I lost six stone by giving up alcohol and comfort food

Gary O’Neill, 50, an assistant manager in a garage workshop, lives in Fife, Scotland, with his wife Marianne and two sons, Finlay, 24 and Kyle, 21. Here, Gary shares the lifestyle changes that helped him lose six stone and rediscover his zest for life.

I’ve always been a big eater. In fact, I’ve never been slim in my life. At high school, I wasn’t fat but solid – I played lots of football so I didn’t feel too bad about it.

But over the last few years I’d become really heavy. I’d had a fairly rough time, losing both my parents in the space of a couple of years, and with a tendency to comfort eat, the weight soon piled on. What’s more, I’d had to pause playing football due to on old knee injury playing up. During the pandemic, I lost interest in staying active altogether.

Clapping For Carers on a Thursday night soon turned into a full-on drinking session with the neighbours, with lots of whiskey and snacks by the bucketload. Mentally I wasn’t in a great place and while aware I wasn’t doing myself any favours with how much I was eating and drinking, I didn’t stop. At mealtimes I was having big portions with no thought of nutrition or the health value.

Struggling to walk

As the weight piled on, a flight of stairs would leave my knees and ankles sore. Going for a walk with Marianne, she’d be telling me off for being too slow. And I started wearing bigger clothes sizes too. From wearing an L or XL T-shirt, with a 26-38-inch waist, I was now in double XL with a 40-42-inch waist.

No one pressurised me to tackle my health, but Marianne was worried about my mental state. We’ve been together since high school and married for 26 years, so she noticed how jaded I was.

I’d come home from work, then eat and fall asleep. I always felt exhausted. Many times, she said, “I think you should speak to someone – I think you may be depressed,” and I’d always tell her I was fine, but I clearly wasn’t.

A wake-up call

In the end, the push to lose weight came from seeing some photos at a family wedding – I didn’t like how I looked. Weighing myself, I discovered I was nearly 20 stone (127kg), when my usual weight was 15 stone (95kg) tops, and that was when something clicked.

I thought, ‘I can’t go on like this or I’m not going to be here in 10 or even five years’ time.’ I knew I wanted to be around for my family and hopefully some grandchildren one day.

It was in summer 2022 when I was 48 that I started cutting back on portion sizes and made the decision to eat more sensibly. But getting myself fit was more of a challenge. At almost 50, I was reluctant to get back on the football pitch in the condition I was in – would I last a game or get carted off to hospital?

I started going on long walks and, after seeing it promoted on Facebook, in August 2022 I also joined a local Man V Fat Football club, where the coach reassured me about restarting sport in my condition.

There were plenty of men there like me – and heavier. Since then, while I work long hours, I always go to the Man V Fat weigh-in and football game on a Tuesday where the mutual support and accountability of your team is what drives you to succeed.

Improving my diet

At first, I had zero knowledge of nutrition but tracking my food intake, my weight and exercise was an eye-opener. I downloaded My Fitness Pal, set a target weight and planned to lose ¾ kilo a week, which I knew was manageable and would enable me to lose a decent amount over a long period of time.

The app worked out a calorie limit based on my age, weight and other factors and I tried to stick to it, using various tactics including portion size and choosing substitutions.

I haven’t cut out a lot of from my diet but changed my choices. Being a Scotsman, I like a breakfast roll with sausages or bacon but now I’ll have reduced fat bacon medallions. I still like crisps, but I’ll have healthier lentil-based or baked ones. Instead of a full-size bar of chocolate a day, now I’ll have a Twirl – or even better, a handful of blueberries.

At first, the weight came off quickly and steadily – one stone (6.3kg) weight loss took around five weeks to achieve and, after a further six weeks, I’d lost another stone (6.3kg). Within a year I’d gone from 19st 10lbs (124.4kg) to 14.5st (92.2kg).

I can’t believe how much weight I’ve lost. I’m now at 13.3st (84.8kg)– my lowest weight since I was at school. I was so proud when I achieved my 30% weight loss milestone in June this year – that was a real turning point.

Happier and healthier

And I look and feel so much better – more energised and just generally more alive than before. On big weekend walks with Marianne and our dog Brodie, nowadays it’s me saying ‘speed up’ to her – although she’s always stayed fit and healthy.

What’s more, it’s changed how I feel mentally. I’ve managed to get my focus back and feel far more positive. When I think back to the first few weeks of playing football again, I could only stay on the pitch for a few minutes, but now I’m on the pitch for the whole match. I’m so much fitter.

My T shirts are now either size S or M, with 34-inch trousers. In fact, nothing in my wardrobe fits anymore – I started out aiming to fit into a ‘target shirt’ which was always a bit too tight, but that very quickly got too big for me.

I’ve had amazing feedback too. Regular customers, who haven’t stopped by the garage for a while, see me and do a double take. It’s good for my ego. I’ve also noticed Marianne checking me out since I’ve lost weight and got fit, which is a bonus! She’s been very supportive throughout, although I think she’s a bit surprised I was able to do it.

It was making a start that was the hardest thing – realising I had to take that first step. But now I’ve got my focus and my health back, and I’m in a better place mentally, I’m so glad I did.

There are more than 150 MAN v FAT Football clubs across the UK, with achievable weight loss goals for overweight and obese men.

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