Alex Major reached Mr. England finals after 70kg weight loss
- Alex Major spent months at a time confined indoors, avoiding eye contact and staring at the ground whenever he ventured outside.
- His diet relied on whatever was available in his refrigerator, supplemented by frequent deliveries of Chinese food, Indian food, McDonald's, and KFC.
- "People didn't like looking at me, and I didn't like looking at people, so I stayed inside for weeks, sometimes months, at a time," Major said.
Alex Major spent months at a time confined indoors, avoiding eye contact and staring at the ground whenever he ventured outside. Before his transformation, the 25-year-old mechanic from Bolton in Greater Manchester weighed roughly 159 kilograms and struggled with severe acne that fueled his isolation.
A Routine Built on Deliveries and 15 Daily Meals
At his heaviest, Major consumed food up to 15 times a day. His diet relied on whatever was available in his refrigerator, supplemented by frequent deliveries of Chinese food, Indian food, McDonald’s, and KFC.
“People didn’t like looking at me, and I didn’t like looking at people, so I stayed inside for weeks, sometimes months, at a time,” Major said.
Cutting Beer and Committing to Six-Day Gym Sessions
Reversing that trajectory required a complete restructuring of his daily habits. Major eliminated beer entirely and began preparing his own meals, focusing on eggs, chicken, tuna salad, and beef. Alongside the dietary overhaul, he established a rigorous exercise regimen, visiting the gym roughly six times a week for two-hour cardio sessions. He stated that he did not use weight-loss injections to achieve his transformation.
Now weighing around 89 kilograms—a total loss of approximately 70 kilograms over a three-year period—Major has entered a markedly different chapter. About a year ago, he began pursuing modeling and reached the finals of Mr. England. He currently balances his modeling work with employment at Age UK Bolton, a support organization for older adults.
“I want people to know not just what I look like in photos, but the journey it took to get here from someone who couldn’t make eye contact with anyone,” he said.
The Science of Ultra-Processed Foods and Energy Deficits
Major’s former dietary habits align with documented public health concerns regarding fast food and delivery meals, which frequently pack excessive calories, sodium, and saturated fat depending on menu choices and portion sizes. The World Health Organization recommends that adults limit daily salt intake to under 5 grams and restrict saturated fat to 10 percent or less of total energy intake.
High consumption of highly processed foods can also stimulate overeating. National Institutes of Health, demonstrated this dynamic in an experiment where 20 adults consuming an ultra-processed diet ate roughly 500 more calories per day and gained an average of 0.9 kilograms over two weeks, whereas an unprocessed diet led to a 0.9-kilogram loss.
Controlling Calories Through Home Cooking and Cardio
Replacing commercially prepared fast food with home-cooked options like chicken, beef, and eggs allows individuals to manage portion sizes and control the amounts of cooking oils and sauces used. Weight reduction fundamentally relies on maintaining an energy deficit where calories expended exceed calories consumed.
Eliminating alcohol also cuts down on concentrated liquid calories. The UK National Health Service notes that alcohol provides roughly 7 kilocalories per gram, with beer containing extra carbohydrates alongside the alcohol content. Regular cardiovascular exercise further increases energy expenditure and supports long-term weight maintenance while benefiting blood pressure and cardiovascular health independently of weight fluctuations.