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Real men, real weight loss stories
We call them Amazing Losers, but you might know them as weight loss before and after stories. They’re motivating, honest, and there’s not a magic pill in sight.
Weight Loss Transformation – Jeff Craft Loses 180lbs – Amazing Loser
- Name: Jeff Craft (ask him anything on Talk)
- Height: 5’9″ (176 cm)
- Job: Support Staff for the Wells Library, Indian University, Bloomington Indiana
- Age: 50
- Location: Bloomington, Indiana
- Highest weight: 350 lbs (158 kg)
- Lowest weight: 168.4 lbs (76 kg)
So Jeff, those before and after pictures tell a story. You look so low in the first one – what was life like at 350lbs?
I had shortness of breath, I had joint pain. Worst of all I was unable to do things, or at least not do them as well, with my wife, my family and my friends.
My endocrinologist told me that my blood work put me into a pre-diabetic condition. Diabetes runs on both sides of my family and it concerned me. He didn’t ask me if I wanted something to help me lose the weight. He said “We have to get this weight off you” and gave me the prescriptions. I had a willingness to try and this time I didn’t use my lack of thyroid, which I had lost due to cancer, as an excuse.
What did you do to change then?
I got some drugs Phentermine and Topiramate from my endocrinologist to start the process. I used MyFitnessPal to journal all the food I ate and I worked out five times per week. After I saw that the drugs and diet got me to lose 26 lbs. in two to three weeks I wondered what would happen if I did more. So I hit the gym – first twice a week then three times, then four times per week at my endocrinologist’s suggestion.
I just tried to eat as healthily as I could. Sometimes, “eating healthy” became “eating less badly”. I was afraid and I saw an opportunity for something that might work. No one had offered me a medical solution before. They just gave me suggestions and told me to use “willpower”
What were you eating before that caused you to gain the weight?
Before I would eat lots of pasta and starchy carbs, fast food and sweets. Now I eat a lot more lean meats and other proteins, whole grains, brown rice, more salad and vegetables. The biggest change for me is that I weigh and measure most of my food and have a better idea of portion control than I ever had before.
Did you have any plateaus or blips?
I’ve been lucky. It’s been fairly straight forward up until maintenance. I’ve gotten a little cocky toward the end and lost a little self-control so I’m tweaking my diet again to get back on track.
How has life changed now you’ve lost the weight?
I enjoy moving around more now that I can do it better. I’m an amateur actor and did a show last June and felt better on stage than I have in years. My wife and I have gone to places where people didn’t recognize us because she’s lost over 50 lbs as well.
My wife has really helped a lot and I have several friends and internet resources that I have used for research and motivation. My parents have been more helpful now though they still forget occasionally and wonder why I’m not eating so much.
My worst enemy, though, is me. I struggle mightily to get out of my own way. I’ve gone through times of being paranoid about everything I put in my mouth to wanting to give up because I still seeing a fat guy in the mirror because I see all the loose skin and lose track of my accomplishments.
If you could go back to the person you were at your heaviest – what would you say to him?
Before or after I slapped him?! Seriously, I’d probably say, “Look, I understand how scared you are to make this jump. I know you think you can’t do it. Trust me, though, you’re better and more determined than you think you are. YOU. CAN. DO. THIS!”
Wise words – how would you change the environment to make things easier for guys to lose weight?
That’s a tough one – I don’t think you can force anyone to do anything they don’t want to do. I’d love to see a way that countries or employers could give financial incentives to those who make an effort to improve their health.
Ok, share some words of wisdom with our readers – what three things do they need to know about losing weight?
- Not going to lie to you. It’s not going to be easy to start out.
- Don’t worry that you’re not losing weight at the same rate as someone else. The fact that you are making the effort to lose weight is a success in itself.
- You will feel so much better at the end.
Huge congratulations to Jeff on his success and don’t forget if you want to ask him anything then head on over to Talk and if you’re an Amazing Loser, or you know of one, then get in touch and share your story and inspire the rest of us!
Weight Loss Transformation – Amazing Loser David Sheds Over 70lbs
- Name: David C (ask him anything on Talk)
- Height: 5’11” (180.3 cm)
- Job: Mortgage Broker/ Company Director/ Part-time Musician
- Age: 53
- Location: North London
- Highest weight: 282 lbs (127.9 kg)
- Lowest weight: 209 lbs (94.8 kg)
Hi David, thanks for joining as an Amazing Loser, I know that as with a lot of our weight loss stories it’s a girl that started your weight loss.
That’s right, I became a dad to a new daughter at 50 years of age and I think it was that and realising that my current level of weight just couldn’t continue. During a three week musical tour of India and Sri Lanka, that had rapidly just become a curry and beer fest, I found that I basically couldn’t walk up a hill, which really wasn’t that steep. I took a photo of myself at that point and I took a good long look at myself. The first step was to ask myself what advice I’d have given to anyone else in that situation.
So what were you doing wrong then to have gained the weight?
I don’t really feel that I ate that badly but typically breakfast if I didn’t skip it was porridge but it was about 2-3 times the size I now have with honey and chopped fruit and nuts. Lunch was sandwiches – maybe six slices bread and cheese and ham with lots of mayo and coleslaw. Then supper would be lots of veg but also lots of stodge like 7 or 8 good sized roast potatoes. Then it would be fish or meat and beer or wine. I’d also munch through industrial quantities of cheese as and when.
What was the advice you gave yourself then?
I’d say there were three pieces of advice that were key:
1/ It’s not rocket science- it takes effort but perfectly achievable if you have a plan and stick to it
2/ Don’t be obsessive with the scales – control the input in terms of food and exercise, and the results for weight on the scales will look after itself – I weigh bi-weekly at the most and normally monthly.
3/ Do not be afraid to ask for help – Alpha males still need help!
What sort of help did you get then and how did you change your life around?
I used a specialist weight loss personal trainer called Anne Larchy from Finchley Weight Loss Centre. I wasn’t prepared to make or accept excuses, which was important. So I made a financial and psychological commitment to use the trainer for exercise and food accountability for three months and absolutely stuck to it. After a month or so, the routine just became a way of life and people started commenting about my weight loss.
One thing that was incredibly helpful is that I am a very willing cook and do not like pre-packed food so I absolutely control what goes in my mouth. I also work from home that really helps and I make packed meals for when I’m out for longer periods.
The portion control was a big thing for me and also making sure I was getting properly hydrated. I upped my exercise to two or three sessions per week. These were mainly circuit style classes, but I also got into running and cycling. I now regularly run three to four miles and cycle up to 20 miles. This September I’m doing the London to Brighton cycle as a goal to aim for.
It sounds like you were very focused – did that translate into an easy weight loss?
The journey started slowly. From September 2014 until February 2015 the main thing I did was that I stopped drinking alcohol which wasn’t that hard, but I knew I had to stick to it consistently and resist temptation especially on a Friday after a hard working week. I walked more and didn’t pig out as much, but in February I realised that I needed fresh impetus. Using the weight loss trainer was absolutely invaluable and I wouldn’t have done it without her.
So in total you’ve shed over 70lbs, what’s different now you’ve lost the weight?
First of all there are lots of new or altered clothes. I also found that I really enjoy my exercise. When I see people I haven’t seen for a while I get a lot of compliments and kudos from what I’ve achieve from clients and friends.
Perhaps one of the best things is that I have more energy to help me run after my daughter and I don’t grunt and say “ooh-ahh” every time I get up, which my daughter used to mimic – and hopefully she’s now forgotten about!
You’re Prime Minister for the day, what one law do you bring in to help others who are overweight or obese?
I’m not sure one law would do it, but compulsory cooking lessons at school to try and rid our fast food, high carb, high sugar culture that is now seriously and generationally engrained in our culture would be a very good start.
Fantastic, well done to David on changing things around and don’t forget if you want to ask him anything then head on over to Talk and if you’re an Amazing Loser, or you know of one, then get in touch and share your story and inspire the rest of us!
Britain’s Fattest Man Loses Over 400lbs – Graham Waugh #AmazingLoser
- Name: Graham Waugh
- Height: 5’11” (180.3 cm)
- Job: seeking funding to start a gym for the obese and super obese.
- Age: 45
- Location: Luton
- Highest weight: 728 lbs (330.2 kg)
- Lowest weight: 280 lbs (127 kg)
Hi Grahan, it must feel like a dubious honour being Britain’s fattest man?
When they had a programme on the TV about Britain’s fattest man he was around 50 stone and I was 52 stone at the time. I may have been one of the heaviest in the UK but I’m back with a passion to help the overweight, obese and super obese by firstly mentoring them at the local gym, but ultimately I’ll be opening a gym for people with a BMI of over 30!
I’m sure a lot of people will struggle to understand what it feels like to be that sort of weight. Can you give us any idea?
I had all the usual like people making fun of me, I became a recluse and I’ve lost 15 years of living just shut inside my house. I had lots of medical conditions attached to my weight. I was pre-diabetic, I had cellulitus, sleep apnoea, I couldn’t walk. My belly ruptured and it used to just hang down. I could actually lie my belly alongside me in bed, that’s how big it was. It impacted every area of my life – for instance I was unable to go to my brother and mother’s funerals due to my obesity. Having not seen the family since 1997, I’m reconnecting this September.
How did it impact on your family?
I’ve got two children who are 22 and 20 now, so they were around 17 and 15 when I was at my heaviest. The way I see it I robbed them of a parent. There’s a fridge magnet on the fridge from when I was at my biggest and they went out with their mother for the day like she was a single mother because I couldn’t leave the house. I look at that fridge magnet and I’m aware of what they’ve been through. The other thing was that I was basically a mini-Hitler in the house. I was always sending them to the kitchen to get me food or get me something because I couldn’t walk. It’s hard.
What sort of things were you eating before you changed your life around?
I was permanently eating peanut M&Ms and drinking fizzy juice. I’d have one can around every 30 minutes and smoke a cigarette at the same time. I was smoking around 80 cigarettes per day. I’d have nothing for breakfast and then lunch would be a portion of chips with buttered rolls. Dinner was a kebab with an extra portion of meat on the side. Then I’d eat a large chips and three cheese burgers. Then it would be snacking all the time too.
What was it that made you decide to change?
There were a few things really. A nurse came in to treat me and she asked how heavy I was and I’d been told by a doctor that I was 25 stone, because that’s as high as his scales went. She suggested I move doctors and through them I got referred to an obesity clinic who helped me with my diet and got me referred for weight loss surgery. The other thing was that my brother died of a blood clot on his brain and I thought that he didn’t have a choice about life or death, but I do.
What were the key steps?
Well, the two bariatric surgeries and the apronectomy meant lots of changes to my diet, but they also allowed me to move. I’d also made a promise to my surgeon that I was not going to let his hard work go to waste, so as soon as I was better I joined the gym workouts. Everything else is just a fighting spirit. My kids and my wife helped me the most and my family and friends, who I pushed away when I was bigger have all supported me.
How do you find your weight loss journey now?
The journey was and, still is, hard, if I eat take away now I usually have meat and salad and throw away carbs like pitta. Regardless of the weather I’ve commited to going to the gym at least four times a week and I stick that religiously.
How has life changed now you’ve lost the weight?
It’s changed in every way, I’m out and about, I walk into places not thinking about seating, I have confidence like I never had before. I’M LIVING, not just surviving. What surprises me is that I’m able to move around without pain. I can walk distances and I’m always amazed by how far I can push my body in the gym. I’ve even started working with other obese and super obese people to help them turn their lives around.
If you could go back to the person you were at your heaviest – what would you say to him?
Get help and don’t care what anyone says about you, you own your life no-one else! If you’re reading this and you’ve got weight to lose just know that you can do it. My secret to success is get to the gym and work till you can’t work any more. Challenge yourself daily and think about everything you put in your mouth, do your research and read food labels – there’s hidden carbs or sugar even in low fat items. I used to hate it when I heard people say, “If I can do it, you can” but it’s true. I’ve gone from being Britain’s fattest man to getting my life back – you can too.
Wow. Graham is officially our heaviest ever Amazing Loser and the fact that he’s now working to support other obese people is a testament to how much his life has changed. If you want to ask Graham anything then head on over to Talk and if you’re an Amazing Loser, or you know of one, then get in touch and share your story and inspire the rest of us!
Stopping Alcohol Weight Loss Transformation – Julian Kirkman-Page #AmazingLoser
- Name: Julian Kirkman-Page
- Job: Sales Director for City of London based IT company and author of ‘I Don’t Drink!’
- Height: 6′ (182.9 cm)
- Age: 58
- Location: Selsey, West Sussex
- Highest weight: 210 lbs (95.2 kg)
- Lowest weight: 177 lbs (80 kg)
We’re thrilled to speak to Julian who we found through the excellent www.joinclubsoda.co.uk because he’s made the change that a lot of us think of: he’s given up drinking. As a result he’s seen his health improve massively. So tell us a bit about your background to start off with, have you had problems with your weight for a long time?
I have never dieted as such and I have always stayed pretty fit, swimming two to three times per week and walking a lot. It was a bit of a surprise therefore when the doctor diagnosed me with Type 2 diabetes in 2011 and told me to lose some weight. At the time I also had high blood pressure and high cholesterol and was on daily tablets for both.
My diet at the time was based around lots of sausages and lots of cheese, washed down with two bottles of wine and three litres of cider per day. Not the best of diets you might say and I did make an effort by cutting down on some of the cheese but nothing else. I thought if I increased my exercise routine that would lose the weight for me. Unfortunately I was also suffering from regular bouts of really crippling gout and that halted my exercising full stop. As you can well imagine I was a complete mess.
So you had the classic “warning from the doc” talk, but how did you make the decision to stop the booze?
We moved house away from a town where we never really met anyone, to live by the sea. Every day I would go down to the seafront and watch the locals push their boats out to go fishing and I decided to join the angling club and buy a rowing boat. It didn’t take long however for me to realise I was at least twenty years younger than most of the other club members. The problem was that they were far fitter and more able than me, and that by comparison I was the one who felt old and decrepit. Sometimes my gout was so bad I was unable to help old men launch their boats and had to ask my wife to help instead. It was embarrassing.
That Christmas I got thoroughly drunk and the gout came on worse than ever. I thought about the wreck I had become, I thought about my brother having died of drink at age 56 (I was 55 at the time), and I decided then and there never to drink again. I planned how I was going to do it and that was that. I have never had a drop since!
One thing that’s common to all men is that we have all uttered the words, “I’m never going to drink again”, usually the morning after a heavy session, so what made it stick for you this time?
Everything came to a head that Christmas. It was realising I was going to die well in advance of my new friends and miss out on so much that made me want to do something drastic. You have to know that most of my other friends are work related, who also work in the City and that life expectancy amongst that drinking and stress-orientated crowd is not that high.
Were there any unexpected elements to stopping drinking?
Before I quit alcohol I was addicted to sausages. I would barbecue almost every night and eat six or seven sausages with baked potatoes and baked beans or salad. I would also add about a quarter pound of cheese on top and wash the whole lot down with loads of booze.
To quit alcohol I had to give up the barbecuing as I knew it would be too hard being outside in all weathers cooking away and not being able to have a drink. I decided therefore to join my wife in being a pescetarian – someone who only eats fish and vegetables. Luckily her cooking is fantastic, and so despite my previous view that vegetarian food was rabbit fodder, the menu she serves up is delicious.
Was it tough to stop?
Quitting alcohol was surprisingly easy, and I believe this is purely because I decided it was forever. I had tried cutting down before, but all that did was leave me craving for the time I could go back to my usual routine. Giving up forever gives you a very different mindset.
As far as eating I found I started craving sweet foods such as cakes and puddings, things I had never eaten before. Obviously my body was trying to make up for all the sugar it wasn’t getting in the booze. I had never considered alcohol to be fattening and full of calories, I don’t think people really do. Buy I now know I was drinking the equivalent of eight burgers every day, and that on top of my actual food!
What impact has it had on your health?
Well, I no longer have Type 2 diabetes! I no longer take tablets for high blood pressure or high cholesterol. I have never been so fit and healthy as far as I can remember. I go kayaking 2-3 times per week weather permitting. I go to karate once a week. I swim five times per week. I cycle and walk everywhere and we hardly ever use our car. I feel and look years younger and look so much better. I like myself so much more as well.
How did your wife handle the change in you?
My wife was supportive. I think she was scared of breaking the spell, however she didn’t dare say too much in the early days. It is only now I realise what hell she went through having to live with an alcoholic, something I would never have considered calling myself at the time.
What surprised you about losing weight?
It was strange how quickly the weight fell away, despite all the sweet things I was eating. It literally took two months for me to reach the weight I am now.
What would you say to other guys who were possibly thinking of giving up alcohol, whether for the weight side of things or for the health angles?
What I should have said to myself is that you have spent your life drinking, and consequently made the last twenty years more difficult because of illness caused by drinking and being overweight. Knock it on the head now, live a far fuller, longer and more enjoyable life; save a huge amount of money into the bargain and finally create the person you have always wanted to be. If I had any advice for guys who wanted to stop I’d say go and check out I Don’t Drink and read the book.
You’re Prime Minister for the day, what one law do you bring in?
I would charge people for hospital care where drink or self-inflicted obesity were the cause of the illness or injury.
Well done to Julian on making such a strong decision and seeing it through. It’s great to have you as a member of the site. If you want to ask Julian anything then head on over to Talk and if you’re an Amazing Loser, or you know of one, then get in touch and share your story and inspire the rest of us!
Weight Loss Transformations – Terrell Clemens #AmazingLoser
- Name: Terrell Clemens
- Job: Tyre technician
- Height: 6′ (182.9 cm)
- Age: 26
- Location: Philadephia
- Highest weight: 280 lbs (127 kg)
- Lowest weight: 180 lbs (81.6 kg)
Like a lot of Amazing Losers, your story started out with a negative, which you managed to turn into a positive. What happened?
Ultimately, my weight loss was for a girl. The mother of my only child to be specific. She broke up with me a year after my son was born, which was unrelated to my weight. So it started out for her, but it became mostly about myself. You should know that I am probably the laziest, least motivated, instant gratification loving person in the world and if I can lose weight, anyone can. Seriously.
Had you always been bigger?
Since childhood. My entire family is overweight except my aunt. In a lot of small ways, she helped me understand that being fat isn’t genetic, it’s bad eating habits and a sedentary lifestyle. Now that I think about it, realising that my obesity was my own fault is what helped me turn it around.
That’s a great motivation – what was your eating like when you were bigger?
When I was super fat? I ate everything. TV dinners, chicken nuggets, chocolate candy bars of all varieties, potato chips, General Tso’s chicken, pizza, stromboli. Basically stuff I see as poison nowadays. These days, I typically eat the same thing every day until I get sick of it. Right now I’m eating a four egg onion and cheese omelette, turkey sausage and a serving of grits for breakfast which is around 700 calories. Then I have Caesar salad for lunch, again around 700 calories, or 800 if I opt for croutons and chicken breast, brown rice and asparagus for dinner, about 500 calories if I eat it. I usually lose my appetite after an intense workout and I’ll have a protein shake instead.
What was your experience of being bigger?
So many bad things. Everything was laboured, my girlfriends would dump me because I was terrible in bed because I’d get winded rather quick and sweat all over them! I got doubled-over winded just running twenty feet. It goes without saying that I hated the way I looked. After I went back to school, I lost about thirty pounds without trying, so I decided to actually make an effort. Progress was slow and I was losing my motivation.
Then, a combination of doing the Philly naked bike ride and Instagram ignited a fire in me. Like, here I am all doughy and covered in stretch marks next to my bro Kevin who is ripped to shreds. Kevin barely speaks English, has a full time job and he dresses little dogs in dresses for shows. What’s my excuse? Why can’t I look like Kevin? Then I get on instagram and look at Ulisses Jr and found out body building wasn’t ALWAYS his job. He looked like that when he had a regular 9-5! It’s not unobtainable. I can do it.
So what changes did you make?
First all I did was to start lifting weights and to bike everywhere I went. Once I quit smoking, I got really serious and started running. I still eat whatever I want, but I never go over 2,000 calories per day and I never, ever skip breakfast.
There was a long plateau in the picture you can see below from September 2014. But it was no one’s fault but my own. I was lifting weights once or twice a week and still eating crap like ice cream and Chinese takeout once a week probably. I just looked in the mirror, picked up my gut and stopped kidding myself.
How has life changed now you’ve lost the weight?
In SO MANY WAYS, OH MY GOD! I’m way more confident, and more popular with the ladies. I thought casual sex was just a TV thing, but it’s not! Attractive women that find you attractive will tell you and do something about it! It’s so crazy!
And, less exciting, my job is way easier. I install and sell tires. It’s not super easy but it’s a hell of a lot easier than when I first started. Throwing around 50-60 pound truck tires like it’s nothing, mounting rims that are 100 lbs easily. I don’t even wake up sore anymore.
Also, I feel like I’m sharper. Since I started eating clean and adding running to my lifting I feel like my memory is better and my mind is sharper. It could be the B vitamins I take but I have a feeling that my body’s health is having a positive effect on my mental health.
It’s surprised me just how effortless everything is now. A few years ago, I envied my son’s energy at the playground. Now I’m a bit worried because he’s six-years-old and can barely keep up with me! I raced him to the park the other day and the little guy had to sit on the bench and catch his breath. And another thing, after doing it a while, working out feels so good. You get that pump and that runner’s high, ooh God! You feel like you can punch Zeus in the face and make him cry.
Who was there with you on the journey?
My mom and aunt helped me some, but my co-worker Mike helped the most I’d say. We change into our uniforms in front of one another at work and Mike made a point of telling me how fat I am! Working out with him too. He taught me new workouts and helped me push past plateaus. He showed me how much of a pussy I really was and got me to lift heavier on my own. He doesn’t approve of my cardio but he’s super strong and my goal is aesthetics, not to lift cars with ease like him. My big hindrance had to be my ex. She was a great cook and in great shape but she would binge a lot and drink a lot and I was right there with her because if I didn’t partake, she’d freak out. Glad I cut that off.
What law would you pass to help other people to lose weight?
If you are visibly over a healthy BMI, fast food places cannot serve you. Just like if you go to a bar visibly intoxicated, they can’t serve you.
Amazing work from Terrell on his weight loss – we’re proud to have you as a member of the site. If you want to ask Terrell anything then head on over to Talk and if you’re an Amazing Loser, or you know of one, then get in touch and share your story and inspire the rest of us!
Weight Loss Transformations – Dan Fish #AmazingLoser
- Name: Dan Fish
- Job: Company Director (Telecoms)
- Height: 5′ 11″ (180.3 cm)
- Age: 36
- Highest weight: 308 lbs (139.7 kg)
- Lowest weight: 200 lbs (90.7 kg)
Dan – you join our prestigious 100lb + club of Amazing Losers who have experienced incredible weight loss transformations. Congratulations! Did you put on weight gradually or was it just always there?
I was always a big kid, I eat the same as my brothers, but I seemed to put on the weight while they stayed stick thin. Once I started drinking, the weight piled on. I played cricket once a week, but other than that, I didn’t do too much exercise. Minimal exercise, beer and kebabs is a recipe for disaster!
So what sort of things were you doing wrong before you made the change?
I would usually have cereal and toast for breakfast, lunch would normally consist of a sandwich with chips or a packet of crisps and then I would have a big tea. Looking back now, my portion control wasn’t great and I was over-eating. Working in a office, there were always snacks around as well, which I tended to over-indulge in. There are only a certain amount of times you can tell yourself that you have a slow metabolism, or you’re big-boned before you have to take matters in to your own hands.
One of the things I love about your story is that you took a situation that could have become really overwhelming and turned it to your advantage, tell us about that.
I was made redundant in 2005. I wasn’t working and, to be honest, I felt pretty worthless. It was then I decided to join a gym and work hard to give myself a sense of purpose. It got me out of the house in the day and made me feel better and more confident about myself. Once I started to see results and get compliments from people, then I wanted to do more and more. I was also going through some personal stuff about my sexuality at the time, I still worry now that I’ll slump back to the 22 stone me if I stop training. It drives me on every day to be better.
Did you feel that your weight was holding your career back then?
Definitely. I knew I could do the jobs I was applying for, but whether it was my weight or my interview skills, I wasn’t getting a break. There is a perception of fat people, that they are lazy and they will not have a solid attendance at work. I felt it was holding my career back.
There were other bad sides to being bigger – name-calling at school, but also a lack of attention. When I was young and going out on the town. Lots of my mates were ‘pulling’ but I never seemed to. I was the fat mate, who never got any action, which was pretty depressing.
So what changes did you make aside from the gym?
Well, to start off with I began on the Atkins Diet as I ate a lot of bread and potatoes before that and it seemed like a good place to begin. However, as I started training more and more, I put carbs back in at weekends as a treat. The big different this time was that I stuck to my diet and to my training. I was focused on both my diet and my exercise rather than just doing a fad diet that you stick to for a week or so and fall off the wagon.
I think the big difference is that it all came from me and my sheer bloody-mindedness. I’d never been that motivated to lose weight before, but this time it was different. I was going to succeed and prove a lot of people wrong.
And you did! Did you find it easy to lose the weight?
Like any journey, it’s never simple. There are always plateaus along the way, but as I tell myself, “nothing worth having comes easily.” I don’t like to use the word journey in the past tense. I’m still on my journey, I always want to be better and push myself further.
How has life changed now you’ve lost the weight?
Well, I’m not sure if it’s coincidence, but from not working in 2005, 10 years later, I am a Company Director of a £10M turnover company! My career has blossomed, through hard work, but I also feel that my determination to get and stay fit shows a quality that employers look for.
In addition, I now feel like I make a little difference to charities, In 2014, I got the bug of doing events for charity, doing the Manchester to Blackpool bike ride and a Tough Mudder. In 2015 I have gone further, literally, I have already completed Manchester Marathon – something I would never have dreamed of doing 10 years ago and I am also running Salford Triathlon and the Berlin Marathon [ED – go sponsor him here!]. So far in 2015, I have helped raise over £1,000 for Francis House Children’s Hospice. I’m also Mr Motivator at work. I run fitness boot camps every week and encourage people to get fit and take part in charity events.
How has that impacted on your personality?
I’m so much more confident in myself now. even though I still see a fatty in the mirror sometimes. I am now in a relationship with an amazing guy. Losing the weight gave me the confidence to be myself and it turns out that I quite like me! It’s surprised me how much better I feel and how I’m accepted more now. Also my confidence has gone through the roof but I now do and take part in things I would never have dreamed of.
One other surprise was some people’s negative reactions to me losing weight. Some people have told me that I’d changed and they liked the old me, which kind of makes me angry. I’m not sure if it’s jealousy that I’m making a positive change in my life, but I found it a really strange reaction.
Have most people been supportive?
My family are very supportive, even though my mum tells me I do too much and I’m looking too slim sometimes! But the motivation has all come from me and I think that’s how it has to be. Don’t do it for anyone else, do it for you.
Huge respect to Dan on his weight loss – we’re proud to have you on the site. If you want to ask Dan anything then head on over to Talk and if you’re an Amazing Loser, or you know of one, then get in touch like Dan did and share your story and inspire the rest of us!
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