A man who “had anxiety all the time” because of his weight has lost more than 58.5kg after rediscovering his love of football and playing a weekly game of seven-a-side, and has now “gained a lot more confidence” and says his anxiety is “more controllable”.
Kyle Bamford, 40, a scrap operative, who lives in Swansea, South Wales, with his wife Deborah, 41, and their three children, Caitlin, 18, Masie, 14, and Lola, 11, reached his heaviest weight in 2022, weighing around 161.5kg.
At the time, he “suffered quite badly with depression”, “drank a lot”, comfort ate and even avoided socialising because he thought “people were judging (him)”.
After coming across a friend’s social media post about Man V Fat, a weight loss programme that encourages overweight men to play football once a week, he had a “wake-up call” and decided to sign up.
Since joining the club, in October 2022, Kyle has gone from a size XXXXXL to XL, lost 10 inches on his waist, and has lost 58.5kg – although, he still has to remind himself “that this is a big achievement”.
Kyle admits that he still has “anxiety and nerves” but thinks it has got “a lot better” since losing weight.
He has also noticed that the pain he was feeling “vanished overnight” and he can now do more things with his children – before, he was “too anxious” to go to theme parks with them as he was scared he could not fit on the rides.
Kyle’s next goal is to get down to 99.9kg and he is considering playing football “competitively” once a week, as well as the weekly Man V Fat sessions.
He told PA Real Life: “Before I lost weight, my wife said to me that when our kids grow up, I might not be able to do anything with them without getting out of breath.
“I’d never go to theme parks, and I’d think of excuses because I was anxious of not fitting on the rides.
“And now, I’ve got no problem with that.
“My wife has also said that I’m more confident and she can notice that I’m happier too.”
In early 2022, Kyle reached the heaviest weight he has ever been, weighing 161.5kg, with a BMI of 50.9 making him obese, and it began to take a toll on his mental health.
He said: “I was just depressed and just had anxiety all the time.
“I suffered quite badly with depression and I just drank a lot – eating was comforting more than anything.
“I was quite anxious buying clothes and socialising, and I didn’t like seeing anyone from my past because I was smaller then.
“I hated going to parties and things like that because I thought people were judging me.”
In October 2022, one of his friends posted on Facebook about a weight loss programme called Man V Fat which involves overweight men playing football once a week.
Kyle said: “I always enjoyed football and sports, and when I put the weight on, I fell out of love with it and lost interest in it.
“When I saw my friend’s progress on Facebook, I couldn’t believe how much he had lost.
“I signed up to Man V Fat when I was drunk and completely forgot about it.
“When I got the call from them, I had a bit of anxiety and it was a bit of a shock but once I considered it, it felt like a wake-up call that I had to do something about my weight.”
The following week, Kyle went to his first football session. He explained how the programme works: “At the start of the season, you register your weight and then you get weighed every week from then on.
“You’re on a football team, and that gives you an incentive to lose weight because you play a 28-minute game of football, and if you have not lost weight, the other team gets points.
“If you have lost weight, your team gets penalties.”
After attending a few sessions, Kyle began to notice a difference in his weight and made small changes in his diet.
He said: “My wife and I are very fussy, we like all the bad stuff really, to be honest.
“But one thing I did do is cut out takeaways and pop, and I did see a big difference with just those two changes.
“My guilty pleasure was on a weekend, after heavy drinking, I would order a takeaway, but I stopped doing that.”
Kyle also started to track his calories on the MyFitnessPal app, and the more he lost, the more motivated he felt.
He explained: “I stuck to MyFitnessPal religiously, and I think within the first month of joining Man V Fat, I was looking for excuses to quit.
“I had all the negative thoughts go through my head, but I did stick at it.
“I stepped on the scales a couple of weeks at a time, and I noticed my weight was dropping.
“Something clicked in my head and I wanted to see how far I could go.”
After 10 months of weekly football sessions and sticking to a calorie deficit, and now starting to go to the gym six times a week, Kyle has lost 58.5kg and is now 103.5kg.
He said: “I always put myself down, and I have to remind myself that this is a big achievement.
“I feel like I’ve gained a lot more confidence, but I still suffer with anxiety and nerves, but it’s a lot better and it’s a lot more controllable now.
“I did suffer a lot of pain before I lost weight and it vanished overnight.
“Now I go to parties and I definitely come out of my shell more easily.”
Looking to the future, Kyle’s next goal is to get his weight down to double figures.
He said: “I think 99.9kg is my goal – it will be hard but I think I can do it.
“Now I’m back playing football I’m actually enjoying it again, and I’m looking to start playing competitively on a Saturday.
“So at the age of 40, I think that is an achievement in itself because I feel like I can do it again.”
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