ENGLAND fan Dan Clibbon shed a staggering SIX STONE in FIVE MONTHS and cut his body fat by 88 PER CENT to bag a national bodybuilding medal.
And despite downing 10 pints-a-day in Germany supporting the Three Lions, the first-time-father-to-be is targeting a Team GB spot for October’s world championship.
Self-proclaimed “fat lad” Dan, 25, revealed guzzling lager and scoffing pizzas and kebabs left him with a body fat percentage of 40 and weighing 17st 4lbs before his drastic body transformation.
But sobriety, a super strict diet and a gruelling daily regime of 4am weightlifting sessions, 10,000-step dog walks and 40 minute night-time cardio workouts left him unrecognisable with just five per cent body fat.
Dan, who is 5ft 7in, weighed in at 11st 5lbs as he claimed bronze at last month’s Physical Culture Association (PCA) ‘Naturals’ contest in Telford.
And at a streetside bar in Dusseldorf the day after England’s dramatic Euro 2024 quarter-final penalties win over Switzerland, hungover Dan told SunSport: “I’ve always been a big fat lad.
“But I’ve been doing powerlifting training for 11 years so I’ve always been strong too.
“I’d always wanted to do a bodybuilding show so when I found out my girlfriend was pregnant in January, I thought ‘I’ll never have the chance to do it with a baby’.
“So I entered the competition, knuckled down for five months, got on the cardio, got in good shape, won bronze and now I’m back on the beers again!”
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Having returned from a holiday to Gran Canaria with girlfriend Kirah Barnes, 23, the couple learned their daughter was due on September 1.
And that kicked structural engineer Dan into gear as his diet switched from junk food and pints of lager to protein and vegetables and eight litres of water-a-day.
Stoke-born Dan said: “I was drinking a lot of beer. And although I was eating OK during the week, at weekends it was kebabs, pizzas, anything I wanted really.
“But then I started training and all I was doing every day was going to work, walking 10,000 steps, doing cardio, lifting and eating a little bit of food.
“I was shredded to the bone in the space of five months. I didn’t have a drink and ate chicken and lettuce basically the whole time.
“My daily routine was wake up at 4am, 20 minutes of posing practice, weights sessions at the gym, go to work, go home, 40 minutes of cardio on the cross trainer, get my 10,000 steps in with the dog, more posing practice, back to bed and repeat the next day. For FIVE MONTHS.”
Despite joking that his girlfriend “hated” him during his intense regime, Southam-based Dan said it did not affect his social life.
The Port Vale fan said: “My girlfriend is pregnant so there wasn’t an issue with me not drinking because she wasn’t drinking either.
“And I’d still go out with the boys and do exactly what I wanted, I just wouldn’t be drinking.
“But the eating was 100 per cent the hardest bit. And you’re doing it for so long, you get to a point where you only want chocolate.
“I was so hungry it was ridiculous.
“But I ate so much after the show. Burgers, chocolate, sweets, crisps, everything was gone!”
Dan added: “In the week leading up to the show, I was drinking eight litres of water a day to get rid of all water weight from my system.
“I was also taking Peak Max, which is a natural diuretic. And then it was just low carbs, high protein and s*** tons of cardio!
“But it was definitely worth it.
“When they called my name out and I got third place it was surreal because I had spent five months thinking about getting a medal.”
Dan’s bronze last month qualified him to compete for Team GB in the PCA SuperSeries Natural final on October 6 in Seoul, South Korea. A world championship event.
But the imminent arrival of his baby girl and the cost of the trip means he may be unable to accept the spot.
Dan travelled to Dusseldorf with mates Tom Vousden and Toby Poole who gleefully told SunSport how he had been making up for all the beers he missed out on when training.
Especially as the trio watched England beat Switzerland on penalties in Saturday’s quarter-final in a pub packed with fellow Three Lions supporters.
And despite putting on 1st 8lbs in the month since the show, Dan is desperate to make it to South Korea.
He explained: “I said before Telford I would only do one show. But I’ve got the itch now and would like to do one more in Seoul.
“I want to go again because I want to get some gold medals!
“Maybe The Sun can sponsor me!”
Dan has started an online coaching business to help others get into shape and he can be contacted via his Instagram page.
