Steve lost 32kg after he ran out of options

My name is Steve Good, I’m 49 years old and I live in Perth WA. 

I have always battled with weight throughout my life, a roller coaster ride of being fit then putting weight back on.  Over the past 20 years, my weight has yoyoed with the heaviest being 135kg maybe more. (I started not to want to weight myself when getting to this stage)

10 years ago, I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.  Over the years I guess I was in denial as I never really took the illness seriously as I still felt OK.  

With a family history of diabetes and my father having to go through treatment for liver cancer (which diabetes had triggered) I finally got a wake-up call to my own health.

My diabetes had become worse with the onset of becoming insulin resistant.  The more insulin I was having to put into my body to control the diabetes, the more weight I would put on and the harder for me to lose weight.  It became a vicious cycle.  With the help of my GP we had tried many different medications and tried different weight loss approaches with no long-term success.

Running out of options in June 2020, it was decided that I would undergo Gastric Bypass Surgery to help with my diabetes control and lose weight.

At this time, I also found The Man Shake and started my journey to a slimmer version of me.

I have tried other meal replacement shakes in the past but being an ex-Rugby player and huge NRL fan (Go the Bulldogs!), the fact that Adam McDougall was the founder of The Man Shake instantly gave me an instant connection to the product.

After researching The Man Shake further, I really noticed how much less sugar was in The Man Shake compared to other products and being diabetic this just sealed the deal for me to jump on board.

To prepare for surgery the dietician and surgeon all advocated for another brand of meal replacement, but when I told them I preferred The Man Shake they also agreed that this was a good option for me.



I have lost 32kg since June 2020.  Starting at 126kg, currently down to 94kg.

I started with the 2 Shakes per day (Breakfast and Lunch) and a cooked meal for dinner.  I struggle for time in the mornings so found this easy to just have my shake on the way to work and have another at lunchtime.  

I work in an office most days, so this has helped with time and money not having to prepare a healthy lunch each day or going out and buying takeaway food that isn’t really that healthy for me that costs a fortune each week.

Now that I have had surgery, I can only eat small amounts at a time and struggle to get the amount of protein I need each day.  The Man Shake helps with this as it is both easy to digest (Especially during the healing phase) and provides protein and other vitamins that my body needs to function.

There is really 3 parts to my journey:

• Mental (getting my head in the right frame of mind)

First was the desire to change my life and gain control.  Being overweight played a major factor to me becoming diabetic, so I either had the choice of accepting diabetes and the realism of dying of a heart attack or other complications way too young or accept that I needed to change my lifestyle and create a better healthier version of me.

• Mechanics

The second was to choose how I was going to achieve this.  Just exercise and diet had not worked in the past for me so the decision to go ahead with the surgery was really definitely the last option but a necessary one due to my medical complications of being insulin resistant.  The Man Shake was chosen to help in the weight loss both prior and post-surgery but is now a part of my daily diet long term.  

• Goal Setting

Thirdly is to enjoy my new look on life with my family.  I am back to walking regularly and looking forward to the rugby season starting again so I can finally run around with daughter #1 at rugby training and hitting the volleyball around with daughter #2, but to also spend a longer healthier life with my wife and family. By having a long-term goal and reaching mini-milestones keeps me motivated.

The Man Shake is only one piece of the puzzle, but each piece is as important as the next. I have learnt that you need to be in the right frame of mind to make the changes by understanding and having valid reasons for the change. 

Have a plan but be flexible within reason when setting your goals.  Life is constantly changing and challenges you in your decisions and most importantly take it day by day.  It’s important to have an end goal but also mini-goals to keep you motivated.  

Commit and be consistent.  You will have good days and bad days; the goal is to have more good days than bad.  If you fall off the wagon (and you will from time to time) don’t just give up, accept that you will have these barriers but then get back up and start again.  You will never finish if you don’t start.

Lastly, an important part of my success and I would imagine for the majority of the guys and gals doing The Man/Lady Shake is support.  I have not made the decisions and progressed in my journey without the support of family, friends and supports groups such as The Man Shake Men Facebook page.  By being open and transparent about my journey and surrounding myself with positive people, it has given me the drive to succeed.