Dad loses five stone in less than a year and now coaches son's football team after major diet change

A dad has told how he dropped more than five stone in under a year after he made a major change to his diet.

Ben Gibson explained he was inspired to start leading a healthier lifestyle as his youngest son would 'pester' him for a kickabout constantly, but he could 'barely breathe' after just five minutes of exercise.

Now, the 43-year-old is fighting fit and is even coaching his lad's under-12 football team - so the moral of the story is, sometimes hounding your parents does work.

Ben explained that he was tipping the scales at 20st 8lbs before he embarked on his weight loss journey, while gorging on chocolate, takeaways and ice cream each day.

The teacher, from Bedford, decided to do something about his size in January last year for the sake of his two sons, Charlie, 14, and Oliver, 11, who were desperate to have a game of footie with their dad.

Despite a 15-year hiatus from the pitch, Ben dusted off his boots and joined the 'Man v Fat' weight loss group - which is a football league for men who want to shed a few pounds - to fulfil his promise to his kids.

Ben decided to get into shape for the sake of his kids and his love of the beautiful game. (PA)

He explained: "I think mostly the goal was fitness and weight loss, but it was also the fact that football has always been one of my passions. When I first started, after about five minutes, I was breathing so heavy, I could barely move.

"But a couple of weeks in and I was seeing progress."

Man v Fat

Although it probably drove him insane at the time, Ben praised his son Oliver for continuously 'pestering' him to have a game of footie, as his kid's incessant requests were what inspired him to begin attending Man v Fat each week.

"My youngest is a massive football fan and having a kickaround with him was something I couldn’t have done on a regular basis before, but now we can and he loves to do that," he said.

The dad explained it was a 'really welcoming environment' at Man v Fat, where he felt confident and didn't have to fear he was being judged by other players, as 'everybody’s just wanting everybody else to do really well'.

After getting into the swing of his revived sporting career, the teacher decided to overhaul his diet too and says he has been 'in the best shape' of his life ever since.

Healthier choices

Ben no longer gets out of breathe in such a short time when playing football now. (PA)

Swapping takeaways for high-protein and low carb meals really paid off for the father-of-two, as he said the number on the scales soon started dropping when he started making healthier choices.

For example, instead of smothering slices of bread in Nutella for breakfast, he started skipping the first meal of the day in favour of a larger lunch.

When dinner time rolls around, you can find Ben tucking into Chinese meatball miso soup or scrambled egg, avocado and salmon these days, whereas he used to chow down on a large portion of chicken and mashed potatoes.

Instead of scranning a large Domino’s pizza and a tub of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream for tea, he opts for meals such as steak, cream spinach and cauliflower - and might treat himself to a calorie-free fizzy drink like Pepsi Max too.

Ten months after he embarked on his Man v Fat journey, Ben had shred a whopping 5st 5lbs and had dropped down to 15st 3lbs thanks to his lifestyle changes.

He got so into his football and his fitness that he now coaches Oliver's under-12 footie team and has just ticked off a half marathon - which is some brilliantly going.

Ben's tips

Ben said both him, his wife Gemma and their boys can't believe how far he has come and his new lease of life.

He said: "We try not to have any sort of negative language around weight around the boys as we think it’s important, so they were quite polite about my weight loss.

"But they did notice and they were quite impressed that I can go out and do a half marathon because a year ago or six months ago, I wouldn’t have been able to do those kinds of things.

"I can also now carry my youngest on my shoulders for a little bit and walk around, and he’s quite impressed by that so it’s nice to be able to do those things as well."

Ben's family have been positive about his journey. (PA)

He said old friends who he crosses paths with barely recognise him due to the 'obvious difference' in his appearance.

So, what's Ben's secret to success?

He added: "The truth is that it’s hard, and you have to be quite disciplined, and you have to stick to it.

"I had to challenge myself to stick to Man v Fat and not give up because then you risk your weight yoyo-ing a lot.

“I’ve met a lot of people who are obviously highly motivated to be fitter and that helped motivate me too. I try not to be too hard on myself if I go off my plan or have a bad day.

"I can just start again tomorrow, a bad day doesn’t mean I’m going to put weight back on. I try to remember that."