A man lost 12st – more than the weight of a washing machine – in a year, after realising what his weight was doing to him thanks to his job. Lee Herring, 31, weighed 25st 1lbs, wore a size 5XL at his heaviest and gorged on chocolate, sweets, cream buns, microwave meals and Chinese takeaways.
Previously working as a community carer, Lee says he regularly dealt with people who had suffered from a stroke or heart attack and “really felt” the impact it had on victims and families. Lee decided to make a change to his own eating habits and lost 12st 1lb in the next 12 months.
He swapped his junk food meals for lean meat proteins, fruit and veg and slow-release energy porridge. Lee began walking daily and whilst initially only able to complete a “slow walk with lots of breathlessness”, Lee now does much longer walks up to 90 minutes at a time and does a lot of cardio on the treadmill.
Now weighing 12st 9lbs and a size medium, Lee managed to retain much of his lean body mass and is now turning his attention to strength training to begin toning up. Lee, a receptionist from Pembroke, Pembrokeshire, said: “I saw quite a lot of people who had had strokes, heartaches and diabetes through my old job and I really felt the impact not only the victims but on family and friends.
“So I thought I had to buck up my ideas and make a change with my diet. It was tough both physically and mentally – getting into that mentality and coping with cravings for sugary and fatty foods.I was exercising daily and the physical torment I went through for the first couple of months – but I kept telling myself to keep going.
“Also the diet – I’ve spoken to friends and family who call it a diet but it’s not a diet it’s a food relationship re-education programme.”
Prior to his weight loss journey, Lee said doing everything was “a challenge.” He added: “Everything was limited.Walking up stairs a challenge, getting in the car was a challenge too.I had a lot of joint pain, got tired easily and I was constantly breathless.”
He was having to wear 5XL clothes and had to order from specialised websites – now he can try things on in a shop. He added: “Now I’m a medium or large – I can walk into a clothes shop and pick something up and try it on.It gives me so much more freedom.”
Though he has shed a huge amount, Lee has a goal weight and hopes to hit it soon – around 75kg. He said: “The first couple of months I was averaging a loss of around 1.5st a month and it’s started to plateau now which is fine as I’m at an acceptable weight which is good.
“Over the year it has evened out. I want to keep on the same track.The weight loss has slowed down a little bit so it’s just a case of maintaining that healthy lifestyle.I always stress that I’ve not done this cosmetically, my main motivating factor was purely for health.
“Being there for my friends and family – I didn’t want them to see me like that and worry about me, that was my motivating factor.
“There were times when I wanted to give up but it’s been so worth it.”