Having children can often play a part in getting men onto a new life path – and that was certainly the case for Matthew Riggs, who turned his life around after a conversation with his then seven-year-old son.
At that point, Matthew was at his unhealthiest but that chat triggered a change in fortunes and, after a great deal of hard work, is now 15 stone lighter. We caught up with him to find out more.
Tell us a bit about how you came to find yourself in a position where you were overweight? And what was your trigger to decide to make a change?
Looking back, it’s quite easy to see how I ended up at the weight I was. My lifestyle and diet were about as unhealthy as they could possibly be.
At my worst, I could drink around a litre of rum and was having three or four takeaways a day. That had become normal life for me. I wasn’t thinking about calories, nutrition or what I was doing to my body. I was eating and drinking far too much and doing very little to look after myself.
My weight gradually built up over the years, but there was one moment that completely changed things for me.
My son was only seven years old when he asked me if I was going to die.
Hearing your seven-year-old child ask you that because of the size you’ve become is something that stays with you. That was the moment I realised this wasn’t just about how I looked anymore. My weight wasn’t only affecting me; it was affecting my family and my children were noticing it too.
That was my trigger. I knew I had to change.
I wanted to be around to watch my children grow up. I wanted to be able to do things with them, be active with them and enjoy my life with my family rather than have them worrying about whether their dad was going to be there.
When I look back now, the difference between the person I was then – drinking huge amounts of alcohol, eating three or four takeaways a day and having my seven-year-old son worried that I might die – and the person I am today is massive.
I knew there wasn’t going to be a quick fix. I had a lot of weight to lose, and I finally understood that I didn’t need another diet.
I needed to change my life.
How did you tackle those early days and start to establish healthy habits?
When I decided to change, I went all in.
I joined the gym and started training seven days a week. What started as a way of losing weight quickly became part of my daily routine, and I ended up going to the gym for an incredible 755 days straight without a single day off – I even trained on Christmas Day.
For me personally, I needed that level of consistency at the beginning. I had spent years with unhealthy habits, so I almost replaced those old habits with new ones. Instead of takeaways, drinking and doing very little exercise, getting up and going to the gym became my new normal.
I wouldn’t necessarily tell somebody starting their own journey that they need to train seven days a week – rest and recovery are important – but at that point in my life, maintaining that routine kept me focused and gave me something positive to work towards every single day.
I also started making much better decisions with food, controlling my portions and learning more about what I was actually putting into my body.
As the weight started coming off, that became motivation in itself. I started noticing changes that weren’t just about the number on the scales. My clothes fitted differently, I could move more easily, I had more energy and I was able to do things physically that previously would have been difficult.
The gym eventually stopped feeling like something I had to do to lose weight and became something I genuinely loved doing.
Those first healthy habits completely changed my lifestyle, and fitness has remained a massive part of my life ever since.
What did you do after that to hit your targets, and how have you managed to stay at a healthy weight?
Over time, exercise became a much bigger part of my life.
What started as something I was doing because I needed to lose weight eventually became something I genuinely enjoyed. Fitness is now a massive part of my lifestyle.
In total, I’ve lost around 15 stone, from 27st.2lbs to 12st 2lbs but something I’m equally proud of is that I’ve managed to maintain that loss for around five years.
For me, maintaining it has been about finding balance.
I don’t believe you need to live on salads or never have a takeaway, meal out or holiday again. If you make your plan so restrictive that you’re miserable, you’re unlikely to stick to it forever.
I still enjoy myself. The difference now is that if I have a weekend away, a holiday or a few days where I eat and drink more than normal, I know how to get myself back into my normal routine afterwards.
I’ve learned that your weight will fluctuate. What matters is recognising it and taking control before a few pounds becomes a few stone.
Was loose skin an issue and how did you resolve that?
Yes, loose skin was definitely an issue for me. After losing around 15 stone, I was left with a significant amount of excess skin.
It was a strange situation because I had achieved something I was incredibly proud of, but the loose skin was still a reminder of the person I had been and it affected how I felt about my body.
Eventually, I made the decision to have surgery to remove the excess skin. For me, that was another important part of my journey. Losing the weight had completely transformed my health and lifestyle, and having the loose skin removed allowed me to finally see the results of all the work I had put in.
It wasn’t the reason I lost weight – becoming healthier and being there for my family was always far more important – but having the excess skin removed felt like the final chapter of my physical transformation.
After everything I’d been through to lose 15 stone and keep it off, it gave me a level of confidence in my body that I hadn’t had before.
What are your top three exercise tips and your top three nutrition tips?
My top three exercise tips would be:
1. Find exercise you genuinely enjoy: This is probably my biggest tip. Exercise doesn’t have to mean spending hours on a treadmill. I love the gym, but I also absolutely love roller skating, which is one of my favourite forms of cardio. It doesn’t feel like a chore because I’m doing something I enjoy. Find something that gets you moving that you actually look forward to doing – you’re far more likely to stick with it.
2. Consistency beats perfection: You don’t need every workout to be amazing. Some days you’ll feel strong and motivated, and other days you won’t. The important thing is being consistent. That mindset was a massive part of my own journey – at one point I trained for 755 consecutive days without a single day off, including Christmas Day. I’m not saying everyone should do that, but for me it helped turn exercise into a permanent habit.
3. Don’t underestimate everyday movement: You don’t have to destroy yourself in the gym to make progress. Walking more, taking the stairs, roller skating, playing sport or simply being more active throughout the day all adds up. The best exercise is the exercise you’ll actually keep doing.
My top three nutrition tips would be:
1. Understand calories and portion sizes: You don’t have to become obsessed with numbers, but understanding what you’re eating and drinking can be eye-opening. I went from having three or four takeaways a day and drinking huge amounts of alcohol to actually understanding what I was putting into my body.
2. Don’t make your diet so restrictive that you can’t maintain it: I still enjoy food, meals out, holidays and treats. For me, long-term success has come from finding balance rather than trying to eat perfectly every single day.
3. One bad meal doesn’t make you fat, just like one healthy meal doesn’t make you thin: If you have a takeaway, a night out or a weekend where you overindulge, enjoy it and then get back to your normal routine. Don’t turn one bad meal into a bad week because you think you’ve ruined everything.
For me, both exercise and nutrition have to fit into your life. The goal isn’t to find something you can stick to for 12 weeks – it’s to find something you can stick to for life.
What impacts has losing weight had on your mental health and wellbeing?
The difference has been huge.
Physically, I’m capable of things now that the old me would never have imagined, but mentally the transformation has probably been just as significant.
There’s a confidence that comes from doing something you once thought might be impossible. Losing 15 stone taught me that I could set myself a massive goal, break it down and actually achieve it.
Exercise is also now an important part of my wellbeing. It’s not just something I do to control my weight – it’s part of my routine and something that makes me feel good. Most importantly, I feel like I’m actually living my life rather than my weight dictating what I can and can’t do.
What advice do you have for anyone thinking of starting a weight loss journey?
My biggest advice is simply start.
Don’t wait for Monday, January, after your birthday or after your holiday. You don’t need the perfect diet or training programme before you begin. Just make that first change and build from there.
I also think having a goal to work towards can make a massive difference. Your goal doesn’t have to be the same as mine – it could be fitting into a certain item of clothing, completing a 5K, being able to play football with your children or simply reaching a certain weight.
For me, I wanted something that would really push me. My goal was to get myself into good enough shape to step on stage in a body transformation competition.
At the beginning of my journey, considering where I’d come from, that seemed like an unbelievable goal. But I kept working towards it and eventually I made it happen.
Not only did I get on that stage, but I went on to win 1st place in the Pure Elite Body Transformation category.
That was a massive moment for me. I’d gone from being severely overweight, drinking around a litre of rum and eating three or four takeaways a day, with my seven-year-old son asking me if I was going to die, to standing on a stage and winning a body transformation competition.
If you’d shown the old me a picture of that moment, I genuinely don’t think I would have believed you.
That’s why I always tell people not to look at somebody who has already lost a huge amount of weight and think, “I could never do that.”
I didn’t lose 15 stone in one go. It came off one pound at a time.
There will be good weeks, bad weeks and weeks where the scales don’t move at all. There may even be times when they go in the wrong direction. That’s all part of it. One bad day doesn’t undo everything you’ve achieved.
Set yourself goals along the way, celebrate the small wins and then keep moving the goalposts as you progress. You might be surprised by what you eventually become capable of.
For me, losing 15 stone wasn’t the end of the journey. Getting on stage wasn’t the end either. The real achievement has been building a completely different lifestyle and maintaining it.
If somebody reading my story is at the beginning of their journey, I’d say this: don’t think about how far you’ve got to go. Think about what you can do today to move one step closer.
You genuinely don’t know where that first step might eventually take you.
Follow Matthew’s story
You can follow Matthew on Instagram at the following link – a big thanks to Matthew for telling his story!
