Name: Mathew Caplan

Age: 52

Weight lost: 18kg

Team name: E10 Less Position: Defender

Igot married and put on a bit of weight, as you do. I heard about Man v Fat on the radio and thought, ‘I’ll give it a go.’ I’ve made some good friends.

This is my seventh or eighth season. We stopped in lockdown, then when we came out, it was good to have something to focus on. I didn’t feel comfortable in a gym, so coming here helped me shed a load of weight. I was 105kg three seasons back; now I’m down to about 85kg.

It doesn’t matter if you’re good at football. There was a season I played with great players, and although I wasn’t as good, I lost weight each week so I earned more points than the top scorer. You’ve always got something you can do. I’m back as captain this year with my team E10 Less – a pun on ‘eating less’ – which is a good challenge. And we’ve got a new bunch of lads, a really nice gang.

I work at a desk and started stacking on weight. I used to walk a mile or two to the Tube, then I started working at home, a bit too near the kitchen… This gets me out. I can’t really go for a run on my own, but if you put a football in front of me, I’ll run around, like, forever.

My wife did Slimming World. She said, ‘What you do is great because you get to actually do something.’ I could stop Man v Fat and just play football, but I wouldn’t have that focus each week to make me lose weight.

You feel better about yourself if you lose some weight. Running around at the end of the day is an outlet. I don’t think about other things. You need a way to switch off. And the camaraderie, the endorphins, the adrenaline – it’s done me a world of good.