A man who drowned his sorrows junk food and beer when his life fell apart is celebrating after losing 18 stone and maintaining his weight loss.
Rob Diggory, 65, found his eating got out of control when he would comfort eat and neck eight pints a night after he lost his job and his marriage ended.
At his lowest point, the pensioner was dangerously obese and didn't have any more money to buy food, with his gas and electricity being cut off at his home.
But he turned his life around after being admitted into a care home and is now almost 19 stone lighter, through his Slimming World plan - he's been given an award by his weight loss club for maintaining his loss for four years.
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His problems hit him all at once, when he got made redundant from his job at the Rover plant in Birmingham in 1995, and his marriage broke down soon after. At his heaviest, he tipped the scales at a morbidly obese 28 stone 11lbs and had a 60 inches waist.
Rob said: "The day we all lost our jobs at Rover - it all started from there. I went through a bad divorce, and I was just on the road to nowhere. I was feeling very low and went completely off the rails with my eating and drinking alcohol in the pub every night."
Rob joined Slimming World in January 2013 and by 2015 had reached his target weight. He still goes every week to the class and is now a healthy 10 stone 5lbs with a 32 inch waist.
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Rob said: "I've been overweight for many years of my life so I'm so proud and happy to win this award.
"I feel like a new man since losing weight - in fact, I look so different that people who I haven't seen for a while often can't believe I'm the same person."
He still goes to his local club in Rubery, Worcestershire and has been given Slimming World's 'Club 50' award - specially created to reward those members who've lost and kept off 50 percent of their starting weight.
Rob said: "It got so bad that I didn't have any money left, and was just living in my house with no heating or electric.
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"I had really just given up, and I wasn't bothered about anything in my life. I had not eaten anything for over a week, I was freezing cold in my own house and in so much pain my legs felt like they were going to burst. I felt like I was going to die."
Rob said: "That really made me sit and wake up. I wanted to get better and go back home."
His brother, Mark, persuaded him to go to Slimming World and that was the start of a new chapter for Rob.
He said: "Walking through those doors was one of the hardest things I've ever done - I was embarrassed about my size and scared that I might be the biggest person there.
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"I needn't have worried though and I was so relieved when I found out that my weight was confidential between me and the consultant - I'd had visions of having to tell everyone how much I weighed."
Rob said: "I've made so many friends at the group and I honestly don't think I could have done it without their support each week."
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