Paisley dad sheds three stone after being unable to keep up with children

A man from Paisley has hailed a local football club that helps overweight people trim down after his 'life-changing' weight loss.

Stuart Bain suffers from chronic fatigue and hypoglycaemia and found himself in a position where he was "fat, unfit and struggling with anxiety". Now, he feels his life has changed for the better since joining the Man v Fat programme which was created to differ from traditional weight loss classes and combines football with achievable weight loss goals for men.

Speaking about his journey, Stuart said: "I joined Man v Fat because I was on a weight loss journey and I always dreamed of playing football again.

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"I suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome/M.E and reactive hypoglycaemia, this also affected my mental health. I was told by doctors if I lost a lot of weight this would help with my symptoms and improve my overall quality of life."

Stuart, who tipped the scales at 17 stone, realised he had to make a change when he could no longer keep up with his children. He added: "I have a family and I couldn’t keep up with my kids and that used to stress me out.

"When I first joined it was scary, I hadn’t kicked a football in close to 20 years, I was fat, unfit and struggling with anxiety. The reason I love this programme is, there are so many people out there that are in the same boat! The guys are all welcoming and really do spur each other on. This is what is special about Man v Fat. You aren’t alone in your journey, your team are all there for you."

The dad, now 13.5 stone, feels his life has truly changed for the better following his incredible 3.5 stone weight loss. A few months ago Stuart decided to climb Ben Lomond, saying it was something he "always wished" to do: "I always wished I could do this and one day I just got up and done it, don’t get me wrong my legs were burst for days afterwards and I struggled but I done it!"

The weight loss programme is "everything" to Stuart and can't recommend it enough to men struggling with their weight and mental health.

He said: "This programme is everything to me, even when I’m injured or having a flair up of my illnesses I go down to support my team and get weighed in because even if you can’t play your weight loss can help your team win off the park which is a great feeling too.

"I have found a real sense of community in Paisley Man v Fat. Not just the team that I play for but the club as a whole, so I would really like to thank all of them. I honestly can’t thank coach Kenny and Ryan enough."

Man v Fat Paisley meets every Wednesday evening at Powerleague Paisley, Anchor Grounds from 8pm. Around 8,500 men currently take part at more than 150 Man v Fat Football clubs across the UK.

More on Man V Fat Paisley can be found here.