A man who used to splurge £300 a week on junk food and binge on 7,000 calories a day has revealed his ‘ultimate cheat code’ that helped him shed 14.5 stone.
Alex Williams, 33, once tipped the scales at more than 30st (420lbs), his weight gradually ballooning after an injury stopped him from playing rugby as a teenager.
By the time he hit his mid-teens, he was already wearing 46-inch waist trousers and comfort-eating sausage rolls, frozen pizzas and endless takeaways—and his addiction to beige and calorific foods continued into adulthood.
He said: ‘I could easily polish off eight sausage rolls in a pack which was ridiculous.
‘It was frozen pizzas, KFC, all the terrible stuff, anything and everything I could get my hands on. I could easily obliterate a large Domino’s pizza too.
‘I was doing a lot of secret eating as well.
‘It got to a point where I would go to McDonald’s and then go home and then eat dinner with my family.
‘I was spending up to £300 ($400) a week on sh** food.’
Alex Williams in 2019 (left); and now, having lost half of his body weight
Mr Williams says that frozen grapes were the secret to beating sugar cravings
The bingeing—and his mammoth weight—left him breathless walking upstairs, ashamed to take his top off in the rugby changing rooms and terrified of going on holiday where he would need to take his top off or go in a swimming pool.
The turning point came in 2018 when a friend persuaded him to join a football-based weight loss programme to help him navigate a painful break-up.
Embracing the new challenge, Mr Williams, who works for an AI firm, ditched the 7,000-calorie days of fried breakfasts, burgers and biscuits, and began tucking into meals built around steak, salmon and chicken.
Alongside the change in diet he plays five football matches a week, and regularly goes to the gym.
And after years of hard work, he eventually went from 28st 2lbs (392 pounds) to 13st 9lbs (191lbs), losing more than half his body weight in the process.
Standing at 5″9 tall, it meant his BMI dropped from 58—classed as ‘super obese’—to 28, which is in the overweight category.
Mr Williams also had a sweet tooth, and would gorge on chocolate—but says that a simple diet swap helped him finally curb his sugary cravings—he swapped the nightly bars for frozen grapes.
Now weighing in 13st 7lbs (189lbs), having lost half of his body weight, Mr Williams said: ‘Frozen grapes are the ultimate cheat code—candy-floss grapes, those frozen.
‘They are insane and they keep [your cravings] all at bay.
He says consistency and accountability were key to his success
Mr Williams (pictured left in 2019) proudly shows off the certificate he was awarded for losing half his bodyweight by his Man V Fat fitness group
‘But the main thing is consistency.
‘Losing weight isn’t hard, but constantly losing weight is.
‘Once you realise that it’s okay to be up one week as long as the trajectory is going down, it gets easier.’
Frozen grapes have long been suggested as a good alternative for sweets, especially if you’re trying to cut calories or lose weight.
One of the reasons is portion control—unlike conventional sweets eaten at room temperature, they are too cold to eat quickly.
Furthermore, grapes are naturally rich in fibre, antioxidants and vitamins C and K.
Mr Williams, from Wales, says consistency was key to keeping the weight off, after years of yo-yo dieting and extreme fads, including wrapping himself in clingfilm.
He says joining Man v Fat, a weight loss programme designed specifically for men who want to lose weight, worked because it turned weight loss into a team game.
Mr Williams (left, in 2019) was consuming 7,000 calories a day, but now feels ‘like a different person’
He said: ‘I was always so lethargic; I didn’t want to do anything.
‘It took me right back to school, someone weighing me, there was a fear of intimidation but as soon as I got there and realised how people were there for the same reasons.
‘There are people there who are friends for life now.
‘The accountability from Man v Fat makes you think. It’s the team mentality behind it.
‘When you’re doing it for yourself you’re doing it for yourself.
‘When you have a rubbish week it doesn’t just affect you anymore, it affects the men on your team too, they hold you accountable.’
Mr Williams is finally happy and confident in himself after that career-ending knee injury in his teens which, unbeknown to him at the time would have a serious impact on his adult life.
‘I was always big but rugby player big, when I hit ages 14/15 I was shopping for school trousers with mum I was a 46 inch waist,’ he said.
Turning 18 only made things worse with booze, burgers and late-night kebabs fuelling a dangerous cycle that saw him becoming morbidly obese.
He said: ‘It was an outlet source, it was the one thing I could control and do, that was what spurred the growth.
‘I always felt terrible,’ he said. ‘When I decided to lose weight, it was one of these things, like an epiphany moment.
‘Mentally, I was struggling.
‘I could have been consuming about 7,000 calories a day at the height of it all.
‘I never wanted to take my top off in the changing rooms in front of other guys at rugby, and the idea of going on holiday and there being a public pool scared me.
‘I hated my body; I hated everything about it.’
As for his dramatic weight loss he says: ‘I feel amazing, I feel like a completely different person.
‘It’s given me a completely different outlook.’
