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Snooker player Mark Allen once lost four stone in just five months after receiving encouragement from Ronnie O’Sullivan and one of his closest friends. The 47-year-old’s body transformation was clear to see at last year’s British Open, when he looked much slimmer than he did at the World Championships less than six months earlier.
Allen, who is currently third in the snooker world rankings, previously revealed that he felt compelled to change his lifestyle after being warned by a close friend that his health could be impacted if he did not lose weight. He dramatically altered his diet and slashed his portion sizes with his daughter in mind so that he could walk her down the aisle on her wedding day in future.
“Before I started my diet I was 19.1 stone, which is really embarrassing to say for someone of my height and age,” Allen told The Sun. “I’m now 14 stone 10 pounds. It has been hard work but I have been disciplined, I haven’t gone cold turkey like with previous diets.
“One of my very closest friends said to me: ‘If you keep going the way you’re going, Mark, you won’t be here to walk Harleigh down the aisle’. That was tough to hear but probably what I needed to hear.”
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Allen also credited O’Sullivan with inspiring him to lose weight after a private chat in his hotel room after last year’s World Championships. The Rocket pointed out that Allen’s snooker would improve if he managed to shave off some extra pounds, with the mental benefits of losing weight able to help him in all walks of life.
“I had a good chat with O’Sullivan after we played in Sheffield,” Allen told Eurosport. “I sat in his hotel room for about an hour, talking about snooker and all sorts of things. He really helped me, it was good.
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“He gave me a few pointers, for my health more than anything just to lose some weight, if it helps your snooker so be it, but if it doesn’t it will help your mindset off the table, you’ll be better around your family, around your daughter and he was absolutely right. I feel like that has changed my priorities over the summer and maybe why I took such a long break.”
Allen, who boasts six ranking tournament wins and has been a World Championships semi-finalist, took part in this week’s Shanghai Masters but was stunned by Fan Zhengyi in the round of 16. O’Sullivan, meanwhile, will face either Neil Robertson or Luca Brecel in Sunday’s final after beating Mark Selby in the last four.
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