Man Wins Massive £5,000 from £50 Bet on Losing Weight

Last Updated: 14 Mar 2024

Cheshire man Alistair Lee has managed to win £5,000 after losing a whopping 100lbs in the space of a year. This was the second time he had placed the bet with bookmakers William Hill; his first attempt at the age of 28 failed, costing him his £25 wager. Rather than give up, Alistair doubled down, placing a £50 bet during Christmas 2012 that he would lose the weight within one year. Come Christmas 2013, the man from Crewe was avoiding the puddings and mince pies to keep his weight at 15st, down from just over 23st.

Alistair had accumulated the weight over a period of five years of bad diet and lack of exercise, but was inspired to place the bet when he read about another weight watching punter named Peter Heeks, who placed a similar bet and ended up winning £10,000. Just like his weight, Alistair’s story had plenty of ups and downs. As he explains, “I fell ill with pneumonia at the start of the year and was unable to do anything for about six weeks. I ended up in hospital for three to four weeks with a lump in my chest that needed a drain fitting.”

Despite the set-back, Alistair was determined to fight the flab and beat the belly. “It was only at the end of August that I was fit enough to start exercising properly and I started with a Slimming World diet for the first eight weeks. But my trainers Jun Yung and Kelsey Yung at the FDMA gym in Barrow-in-Furness altered my diet to make sure that I was eating the right level of calories to do the exercise. Slimming World helped me with the support group side of things.”

Alistair revealed that it was his single status and not the money that pushed him through the brutal training regime, and revealed that the change in his appearance has been startling. “I have had friends drive past me in the street who didn’t recognise me. When William Hill Sports accepted that second bet they helped change my life.”

William Hill Sports take as many bets on weight loss in one year as Alistair lost pounds, but his win puts him in the top three in terms of value, and the only one to be successful on Christmas Day. So if you think that placing a bet will help you shed some pounds, why not visit William Hill Sports today?