30 Old 30 Young
30 Old 30 Young explores the fascinating contrasts of life in your thirties through the eyes of two cousins living vastly different paths. Join us as we navigate the uncertainties of adult life, from career choices to lifestyle decisions, through both a globetrotting adventurer's and a family-focused perspective.
Our main episodes dive deep into real-life challenges facing thirty-somethings today, while our mini-episodes break down the three best and worst aspects of pivotal adult life scenarios.
Whether you're questioning your life choices, seeking perspective, or just wanting to hear honest conversations about adulting, this podcast offers authentic insights into the beautiful chaos of your third decade. New episodes released weekly, featuring raw discussions about career transitions, relationships, mental health, and the endless quest for work-life balance. Your thirties don't come with a manual - but this podcast comes pretty close.
30 Old 30 Young
Man V Fat Special - Weight Loss in your 30's
Can sustainable weight loss come from community support rather than fad diets? Join Jake’s journey as he sheds 22kg and finds renewed confidence, health, and self-acceptance through ManVFat Football. Through the ups and downs, he shares valuable insights on diet, exercise, and how team sports helped transform his lifestyle. Tune in for honest reflections and practical tips on achieving lasting change.
Thanks for Listening, find more content at our Instagram @30old30young
this is life in your 30s.
Speaker 2:This is 30 old, 30 young hi everyone, welcome to a new episode of 30 old, 30 young. We've got jake in the seat right now talking about dun dun dun. We're gonna chat, chat about Jake well, it's a.
Speaker 3:It's an episode I've been asked for because I've spoken about this topic a lot but not really gone enough into it, and so people are like what is that thing you're talking about? The thing I want to talk about is my current well, I guess weight loss journey lack of a better term I hate.
Speaker 2:I hate the phrase though. Yeah, but it's true there is a journey to it.
Speaker 3:It's hard losing weight, yeah but the help of it is now coming from man versus fat football right, and that's something I'll get on to. I'll delve more into it a little bit later. But like it's a strange one with the kind of overweight stuff, because I kind of I flip between being completely unbothered by it to them being really like, oh, not enjoying how I look and stuff like that so, and it's always been like I can't remember a time where I haven't been like aware that I was overweight. It's a weird one.
Speaker 2:But how do you feel now, when you've lost the weight? Still feel it yeah, it's like shallow hell, isn't it?
Speaker 3:but they did the opposite he's saying I'm a piece of shit wait, shallow how.
Speaker 2:That's the one where she thinks she's skinny but she's fat.
Speaker 3:No, you're opposite he, he thinks she's skinny because her internal self is beautiful sorry, it's nothing like that anyway, but I get it?
Speaker 2:you do, but you've lost me on the outside. But you're still awful as a person. No, no, I didn't, I just forgot the film, so yeah it's.
Speaker 3:I think it's always something you're going to carry on with you because, like there's always things that an overweight person won't ever do in public that I still probably will continue not to do like if you ever see a tray of hors d'oeuvres go around the party, so like you're at a fancy formal dinner or whatever, you will never see someone who sees themselves as overweight having anything.
Speaker 2:They get conscious, don't they? They worry about how they look and all people thinking I'm fat, you know, etc.
Speaker 3:Exactly, and I remember once I was at, we were kind of they were cutting a cake, yeah, and I was doing the polite thing because I was like two people away from the person cutting the cake. So as I got past a plate I then passed it on to the people behind me, because you pass it on and it goes around the room or whatever, and the person who's cutting the cake said don't worry, I know, you're probably waiting on a bigger slice.
Speaker 2:No, yeah, yeah, are you being serious, because that's how you found it, even if it was meant?
Speaker 3:as a joke. You know you still, you're in security so you can always, like you spit a positive, I spit a chubby negative, right. So I straight away was like and I wish I did have a bigger piece, because it was a really nice ice cream cake, so I wish I had, but that it always carries it with you and literally I think, and it annoys me because I look back on photos from when I was like 16, 18, where I thought I was massive and then I'm like three stone lighter than I have been recently.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Like I'm about the way I am now, but I thought I was massive then and now I'm back at this weight. I'm like Christ. I feel like tiny compared to how I was. You see what I mean. And I tiny compared to how I was. You know what I mean. And I'm annoyed at like how many opportunities I may have like passed up on because I felt like insecure about how I was looking.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I get that so shit, and that's kind of why I got on to like the way, because I've done it all. Mate, like you name a gym in derby, you've done it, I've been there. You name us a diet, I've done it. You name a slimming class, I've been in it. Right, it've been in it right. It works for a bit. Like with all things, it works for a bit because you go I'm all or nothing, right. Then you start to get a few compliments.
Speaker 2:And then you feel like you're comfortable and then you're ready, you're done, yeah, and then you go.
Speaker 3:you get compliments you go if I'm already with some of the other stuff you're doing and that's like with any like fad diet, any like. If you see someone who's like maybe used to be overweight and now they're not, it's because they've committed to something for a lot longer than two months, three months. They've committed to it for a long time do you feel like?
Speaker 2:do you feel like you've got a certain weight that you're naturally at what I mean?
Speaker 3:What's mad is I feel like my natural weight is like six. I feel the same. It's mad. I feel the same levels of energy now that I did when I was like 18 stone, which is mad, and now I'm like 13 and 13.8 or something like that. So it's mad. But that's because I was kind of like. I've never been like a couch potato fan. I love watching a film, whatever, but I always wanted to be. I always tried to be active, as active as possible. I'll always play sport, go to the gym, whatever, no matter what kind of size I was.
Speaker 3:And I was probably to the detriment of my knees or whatever and my back by doing stupid like HIIT classes, jumping around at 18 stones probably done serious damage.
Speaker 2:Have you got to start somewhere?
Speaker 3:Exactly, and I was doing really well like doing hit classes and then got down to like I think I was about like 14 and a half, something like that, and then COVID hit, gyms closed and then straightaway during COVID, you know, locked ourselves in. Takeaways were still available and just went like. You Didn't? You got so cozy, yeah, yeah, ballooned again. And then, coming out of COVID, I joined for the first time. Um, because I saw pictures of me at the wedding.
Speaker 2:Actually, we were in Dave Lois together, weren't we? Yeah, yeah, I remember that I did a cycling class outdoors Got a picture. Yeah, yeah, outdoors got a picture, yeah yeah.
Speaker 3:So like when that started to open up again, like getting back into it, and it was in the run-up to yeah, it was in the run-up to the uh, to the wedding, where I was like, okay, yeah, I need to get, need to get into it yeah but what happened was it was probably two months out from the wedding.
Speaker 3:I thought I can't make any drastic changes between now and then and then just kind of like slacked off massively. And I look back at the wedding photos oh, it's not great, like brie looks great and I'm just an absolute unit and I didn't feel like on the day.
Speaker 2:Which is good so I enjoyed the day, happy yeah and it was the hottest day of the year I can't remember being fat and like looking big on your wedding day look at pictures I'll have a look. Yeah, it is mental, like I was gonna say I'll have a look now, but my phone's on it's it's crazy.
Speaker 3:It's like at the time you don't feel it and then you, so then brie will take a photo of me with the kids yeah, and I'll see it and I'll be like oh can you take a better picture?
Speaker 3:and it's basically like she's gonna only work with the model she got right. So it's like she can't take a better picture, because that is what I look like and it's literally like it almost feels like live like gaslighting, but she's taking a picture quickly, fat bird thing. On here you are and I've got. That's not what I fucking look like, but it was.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's mad because what, what would happen is like when you are the fat guy yeah you whether or not you've been, you've been it, you've been told you are it, or you've put it on yourself. There's kind of like there's two ways you can go with it. You can either be the reclusive fat guy and this is what I found. Obviously it goes one of two ways. Or you can be like the outlandish fat guy who just does silly shit for attention, and a lot of that involves consumption. So that's like drinking to excess, eating to excess, just to like put on a bit of a show and you deal with it the next day and then, if you have a few weekends in a row like that, it quickly just gets out of control.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it does.
Speaker 3:And then your alcohol intolerance goes up. Alcohol tolerance, sorry, goes up.
Speaker 2:So you drink more, more calories.
Speaker 3:You drink more and more and more and then you're obviously at the end of the night. You're like, fuck it, let's get a pizza. And you do that and it's just an unhealthy lifestyle god, and it just goes on and on and before you know it, it's just like it just happened.
Speaker 2:You're like oh fuck because yeah, but you don't look in the mirror and think, oh wait, I'm, I'm getting bigger and bigger. Now I'm gonna stop. Well, that's it. You kind of like because you do look different.
Speaker 3:You do when you're, when you're getting fatter, you do, yeah, but you've said to me when I because I showed you a picture recently and you're like, oh, and it was like from when we first started doing the podcast yeah, that's true.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but you know, because it's like sometimes I can see when I'm putting weight on. So I go through like a cycle because I like a goal to reach and stuff I'd be like, right, okay, it's normally when I get to about 10 stone five, I'm like, oh, do you know what I need to get back on it and stuff like that. Right, so then. But I can see it creeping on because I can tell like around my stomach and my hips and I can see it. So if I pop keen, I'm like, oh, shit, actually, and you can feel it as well when you put your hand on your tummy, you can't feel like that bit on the side yeah, it's like if you lean back for something, if your back touches your back back touches your back.
Speaker 3:I'm so confused if your back fat touches your back fat, you got a problem, ain't you like if you lean back for something, and then you can feel yourself if you self-touch yourself. Yeah, so that's gone now, so that's all right. Still got my love handles, because you know, I don't think they'll ever go away.
Speaker 3:But they're a lot smaller than they were. So which is which is handy, but so what happened was in the runner. So in the run-up to wedding, didn't make any changes. Fat on my wedding, whatever, had a great day. Yeah, after that is when I first joined man versus fat Football. And so, to line it up what it is, because once again, like I said, I've been asked, like you've said, the man Vs Fat Football, what does that fucking mean? So basically you go and weigh in and then obviously, they get your start away, and then you come back every week and you weigh in with your the team coach do you do any like diet or not?
Speaker 2:is?
Speaker 3:it, just they don't like diet.
Speaker 2:It's literally like you do your diet you get um.
Speaker 3:So if everybody in your team tracks what they've eaten all week, yeah you get bonus goals for that, so you you track what you're eating.
Speaker 2:You're not actually playing.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you are playing football, yeah but, like, what you do off the pitch affects what you can do on it, and obviously as someone who's not a very gifted footballer. I need to be working my ass off of the pitch to counteract the shit I do on it, right?
Speaker 2:so what are you doing?
Speaker 3:you're tracking your food and then, as soon as you start tracking your food and I know it kind of gets anal and stuff like that. It does help, though yeah, but it's like.
Speaker 2:It's like when you go into the shop without a budget. It's like when you know you've only got 10 pounds to spend. You know you've got 10 pounds. You're actually I don't need that or I'm only just. I'm just. I don't actually need that, so I'm not. I'm gonna put it down and it's the same with, like, your diet. If you don't watch what you're eating, you'll think all that chocolate button is nothing because you're not counting you kind of you're not understanding at all yeah, you'll just keep on eating, that you know.
Speaker 2:So I get that, because what?
Speaker 3:I would used to do. I'd cook up a meal and it'd be, and I've always eaten relatively okay, like I've not. Obviously I've had my binges where you know you're eating pizza and stuff like that, but if I'm cooking for myself, you know what do you cook?
Speaker 2:what do you normally eat? I'd make like it's hard to say no, not really I'd, and eggs that's it great high protein meal.
Speaker 3:All that. However, while I'm making steak and eggs yeah, I'm picking from the fridge.
Speaker 2:I might even make myself a little sandwich on the side.
Speaker 3:Oh, my god, and you forget about the sandwich and then you eat the steak and eggs. However, now I'm not making the thing on the side and I'm not even really finishing the steak and egg. I'm kind of like getting full and realizing I don't really need all this food. And the amount of times brie said like I've literally never, like when it first started, where I was really getting on it, she's like I've never not seen you finish a meal.
Speaker 2:See, I'm one of those that always finish every meal.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and that's what I would do. Or I would have a bowl of cereal. There'd be milk left in the bowl and I'd be like, well, there's more cereal going in there.
Speaker 2:That's what I'm like. Yeah and it's a every meal I have. So I went to Italy and my friend's husband cooked dinner. She was like, oh, I'm full up. I'm like, oh, I was gonna ask for seconds, but I can't now because she's like only eaten half of it. I literally eat everything.
Speaker 3:I'm a little pig well, yeah, but you also said you notice when you feel like you're putting on weight, so you kind of catch yourself right, whereas I seem to be completely fucking oblivious.
Speaker 2:And then suddenly 18 stones here but I always think about calories, like at the minute I'm not.
Speaker 2:I'm in that section where I'm just like have fun, you know living that life yeah, but then I'll get to that point where I look in my mirror, I'm like, oh actually, and then what I'll do is I'll throw myself back into the gym, and then I've got something to aim for and I feel like, and I look in the mirror and I can see it coming off it's great, I mean, and I found, like a lot of my living my best life was living my best life drinking, living my best life eating right.
Speaker 3:But now I've found I can live my best life, yeah, by literally feeling comfortable going out and not being reclusive. You can go this reclusive way where you just kind of go insular and you stay inside a lot more and you don't go out and do something.
Speaker 2:You're not going out because you're not moving. Is it your mood? You're feeling low. You're feeling disgusting. You feel uncomfortable. You want to hide from the world? Yeah, you, I don't want to.
Speaker 3:I don't want to take brin swimming, because then I'd have to be shirtless yeah, and that's terrible, because it's her childhood that's being theoretically ruined by my insecurities yeah, because you're not going out.
Speaker 2:So that's it.
Speaker 3:That's it and I want them to be able to live a great life and me not to be uncomfortable in situations, because I'm feeling like you know I don't want to be the fat dad at sports day yeah well, they do say, though nothing tastes as good as what skinny feels yeah, yeah and I do, but then you like, you get into like all the like.
Speaker 2:I do get it when you have eating disorder, stuff where you like, because then if you go eating ice cubes. I've done that before for dinner because all you're going to do?
Speaker 3:you might go skinny, but you're going to fuck up your teeth.
Speaker 2:I was joking when I said that you just, you just carried on the conversation as if, like I, was doing that fucking hell because in my mind that idea is clock Baby food diet.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'll give it a crack. Have you done that? No, because it tastes like shit. The well, ella's Kitchen. I'll tell you what. She puts some shit together. So I could actually probably do it. She does a katsu curry and then you've got, like the honey, the honey. Beyonce's diet.
Speaker 2:I don't know about these stupid diets. I know all of them Honey cay. I know all of them honey cayenne, pepper and water, mix it together, drink that yeah, but then the root problem is still going to be there when you've lost the weight, it's all going to come back on one, because you've just lived off nothing for the past, whatever oh, you're going to be angry and you're going to be angry. I just don't. I don't agree. You've got to try and do it to suit your lifestyle.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you've got to make sure and that's why slimming world was quite good oh, and it was, and I had, I had great time with it's. Just, it was one of those things where I guess you kind of always it's kind of like when you go on a road trip, right, and you listen to your sat nav for it's a four hour long road trip and you listen to, and it is you're going from the destination to your home and you listen to it for four hours and then during the last two minutes you go, oh, I know where I am now and you turn the sound off. That's kind of what Sloan World was for me. I went on the whole journey I lost the way and then I went I've got it from here and I fucking didn't.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but you do still learn lessons, though. It's like bread. Have a bread that's got like I make people laugh because I literally know how many calories it's got. It's like 55 calories per slice. That's nice that can bosh a nice sandwich on half the calories.
Speaker 3:Yeah, because you've still got the receptacle to hold that sandwich. You've not got a piece of lettuce filled with corn.
Speaker 2:Yeah exactly that's what I mean. You've still got to have your lifestyle in your thinking.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And Simmer and it's similar. To teach me a little bit. I know I can have loads of mashed potato and I'm fine Well yeah, but can you? Yeah, Every time I do it, I lose weight. Okay fair enough, Do not don't nobody else listens to this. It won't seem like I've done any more work than anyone else.
Speaker 3:No, because what I feel at the end of the day. It is like you can put in what you put in as long as you are like having 5,000 calories a day, which some days I would be having Easy 5,000?
Speaker 2:Easy 5,000? How Okay. If you have takeaways it's different, and I get that because I could you know you could do that right, I could do that easy. It depends if you have takeaways or not.
Speaker 3:If you are, then there you go. It's easy, isn't it? You go to Starbucks, right, starbucks, right. You grab a super duper chocofrocker 250 calories, 300, 400 oh shit calories, easy in a muffin 500 calories. You've got 900 calories there, and it's a snack. You've had breakfast, so you've started your day off with 700 calories you have 900 calories and this is sorry. This is really boring talk, but this is kind of what has to tick over yeah, for me, and this is what works for me.
Speaker 3:I don't want to ever like put this on other people, of course, but that's what's worked for me, and so cutting it back and being so much more aware of what I was eating, not doing the fast food and the fast food is still fine yeah because it's a treat, and see I'd say one a week.
Speaker 2:That's what I try and do, like one a week or once every couple of weeks or or see it as a meal, see it as an actual meal, because you can have, yeah, but it is when you eat it, it's a dinner.
Speaker 3:Yeah, right, but not how I was doing it. I would have had breakfast, lunch and dinner, and then Brie would be like, oh, I could go to Macca's. I would go yeah, all right. Big Mac meal, you know, a cheeseburger to drive home, because it takes four minutes for me to get from Maccas to home. I need a little cheeseburger on the way.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Mental.
Speaker 2:I get it.
Speaker 3:So now I think about it, if I did have that road cheeseburger when I got home, I probably wouldn't have. I'd be too full for that. Yeah, and it's just, it's just being aware of that, and so what really pushed it? And it? Bad diet, of course, because before your gym motivation is this, with takeaways this is with just this is with eggs, snacking, drinking just so.
Speaker 2:You're going to the gym, right, and you're still snacking going to gym and still eat.
Speaker 3:And then what would happen is I'm like well, I've just burnt 900 calories because I'm fat. In that class, like in a blades class, I would burn 900 calories.
Speaker 2:Yeah because I was a unit.
Speaker 3:That's fine, yeah, so it's easy to burn calories when you're bigger yeah.
Speaker 2:But then when you say in my head if I'm at the gym that's when I'm the best, because I'm like fucking out that 45 minute run, kill me. Why am I then just gonna go and eat that? What's the point of doing that? That's it. Put myself through the pain and then I'm driving past.
Speaker 3:Mac is on the way and we're well. I've just burnt 900 calories and you yeah, what was it for exactly?
Speaker 2:and I'm away, you feel a bit better, you're away from.
Speaker 3:You know you're spending your time away. You've got to make it worth it. So finally it all lined up. I was like, right, when was I last happy with the shape I was in? Okay, never, great cool. So let's go with one more. When was I nearly happy? Right, school doing all right, probably about 15 years old. I was doing okay, I was playing sport every day and then having food cooked for me because obviously I was at school, there were school dinners and you know, I was eating pretty well there. So I was like, right, that's what I need to do. Then team sport. It's that because when I did the gym I would always like I'd go solo, I do the classes, whatever. But for the most part I was like, okay, if we do it with the gym partner yeah, that was so important, my absolute codependency.
Speaker 3:I needed that accountability, yeah, and that person to bounce off yeah, I'm the same.
Speaker 2:Sometimes I can be like that if I've, if I say to the girls oh do you know what? I'm really struggling to get to the gym like I'm just in my own self, my own head, I just want to be chilling at home, and you know, it's easy to stay at home no one's trying to come out but if you're eating someone.
Speaker 3:You've got to go that's it, and and I even made it as easy as possible myself got a peloton right yeah, but still it's in the house.
Speaker 2:You've got no excuse yeah, you can put it off.
Speaker 3:You go, I'll do it tomorrow but down that hallway is a very long way to go yeah, you know, the team is there it's a great clothes hanger. Yeah, that's it clothes hanger and we, so we end up selling it on the facebook marketplace. Yeah, so I did. I did it all and then in the end, I got a facebook ad through for man versus fat football yeah and I just thought. So I looked into it, I thought what's this about?
Speaker 2:then like you just go. That's actually quite cool, because I've never even seen that.
Speaker 3:I know I'm not a guy, but yeah it just won't be targeted to you, but then actually then I've spoken to other guys and they've like, they've not even seen it never heard of it, yeah so yeah, like I've said before you you're dieting but also you're playing football, so it's got both things I needed and and as well as everyone who's at there is on the same.
Speaker 2:They want to lose weight. Yeah, so obviously, when you're, you just yeah, it's just a bit of encouragement and help, isn't it yeah?
Speaker 3:absolutely, and you so. I first joined straight after the wedding. I got. I got because the way they do it is great as well. So when you get, when you sign up for it, they go, they say the team name and they so, they so my team. On the first season it was. It was a crappy name the first season it was like buying munching or something like that. So like buying munich, but munching because we're eating because we found out that's right yeah, so buying munching sign jake martini.
Speaker 3:It's funny, it's funny, okay, okay, okay. Tell you what it kills.
Speaker 2:I'm missing the Jake. I hope an hour's worth of laughing on that, don't worry.
Speaker 3:There's loads more. So Byn Munchen signed Jake Martini, so straight away, it gets you all in this. Like, okay, shit, okay. Then you get put in the group chat and they're all very welcoming and they go like, oh're going to be bringing the goals in straight away because it's easier for you to lose weight. So happy days. They're like, oh good, we got a big lad, he's going to lose some chunk, great. So I sign up, do that. And then brinsborne right. So I kind of pull back a little bit because I'm like right, focus up, I've lost. I lost. At that point I went from like 18 stone down to about 14 and a half 15 stone.
Speaker 3:so still, still good and I felt good about myself brin's born kind of throwing myself at that, and you know you get comfy again, don't you get comfy? You're in survival mode. Your focus is on the kid. I'm going down. You know you're making the bottles. You're grabbing because you've got dry mouth. You just grab having a swig of milk from the fridge or something like that, at two in the morning, four in the morning, six in the morning, you know? You just I'm having a cheese string for no reason he's still love milk.
Speaker 2:She's love, love milk. Yeah, he's on the blue one or the green, green, okay.
Speaker 3:Blue's too much, okay. And red fuck off. So green's my happy medium. My uh, what goldilocks milk. So you're doing that, and then the weight creeps back on, and it creeps on and then some, and then so I'm. So I go back again carby, county sign jake martini. So I go back again, and then I I made the error coop. Coop's then born within like two months of me being there. So I lost a little bit of weight and then I was like guys, I can't, you know, you've got two kids now. Fuck, of course, jesus christ, no, it's a gone game over, I'll see you on the other side. So then it came about. You know coop's about six months old. You know we're getting a solid routine, intermittent fasting. So I signed back up. I've been taught. I've still throughout all of this from 2022, when I first joined man versus fat, to now. I'm still in the original like Reds group chat and it's still quite active and we're still all talking.
Speaker 2:So it's still the originals?
Speaker 3:Yeah, no because what happens is to keep it all fresh every three seasons, which is like six months, six, eight months. They one kind of gets to know each other and it doesn't kind of become like too culty and like, yeah, I hate that team. So you know, because our football can get like that, so they refresh it. So I've, you know, I've been in the red team, the white team, now in the blue team and that's the intermittent fasting which is our current one, um and but still the chat has been there and it was it's me reaching out to them, being like lads, what's, what's, what's the state of the club at the minute? They're like get back down here, you're fat twat, that kind of thing. Like it's all, it's all. Very like, yeah, yeah, it's all great because they're all.
Speaker 3:Because if one of my skinny friends said, get down here, you're fat type, like not my friend anymore, but because a fellow, previously large person says it, it's like, yeah, you get it, you get, that's fine, all right, I'm fuck it, I'm signing up again. So I said to Brie, like she was like, literally, you were at your happiest when you were playing football and you'd lost a bit of junk, so go for it. So signed back up again and this one's been my like kind of end game one. Like I've gone, I'm not putting this weight back on. So I've just got my 20% lost. So I've lost 22 kilos since I've just got my 20% lost.
Speaker 2:So I've lost 22 kilos since.
Speaker 3:I've what's that in stone? Sorry, oh, sorry, so I've gone from.
Speaker 2:I'm still old school.
Speaker 3:I've gone from 18. They do in kilos. That's why I've switched over. Usually I'm stone and pounds. So I've gone from 18 and a half to 13.8.
Speaker 2:So about five stone, yeah, yeah and I'm now.
Speaker 3:I'm starting to feel it and now, kind of, it's still a little bit there. The fat boy like image is still there for me, like in social circles. I still feel like the yeah, but I've still got skinny friends, the bastards. So I'm still not there. So I'm still am the fat one in the friends group because they're all still fucking skinny yeah you don't want to be too skinny as a guy well, that's it like well actually it's what I mean.
Speaker 3:You're happy, but that's it so I'm still kind of like a little bit dad bod, but I can, you know I've got, I've got more energy about so what do you want to get to?
Speaker 2:are you happy now or?
Speaker 3:I don't know. I thought looking back when I was 18 stone, 13, 13 and a half, 14 stone seemed like it would be perfect, but you know I've still got a bit bit going on that I need to shift, yeah, yeah, so I reckon it's like 12 and a half stone, maybe 12 stone. Gosh, that's amazing, that is so yeah, if I can lose another stone a bit, I'll be happy about that you've done so well and it's such a good.
Speaker 2:It's like such a good place to be when you've lost all that weight, like you are skinnier and you're skinny, yeah, and it's, it's, it's not like and I want.
Speaker 3:My main aim was to be slimmer and healthy. Right because I didn't want to be, because, like I've done, the fad diets before and if I really committed to a fad diet, you can drop the weight, but you drop it, it's coming back on, it's just wrong.
Speaker 2:Well, yeah, it comes back on.
Speaker 3:You've got the yo-yo and that does all sorts to your body but also you're sagging and stuff like that. So because I've lost it relative well, not slowly, because it's only been like six months that this has happened over, but like because I've tried to like keep up with gym and stuff like that and before I dislocated my shoulder.
Speaker 3:I was at the gym most days like making sure I was keeping, like trying to tone and whatever, and keeping like so I could run, you know whatnot keep up with the kids, etc. So, yeah, it's just now. It feels like end game.
Speaker 3:It feels like this is the time how I'll be able to look back on as like be like my fat period that will last a good two decades, to now my like new period where I'm like the the kind of relatively in shape dad that is always up for doing stuff because he's not got the insecurity.
Speaker 2:Oh how lovely. Honestly, I think that is just so lovely. I don't know if I've said that, but it's so lovely it's mad to me that like that is my word lovely, it's lovely, it's so lovely. It's mad to me now because I've got a holiday coming up with Bryn taking Bryn away, which obviously that's a whole other thing.
Speaker 3:People think that's not weird that it's is Bryn for doing that exactly, and I'm buzzing, and I'm buzzing that I'm not going to be insecure about what I look like playing in the pool oh, brilliant, and I know that's like makes it all worthwhile, doesn't it really?
Speaker 3:I know it's like a small thought like it's stupid that it would ever get me down but I felt and this should my turning point, because this is straight after the wedding, this is when I first signed up. I was in the Maldives and I was. I was not doing stuff in the Maldives.
Speaker 2:Oh my god, you're joking because I was fat yeah, but no, you can't that's it me?
Speaker 3:yeah, so it's. And if I'm thinking this about myself, like what's everyone else around me, and obviously now I know no one gives a shit. They're in the Maldives, too, enjoying themselves. But I'm feeling insecure about it. So that was the first turning point. A couple of bumps in the road, two kids and now I'm back to it and now I feel good and even once my shoulder gets better I'll be back in the gym and hopefully I can really.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's six months of dedication, isn't it?
Speaker 3:That's it and hopefully let's see what we're at like a year.
Speaker 2:Well, there you go, yeah.
Speaker 3:And so, because of the 20% loss now man Vs Fat HQ in London they've got in contact with me to do a little interview, little promo stuff. So you'll probably be seeing that in the I don't know Derby, derby telegraph at some point, or getting on a radio or whatever. Have a little chat. You've done so well, yeah. So that is where I'm at right now and it's just nice to the weight's dropping off and so are, like the, the other stuff attached to it, like the anxieties, the, the fears, all of that just kind of just dropping away but I feel like when you're in, like when you're in this space, when you put too much weight on and you're not comfy, you kind of hide away.
Speaker 2:But what is that doing to yourself? What is the point of just hiding away? Just force yourself, even if you like. Just do something at home, maybe I don't know like a fitness workout. I know it's hard, but I'm just thinking of ways that people feel a bit. You know, if they feel a bit too, too, oh, I don't want to go to the gym because people are going to look at me or they feel uncomfortable because they're that big and if they're running on a running machine or something, they might feel a bit insecure yeah maybe just even just starting at home.
Speaker 2:Do the small things, if you can just uh yeah, maybe that could help, is it?
Speaker 3:I don't know, that's it, I mean. But because I've always kind of been like an all or nothing person, like I need to be doing the big thing, like I need to make sure I need to sign up for a big thing for me was signing up for a gym, because then I've got like the accountability and if I was doing classes and you know, get to know people or you're going with someone but the gym is a brilliant night.
Speaker 3:Obviously I've done since I was 18 that's it I think, as soon as I could, I signed up for a gym and, yeah, and loved it ever since you kind of then get into the, into the routine of it, and it's making sure that the gym lines up with what you're doing.
Speaker 2:So your motivation remains and you're staying consistent and see, I, my motivation does differ a bit, like sometimes I could be, I'm in it, but that's like I said earlier. I'll get to a point where I've achieved my target, I'm awake, and then I'm a bit like oh, do you know what? I'm gonna chill out a bit, not be so heavy, just gonna put on a bit of weight, and it's going to motivate me to actually go back to the gym again, which is mad.
Speaker 2:This is literally how I work and it's good it works for me, it works for you.
Speaker 3:That's it, that's what I'm saying and everything I've said today is what works for me.
Speaker 2:People are different, but I will say the camaraderie around man main thing really good it does, honestly, because I it's like I used to love playing netball and it's that team sport and you know, when you've been at work it's just something a bit of fun, as it's having a laugh and you're losing weight. You're around the right sorts of people who who are doing good things to their lives because they're all trying to be better mentally and physically.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and it's great. It's mad because we'll be like, because my 20 was coming up last week. I just got got it and it was a cup game, right, and we were already winning the cup or something. So it didn't matter whether we won or lost this game and I got my 20% on that game, which meant I scored three goals automatically for the team. If you get a milestone, you score three goals. If you lose weight three weeks in a row, you get one goal, that kind of thing. So I got this milestone on this game. That didn't really mean much. As I said it to the, to the boys, I was like I was like shit I should have.
Speaker 3:I should have like got it on a game like next week. It's like it's like the league final. If we win that game, we win the whole thing. So I was like I should have, and then charlie in the um was like a bit dick have. And then Charlie was like you're a dickhead. Your point is you're here to lose the weight. The football is secondary. I mean, I appreciate your commitment to the team but, come on, it's for the weight loss.
Speaker 2:I love that. Well, that's very nice to be supportive like that.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'm like hang on. Why am I thinking like that? What a knobhead. But you don't get it. I've got to eat this chocolate bar. It's for the team. I fully can't lose 20% this week. I've got to wait until next week.
Speaker 2:I do get it, though, because obviously I wear the MyZone belt, don't I which?
Speaker 3:is like a heart rate monitor where you can be in a group with friends and stuff and obviously I've been in that me off because I could be running and it'd be like in gray, which means you're getting no maps at all. Yeah, so I do get it when you know you do focus on that the goal of the competitions in there, and I, yeah, I am a competitive person and I've seen it in brin.
Speaker 3:She's very competitive, she's gonna be yeah yeah, so it's, it's starting and you know, and I'm just gonna try and teach how to be a good winner and a good loser, you know, but that's difficult because I'm neither you know. Um, so it's, it is that competitive nature that I'm like. There has been times where I've gone to go and get like literally today I went to I got a meal deal and I picked up like picked up like a normal wrap or something like that, and I went to go and get the crisps and the option is there for, like the grab bag crisps or whatever. Like you know, 300 calories I don't need to have, but I end up getting like a the chicken, the chicken side or the egg side, you know oh, so you actually got the boiled egg yeah, I got the boiled eggs.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah there was something, a meme on facebook or instagram saying who the fuck? Who the fuck buys boiled eggs?
Speaker 3:that's me every time. Buy the boiled egg, that's a win.
Speaker 2:It's you. You're the boiled egg person.
Speaker 3:I'm the reason they stop them, because it's a win, because every time I grab the boiled egg. It's good, yeah, first of all, I bin off the yolk because it tastes like shit.
Speaker 2:Don't put me off eggs, be careful.
Speaker 3:Why not? Because the yolk runny yolk, great Boiled to just dryness and it's just like chalk.
Speaker 2:See, that's me. Get rid, eat the whites, I love that egg, Eat the whites mate. But it's like in the shops when they do the grab bags. Why the fuck do they do grab bags? They're so big.
Speaker 3:They're like 500 calories. No, it's not called grab bag anymore, right yeah, but they're so big?
Speaker 2:What's it with crisps?
Speaker 3:is it called grab bag now? Yeah, it's called a grab bag because the idea is that you share it. That's the point of it yeah, but what that's? The most ridiculous thing ever. You open it up, you look at the pub and you put it on the table and everyone grabs, yeah, but you go into a petrol station.
Speaker 2:Why do they do fucking grab bags? And they do it even when you have like your meal deals.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's it, and that's why I'm grabbing those eggs.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but it's hard. It's like sometimes when I'm on the road and I'm starving and the bags of crisps are massive and I love a fucking crisp, but they're just so big and there's so many calories in there and who's eating half a pack of crisps. No one's done that, never been done, never been done.
Speaker 3:Give me a pack of Walker Sensations. You're not seeing half. That's the problem. So, yeah, it's just, I've changed, changed what I'm doing. I've got more goals beyond the football, you know. I've got the kids as well.
Speaker 3:So and now, like I said, it's it's the new chapter. I'm just going to keep it going and it and it has led me to and I do want to talk about this in another episode, it's the cringing your 30s right like it has led me to feel a lot more secure, like the idea of doing this, this podcast lined up ran parallel with my weight loss, and you'll probably know there are episodes that didn't make it, didn't make the cut, because even listening to them back, I was just like cringed out by myself, like I just I could. I saw the video alongside it and I was like, oh, I could, I didn't even. I couldn't even recognize myself in the person that was talking. So they didn't. They are on the chopping room floor like they are just donezo, they'll never see the light of day. And now I just feel like I have more confidence to do something like this, more confidence to do that interview with man versus fat, more confidence to you know, put myself forward for stuff.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you know, and it kind of like spurs you on to do more things, and the opportunities that come about when you actually put yourself out there and you feel comfortable to put yourself out there. It's crazy yeah because they are out there. So that's where I'm at right now. Obviously, I'll check in in a few months. We'll talk about more. See, you can wait with bated breath to see if we win the league. It's all very exciting.
Speaker 2:Come on, it's coming up this week.
Speaker 3:So yeah, and.
Speaker 2:Just be careful of the shoulder.
Speaker 3:I will. Yeah, the physio was like are you playing football again? I'm like no not at all, not at all I had two weeks off for and I'm back.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, yeah, you've done amazing. Yeah, feel good, living better and all that, whatever that phrase is and if there's a code as well, leave that out.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, yeah. So and also I've sent I'll put it in just in case I've sent man Vs Fat a little email to see if they want to give us a referral code. So hopefully, if that does come about, we Give us a referral code.
Speaker 1:So hopefully, if that does come about, we'll put it in the description to this and then put it in the next episode in.
Speaker 3:Instagram and just make sure people know, because it's a great community and it's national and international. Actually, they've started in Florida now as well, and Canada, so I think Florida and Toronto have got one. So national and international. So have a look, google them, facebook them. You get put on a little wait list, takes a couple weeks, and then you're playing football with a load of lads that are all like-minded, brilliant, and you'll have a great time. Honestly, I've signed up three times. This is it I thought it would. It would be so good for for women to have. Because football why not? Because if you take the masculine like absolute knobheadery out of football the shit-housery it's probably quite a safe game. You don't go dislocate your shoulder tackling the floor, oh gosh. So I reckon a women's league would be great.
Speaker 2:There you go. So for now, it's just man versus fat. All right, it's our battle. Stop trying to get involved, all right. Make your as fat. All right, it's our battle.
Speaker 3:Stop trying to get involved, all right, here's to the future, knew you, and yes this, this didn't mean to be such a self-praise episode, but I'm feeling good and you can't, yeah, but you're sure like oh my god, if you've done something good and you know how hard it is to get to where you've been, to like, go to the gym, get yourself motivated like you've lost weight, you should.
Speaker 2:If you want to shout bad from the rooftop, you shouldn't feel guilty about that, just do it, especially because the roof can hold me. Now. Well, exactly, at least I'm in fourth room. But yeah, thank you so much everyone for listening yes and any questions. Drop us an instagram message. Drop us a text, can you like? Drop text now, can't you?
Speaker 3:yeah, it says drop us a text at the top of the bio. Do that. It comes through to our um little podcast uh app. So yeah, we'll message you back on there.
Speaker 2:So until next week cheers ciao ciao thanks for listening.
Speaker 1:We know time is precious and we thank you for yours. Please like and subscribe and we'll see you next week.
