"I am an airline pilot so I spend most of my working life sat down, not moving much and eating convenient food," Chris Cowley shared, detailing how his weight crept up.

Then he saw a photo of himself last Christmas that his nephew had taken – and this made Chris vow to lose weight in the New Year.

"I was ashamed at where my weight had got to," Chris said, glumly. "I have always struggled with my weight and felt like I needed a new approach to help as every other attempt at getting to grips with it had failed."

Seeing a MAN V FAT Football advert on Facebook, Chris initially dismissed the idea, thinking to himself: "I was never a great sportsman."

But in desperation to shift the pounds, he thought it might be worth a try – if it didn't work, he could always opt out.

What is MAN V FAT Football?

The programme was created to differ from traditional weight loss classes and combines playing football with achievable weight loss goals for men.

At a typical MAN v FAT session, players are weighed, before battling it out on the pitch where results from matches combine with a player’s individual weight loss throughout a week.

Individual weight loss results and scores on the pitch then contribute to a team’s position in a club’s overall league table.

Chris soon joined MAN v FAT’s (MvF) Salford club; on the first day, he felt apprehensive, but the people were friendly and welcoming.

"Both my new teammates and Danny, our coach, were really positive and supportive of each other," Chris shared. "It helps that everyone is there to achieve the same goal. I hadn’t played for years, but it didn’t matter.

"Everyone in the team were supportive and my short comings on the pitch were made up for with my success off the pitch."

Shedding around 30 percent of his starting bodyweight, the football weight loss group has really worked for him.

"I'd recommend MvF to anyone, I always describe it to people as slimming world for blokes with a bit of football," he quipped.

"It has had an immensely positive change to my life, not wanting to let my teammates down each week really spurred me on to keep to the diet and fitness plan."

Now weighing 80kg, Chris has shed 5.5 stone and it's only taken less than a year to do. Explaining what kept him going, Chris beamed: "I was seeing progress week on week which was the best motivation I could get.

"As the weight has dropped off, I've been able to do more with my children [aged six and two], which is what the whole effort has been all about."

Chris elaborated: "Knowing I’ve now got a better chance of being around to see my children grow up is an amazing feeling."

Around 8,500 men currently take part at more than 150 MAN v FAT Football clubs across the UK.

The programme was created to differ from traditional weight loss classes and combines the beautiful game with achievable weight loss goals for men.

Designed for overweight and obese men with a BMI of above 27.5, at a typical MAN v FAT session, players are weighed, before battling it out on the pitch where results from matches combine with a player’s individual weight loss throughout a week.

Individual weight loss results and scores on the pitch then contribute to a team’s position in a club’s overall league table.

The total amount of weight lost by MAN v FAT players in the UK currently stands at more than 700,000 pounds. In addition to football sessions, MAN v FAT players receive off-the-pitch support including healthy meal recipe ideas and tips on general fitness.

Players also get full access to MAN v FAT online gym, so they can train in their own time at home, as well as a mental health and well-being platform.