The man whose personal trainer had him barred from all his favourite local takeaways to help shrink his 40st frame has managed to lose almost HALF his body weight in less than a year - and has now set up a Crowdfunder to pay for surgery to remove the excess skin left over from his remarkable transformation.
Darren McClintock, who is known affectionately to those around him as 'Dibsy', has managed to drop an incredible 19st in just under 11 months.
Having managed to completely turn his life around with the help of trainer Mike Hind, Dibsy has been following a strict fitness regime and diet seven days a week (yup, even on Christmas Day).
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While Dibsy initially wanted to lose 10st, Mike decided they could do better, and set an ambitious 20st target.
Dibsy told LADbible: "We've got a little over five weeks to lose a stone to meet that 20st target.
"It's been very hard - like, to the point where I've just wanted to walk out a give up, but obviously I've got these people around me who keep me motivated, keep me going."
He said he's really starting to feel the benefits, adding: "I'm living life now! It's just a matter of keeping going with it."
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Because Dibsy is now literally half the man he used to be, he's been left with a great deal of excess skin.
However, he's been unable to get NHS funding for the surgery to remove it, meaning he and Mike have turned to the masses with a Crowdfunder campaign.
Mike - who toured all of Dibsy's regular fast-food stops with a flyer that said 'Save Dibsy. Obesity is Killing Him. Do Not Serve This Man' - said: "We've done this our way, without going through the gastric bypass surgery. But the [NHS] funding was for both, so they can't split the funding."
Estimating that they've saved the NHS about £30,000 by doing things independently, Mike added: "It's £15,000 we've asked for - I don't know how much we'll need, it will be more than that but we've asked to try and raise £15,000 so we can make a start."
So far, Dibsy and Mike have managed to raise £1,250 of their target, with This Morning hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby even saying they'd be personally adding to the pot when the duo appeared on the sofa today.
Mike explained it's been an 'old school' approach that's seen Dibsy through, relying only on a good bit of graft.
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Mike said: "There's no shakes, there's no pills, he hasn't taken any weight loss supplements. He's simply eaten 3,000 calories a day - I've provided every meal and he's just eaten it - and he's just trained. That's it.
"You see all these people on Instagram saying, 'Take this shake, you'll lose this weight, blah blah blah', but Dibsy tried everything before I took him, he had nowhere to turn and I was literally the last chance saloon for him.
"All I had to do was make him believe in himself, make him work hard and realise that if you put the effort in you get the results. It's not rocket science."
Mike may have been named the Best Personal Trainer in the UK for the past two years by the National Fitness Awards, but he says the success is all down to Dibsy.
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He said: "Of every client I've ever trained - I've got professional footballers, boxers, celebrities - Dibsy is by far the hardest working human I have ever met in my life.
"There's been times where he's cried, times where he's been sick, but he's never, ever, ever once given up."
Mind you, Dibsy is also adamant that he couldn't have done this without the help of his trainer, who he now considers a good friend.
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He said: "I need to say a personal thank you to Mike. He's saved my life."
The two will be taking part in the Great North Run this Sunday (8 September) - with five weeks to go for Dibsy to reach his target weight.
Dibsy added: "I believe I'll do it. It's just obviously gonna take a lot of hard work.
"But I'll get back in the gym and get focused again."
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Featured Image Credit: Mike Hind FitnessTopics: uk news, News, Daily Ladness, Community
