So most weight-loss stories are just like, OK, you were a bit chubs and now you're in decent shape again. This one is complete madness.
Oliver Bales,24, is now more than half the man he used to be having shed 25 stone - the equivalent of a baby killer whale.
Crowned Slimming World's Greatest Loser of 2016, Oliver is now hoping to run a marathon, do a triathlon and learn how to scuba dive.
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Oliver once weighed 39 stone and was in serious danger of not seeing his nieces and nephews ever grow up. He suffered from depression, had to drop out of university and was teased incessantly by bullies about his weight.
He had a 5ft waist and wore 6XL trousers before his dramatic weight loss which saw him drop to 13st 13lbs and a 34in waist. He's even dropped two shoe sizes.
"Being overweight has affected by entire life - until now," he said.
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"I finally know what it's like not to feel like an outcast, to be able to walk down the street without people laughing, pointing or calling you names, to not take up two seats on a train, to not be in constant pain."
Oliver's typical meal plan per day went something like this:
Breakfast: nothing
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Lunch: battered cod and chips with a battered sausage, a battered burger, a saveloy and mushy peas on the side, covered in mayonnaise and ketchup. All washed down with a cola
Dinner: doner kebab meat and a half-pounder burger with chips. Followed by a tub of cookie dough ice cream, a whole cheesecake or a selection of cream cakes, with cola
Snacks: pork pies, sausage and bean pasties, chocolate bars, ice cream, biscuits and scones with jam and clotted cream.
Kind of like The Mountain, but not quite...
Now his diet is way way way way way way more healthy:
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Breakfast: bran flakes with fat-free yogurt and chopped strawberries or a pepper and spinach omelette with low-fat sausages
Lunch: chicken and sweetcorn pasta salad or smoked ham and cream cheese sandwich on wholemeal bread with salad on the side
Dinner: homemade butternut squash risotto or Slimming World Chicken and Chorizo-style Sausage Paella (available from Iceland) when short on time
Snacks: satsumas, apples, pears, melon, raspberries, strawberries, vegetable sticks, hard boiled eggs, fat-free yogurts, low-fat hot chocolate, fun-size Mars and Twix bars or high-fibre cereal bars.
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Oliver now works in catering for South West Trains and has put his life of depression, binge-eating and laziness behind him.
But for long periods, Oliver, from Portsmouth, was embarrassed by his lifestyle. Once he broke the family bath while standing to have a shower while other times he couldn't fit into seats on public transport and in lecture theatres.
"While I have some amazing memories from my childhood, I sometimes look back and wish I could have the chance to re-do it," he continued.
"I used to feel like people were always comparing me to other children my age, and feeling like 'the fat, ugly one' made me angry and upset. I missed out on a lot, too - I always used to 'forget' my PE kit because I hated getting changed in front of the other pupils."
Thankfully Oliver has turned his life around and can now enjoy a long and happy future at a body weight that isn't going to send him to an early grave.
All the best lad, you sure as hell deserve it.
Words by George Pavlou
All images via SWNS
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