years of sneaking peanut M&Ms, chocolate bars and crisps.
He said: “Frozen grapes are the ultimate cheat code – candy-floss grapes, those frozen.
“They are insane and they keep [your cravings] all at bay.
“But the main thing is consistency.
“Losing weight isn’t hard, but constantly losing weight is.
“Once you realise that it’s okay to be up one week as long as the trajectory is going down, it gets easier.”
Alex, who works as Head of People for an AI company, says consistency was key to keeping the weight off, after years of yo-yo dieting and extreme fads like wrapping himself in clingfilm.
Alex says MAN v FAT, a weight loss programme designed specifically for men who want to lose weight, worked because it turned weight loss into a team game.
The combination of competition and support gave him the structure he needed to lose the weight for good.
He said: “I was always so lethargic; I didn’t want to do anything.
“It took me right back to school, someone weighing me, there was a fear of intimidation but as soon as I got there and realised how people were there for the same reasons.
“There are people there who are friends for life now.
“The accountability from Man v Fat makes you think. It’s the team mentality behind it.
“When you’re doing it for yourself you’re doing it for yourself.
“When you have a rubbish week it doesn’t just affect you anymore, it affects the men on your team too, they hold you accountable.
“I feel amazing, I feel like a completely different person. It’s given me a completely different outlook.”
Alex’s diet breakdown:
Before:
Breakfast: Fry-up with fried bread
Lunch: McDonald’s or food from a burger van
Dinner: Spaghetti bolognese or takeaway
Snacks: Chocolate bars, biscuits, peanut M&Ms
After:
Breakfast: Steak and eggs or salmon bagel
Lunch: Chicken, turkey or steak with greens
Dinner: Sweet potato with salmon or lean protein
Snacks: Frozen grapes, protein bars
