A man has shared his inspirational weight loss story with the world, having seriously grafted to lose an incredible 13st.
Iain McLeod, 32, decided to make a drastic change in his life at the beginning of last year, when he tipped the scales at 25st 12lbs.
"I completely hated myself and looking back on it I definitely had one foot in the grave," Iain told LADbible.
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"I had no confidence, no self love, no self belief or no self esteem."
Bus driver Iain, who hails from Dundee, Scotland, said he had turned to food as comfort as a child - and then to drink, drugs and partying when he became a young adult.
"At one point I was partying every day," he said.
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"I've had severely unhealthy eating habits, binge drinking whenever I went out with my friends and smoking up to 20 cigarettes a day - or even up to 40 on a night out."
It was Iain's other half, early years educator Jemma Ward, who gave him an ultimatum, telling him it was either the 'very toxic party lifestlye' or her and the kids.
"I obviously picked my family," Iain said.
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"However, by doing this I reverted back to food. I was around the 20st mark when I gave up the partying and in three years had almost put on 6st. I had swapped one set of drugs for another.
"I was filling a void - an emptiness."
Iain realised he had to tackle inner demons from his childhood in order to achieve the positive physical changes he desperately needed.
"I went through three months of intense counseling from January 2017-March 2017," he said.
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"During this time I discovered the root cause of my issues and problems where due to the relationship I had with my dad. I had normalised both my behaviour and his behaviour, which excused our actions."
Iain said the counselling gave him the tools he needed to 'not be controlled by hate', helping him let go of all his bitterness, anger, self-pity and resentment.
"I had tried so many times over the years to change my lifestyle but failed," he explained.
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"I had tried everything and every diet under the sun. I just couldn't sustain a positive change. This was because I didn't feel positive."
The dad-of-two then spent 10 months between March and December 2017 working on himself and his emotions, eventually making a promise to himself and his family that at the beginning of 2018, he would have one last attempt at losing weight.
"Luckily all the hard work with counselling really paid off," he said.
"I felt good and strong."
Fast forward to just over one year later, and Iain has now managed to lose over half of his original bodyweight, now weighing just 12st 12lbs.
"I went from a 21in neck to a 15," Iain explained.
"50in in the waist to a 32. 4XL in tops to a medium. 3XL in joggers to a small."
Even his feet shrunk - going from a size 11 in shoes to a size 10.
Currently, Iain exercises six days a week. His workouts take place at home, having already conquered several Beachbody Insanity programmes like Original insanity, Insanity max 30 and Insanity Asylum Volume 2.
"I'm doing a hybrid program just now. I've created my own insanity/P90X3 work out regime and I'm doing it every day. Sunday is my only rest day. On the 1 April I will have been doing 6 days a week for 7 months! I absolutely love it."
Before that, he was hitting the gym on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays doing one hour of cardio - 15 minutes on the treadmill, cross trainer, bike and rowing machine - followed by one hour of weight training.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays he would also go swimming, where he'd swim 50 lengths on each occasion.
In terms of food, Iain has opted for a completely vegan diet.
He continued: "I love it. Bags of energy, I just always feel good. Eat crap, feel crap, right? Plant power!
"My diet mainly consists of porridge, soya, tofu, Quorn, brown rice, brown pasta, lots of water and soya milk.
"I also eat between 10-15 portions of fruit and veg every day. I also don't eat after 8pm - I call that intermitting fasting."
Planning to keep working hard and continue to be a good role model for his kids, Iain urges anyone in a similar situation not to quit, saying: "To become the best version of you, you must deal with any demons or issues that you have. You won't sustain a positive change. It's all in the mindset.
"Don't give up. Keep going. Consistency is key."
Way to go, Iain!
Featured Image Credit: LADbibleTopics: Weight Loss, UK News, Inspirational