Sunderland man sheds over 14 stone to run the Great North Run and return to play the game he loves
A Sunderland man has shed an incredible 14 stone to see his dream of once again playing rugby come true and has also recently completed his first Great North Run.
After struggling to deal with the impact of a second Covid lockdown, Ryan Buckley, who lives in South Hylton, saw his weight balloon to 30 stone.
The 38-year-old said: “I’ve struggled with my weight in the past and everything was going well until the second Covid lockdown.
“I worked through the first lockdown and had kept my weight down. Things were beginning to open up and everything was going well and then the second lockdown came along.
“I felt really dejected and struggled and started comfort eating. It was difficult to go shopping and so I turned to bad habits and eating takeaways and things just spiralled out of control.
“I was at a complete low and started piling the weight on.”
As the pandemic began to ease and Covid restrictions began to relax, Ryan’s weight had reached such a point that he struggled to shed his excess pounds and began to suffer health complications.
He said: “I had high blood pressure and was diagnosed with fatty liver disease. It was at my mother’s birthday party when I realised that I needed to do something.
“Rather than join in, I sat in the corner and shied away from speaking with people. There was a realisation I had reached my lowest point and needed to get back on track.”
In February 2024 Ryan re-joined Holy Rosary Church Slimming World group in Farringdon and hasn’t looked back since totally revolutionising his diet.
The takeaways have now been replaced by cereal or an egg based meal for breakfast, vegetable soup for lunch and a vegetable and meat based evening meal.
Ryan said: “I stay away from fatty foods such as cheese and cut any fat of meat. I also stay away from carbohydrates and don’t eat bread.
“As the weight started to come off I upped my exercise, started walking 5km each day and joined a gym.”
In just 36 weeks Ryan shed over 14 stone to see his weight plummet to 15 stone and 11lbs, earning the title of ‘Slimming World Icon’ in the process.
A player with Sunderland RFC, Ryan has also returned to play the game he loves after a five year absence.
He said: “I returned to play a rugby match for the first team. I have a knee injury and so it was only for one game, but it meant the world to me.
“In September a friend got injured and I ended up taking their place in the Great North Run. I had originally targeted doing it in 2025, but the opportunity came up, I decided to go for it, and got a pretty good time of two hours and 18 minutes.
“I was pretty much immobile in February and wouldn’t have imagined in my wildest dreams that I would be running the Great North Run just seven months later.”
Ryan hopes his story can inspire other people who may be struggling with their weight.
He added: “Hopefully my story will help people to realise that if you get into a good place in your head then anything is possible.
“If anyone is in a similar position then I would urge them to give Slimming World at try.”
You can find out more and register for a group via the Slimming World Sunderland website.