Dad kickstarts 7st weight loss after chair collapses under him
A dad has revealed the simple methods he used to kickstart an incredible 7st weight loss journey.
Max Eden, 30, an event manager from Winslow, Cheshire, says his weight started to creep up during lockdown, which saw him consume up to 4,000 calories a day.
At his heaviest Eden says he weighed 21st and was shopping for XXXL clothes to fit his frame.
The turning point came in 2022 when the father-of-two sat down for Christmas dinner and the chair collapsed underneath him.
After being left feeling embarrassed, he decided he needed to make a drastic change to his diet and lifestyle.
Having restricted his calorie intake to 1,800 a day, swapping crisps and chocolate for more healthy options, and taking up running, Eden lost an impressive 7st and dropped five clothes sizes.
He said: "It was like a lightbulb moment where I realised I needed to do something."
Eden says he started to worry that his weight could impact his health, both physically and mentally.
"From a mental health point of view, you change the way you think of yourself when you gain weight, and I lost confidence in my work and personal life," he explains.
"As soon as it happened [the chair broke], I decided that was it. From Boxing Day I decided I wouldn't have any more really fatty foods and I was going to move my body more."
Eden says restricted exercise and a general change to his eating habits during lockdown all played a role in his weight gain.
At the time his diet consisted of a mixture of high-calorie takeaways, sugary snacks, and crisps.
He says most of his intake came from late-night snacking after dinner, where he would consume whole sharing bags of Kettle crisps, or king-size bars of chocolate.
To kickstart his health and fitness overhaul Eden began by replacing unhealthy snacks with raisins and grapes and took up running – working his way up to 10km jogs.
Eden also started adding fruit like watermelon or orange to his breakfasts, and replaced chippy lunches with falafel wraps or Mediterranean salads.
He says as other people started to notice and comment on his weight loss progress, it spurred him on to continue.
"The chair breaking on Christmas Day was the moment for me – I’d known I’d got bigger, and something in that moment meant I realised I needed to do something about it," he explains.
"I wasn’t doing extreme dieting but just watching what I ate and looking after myself. I also started going to the gym again.
Food wise, one of the biggest changes for Eden was cutting out snacking.
"It [snacking] was a really big thing I was doing," he explains. "I was eating one big Kettle chip bag a night and two bars of chocolate a day."
Since switching up his eating and fitness regime, Eden says it has had a huge impact on his life.
"I feel really good and much healthier," he says. "I’ve lost over 7st, which makes you feel reinvigorated for life. It sounds cheesy but it does."
In terms of his wellbeing, Eden says his health journey has given him much more confidence.
"I feel happier in myself and like I can do more," he adds.
"Before I couldn’t play at the park with the kids and run around with them without getting tired but now I feel like I can do those things."
Diet before:
Eden’s diet before was around 4000 calories a day and consisted of:
Breakfast: A bowl of sugary cereal or a fry-up
A snack around 11am – usually a bag of crisps
Lunch: Chips and gravy from a chip shop
Dinner: Chinese takeaway or pizza
Snacks after dinner including crisps, chocolate and sweets – adding up to around 2500 calories
Diet after:
Now, Eden eats around 1800 calories a day:
Breakfast: Cereal with fruit like watermelon or oranges
Lunch: A falafel and hummus wrap or a Mediterranean salad
Dinner: Max says he still enjoys pasta and pizza - but in moderation
Snacks: Raisins and grapes, sometimes something sweet but in moderation
Additional reporting SWNS.
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