A MAN lost an astounding 8st in just six months - hailing Loose Women star Denise Welch as his secret weapon.
Rhys Collington, 29, was addicted to food and tipped the scales at 22st (308lbs), wearing a size 3XL at his biggest.
Having struggled with on-and-off diets since he was a teenager, Rhys had a "lightbulb" moment and decided to make a change in January 2023.
Rhys ditched his share bags of crisps and chocolate, as well the large family portions of curry and spag bowl he'd typically east in one sitting.
He went on to shed 8st and now weighs in at just 14st (196lbs), after combining a low 800 calorie daily diet with regular exercise.
Following in the footsteps of Denise Welch - who's been candid about overcoming her own food addiction - Rhys believes he's now altered his relationship with food and maintains his new weight with smaller portions.
Read more on weight loss
He can now "walk into any clothing shop" and dons a size medium.
Rhys, an optical assistant from Nottingham, said: "My weight just made me miserable.
"There's quite a big culture about being positive as a bigger person but I struggle to see how anyone can.
"I couldn't buy clothes from regular shops, couldn't ride some of the rides at Alton Towers as barriers wouldn't close and I'd have to buy clothes online from certain retailers that would stock a 3XL."
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Rhys recalled the moment he had to get off a rollercoaster ride because he couldn't fit on it.
"It was the Oblivion ride I couldn't get on specifically, it was absolutely mortifying, you have to get off in front of everybody.
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"The light bulb moment was a sudden realisation of how unhappy I was and how far I'd let it get out of control.
"As I was approaching 30, I really wanted to change myself.
"Now I can walk into any shop and try anything on - it's a breath of fresh air."
A VICIOUS CYCLE
Rhys began struggling with his weight from an early age and says it stemmed from simply "not moving enough."
He said: "It was up and down.
"It was just really overeating and not moving enough.
"I'd eat loads - a typical lunch would have been a sandwich, share bag of crisps, some chocolate after. Just things that people eat, but far too much of it.
"A dinner I would cook maybe a curry or a spag bowl, but I'd usually end up eating the entire thing I'd cooked instead of portioning it out, which I do now.
"I did a lot in the Arts but I wasn't necessarily a lad that ran around and played football etc.
"So it just went from there really and the older I got the heavier I got."
Rhys began to develop a food addiction and his days became reliant on when he would next be eating.
He tried different diets and weight loss tactics but nothing seemed to be working.
He said: "It's more I had an addiction to food - it can be very addictive.
"I'd spend the first half of my shift at work thinking of lunch.
"My mum told me we used to be on holiday and I would ask about lunch whilst eating breakfast and that all comes back to a food addiction."
Rhys gave various diets a go, including Slimming World, none of which he was able to stick to.
"During lockdown, I tried a different diet but we were locked away and we'd just cook this, make that and being off work for that amount of time, the weight started to come back on," he went on.
THE TURNING POINT
After listening to actress Denise Welch talking about her own food addiction and the diet she used, Rhys related to it.
He said: "I thought I'd give this new diet with LighterLife a go.
"For me, the quicker results were a big motivator.
"It's always disheartening when you've tracked something all week and you don't have the result that you want.
"In the first week, I lost 13lbs and in three weeks I'd lost nearly 2st.
"With your mentor, you really go into depth about when you find yourself thinking about food and you try and snap yourself back into the moment.
"Now I've learnt that can be applied to any scenario.
"After the [LighterLife] diet, I reintroduced food and kept up with exercise and re-educating myself.
"Sometimes I'd be going into work and someone might not have seen me for a few months and they'd be shocked at the difference - it was a really rapid change."
NEW HABITS
Rhys now goes to the gym five times a week in an effort to maintain his new habits and says "new doors have been opened"
He said: "I go in the mornings before work.
"I'm implementing some weight training to gain muscle and tone up a bit.
"Maintaining it is always going to be the hard part but the good thing about the diet is it teaches you ways to manage that addiction.
"I eat smaller portions now and I don't think of food like I used to.
"I usually take something with me to the office that's healthier.
How to lose weight safely
Losing weight should be a long-term commitment to healthier living, rather than any drastic measures.
The NHS tips - which can be adopted slowly - include:
- Get active for 150 minutes a week – you can break this up into shorter sessions
- Aim to get your 5 A Day – 80g of fresh, canned or frozen fruit or vegetables count as 1 portion
- Aim to lose 1 to 2lbs, or 0.5 to 1kg, a week
- Read food labels – products with more green colour coding than amber and red are often a healthier option
- Swap sugary drinks for water – if you do not like the taste, add slices of lemon or lime for flavour
- Cut down on food that's high in sugar and fat – start by swapping sugary cereal for wholegrain alternatives
- Share your weight loss plan with someone you trust – they can help motivate you when you have a bad day
Read about:
- The five fat loss foundations
- The calorie formula for weight loss
- The perfect portion sizes for meals to lose weight
- Sun Health's 8-week weight loss kick start plan
"Some mornings I might have breakfast, some I might not.
"I think of it as something that fuels me rather than a necessity throughout the day.
"Just generally I feel so much better.
"I feel much more confident - I can dress how I always wanted to dress, I've formed new friendships and it's given me the confidence to date again.
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"Dating as a bigger guy in the gay community is hard as it's so body-centric.
"But it will always be something that I've got to manage. It's a lifelong thing. You have to manage it."
