A MAN who lost three stone with the help of Man v Fat football sessions has run the London Marathon, is training for an ultra marathon and has won a national award.
Toru Tsuzaki, from Eastleigh, took up football as he was fed up of being too tired to play football with this children.
The 44-year-old had a BMI of 30, classed as obese, and weighed 14 stone, which has now dropped to 11 stone with a BMI of 24, which puts him in the healthy category.
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Toru started 5km runs, which soon became 10km. Earlier this year, he ran the London Marathon in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital raising £1,500 for the charity, finishing in less than four hours, with him now training for 100km South Downs National Park Ultramarathon.
A keen cyclist, Toru has cycled up to 555 km in one week as part of a competition with fellow Man v Fat Football players.
Toru’s achievements were recognised by his fellow players at the Man v Fat Football Awards, held at the National Football Museum in Manchester.
He won the Most Active Player, topping a shortlist of five men that have achieved impressive fitness goals outside of the football programme, and was presented with his award by comedian Tom Davis.
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Toru said: "I look back at signing up for Man v Fat and it feels like a sliding doors moment. That simple decision to join has changed me for the better in so many ways, it’s something that I could have never imagined and winning this award is something that I am extremely grateful for.
"As I can’t really lose more weight, I am concentrating on improving my fitness and inspiring others to achieve their goals, by using myself as an example of how a bit of focus and determination can really change lives.”
"I now coach an under-10s football team, which my eldest son plays for and I play in three other football teams, with my football skills slowly improving!"
Man v Fat currently has 8,500 players taking part in over 160 clubs across the UK. The programme combines the beautiful game with achievable weight loss goals for men.
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