A man who lost 20.5 stone since starting a new diet in 2015 has been crowned Slimming World's Biggest Loser of 2019.
Jon Vidler, 42, from Hampshire could barely stand on his feet at his heaviest. Weighting 33st 12lbs and standing at 5ft 8in, only size XXXXXXXL clothes could accommodate his 66in waist.
Jon suffered from several panic attacks and even went through a heart attack scare due to his heavy weight.
But the senior quality officer managed to turn his life around, dropping 20.5 stone and reaching a healthy 13st 5lbs and trading his large shirts for a size M.
Now the picture of health, he's become an avid runner and exercises regularly.
Vidler said as far as he could remember, he had always been heavy. Being the victim of relentless bullying at school, he turned to food to find comfort and would eat spoonfuls of brown sugar to make himself feel better.
'As I grew older and earned my own money I just ate whatever and whenever I wanted,' on said, adding he would often overeat in secret.
When the pounds started piling on, he retreated from others even further and food became his only solace.
His poor physical health seriously affected his quality of life, and turned benign treatments into life-threatening procedure.
'While some of my health issues were a direct result of my weight, there have been times where diagnosis and treatment of more serious issues have been affected by my size, Jon said.
Jon explained that a simple lump removal surgery he had intended to have before his weight loss turned into a high risk operation when the anaesthetist grew concerned Jon would suffer a stroke.
On an other occasion, when Jon needed to undergo a cat scan after having a cancerous lump removed, and being bigger than the authorised limit, he had to be pulled out of the machine, which broke due to the extra weight.
These repeated health problems prompted Jon to eventually make a life change.
Years before, Jon had managed to lose 9 st and 7lbs, but he put the weight back on after the devastating loss of his mother, who had died of an illness just seven weeks after being diagnosed.
'I started using food as a comfort again and I just couldn’t see a way out,' he said.
At the start of 2015, he joined Slimming World under a guidance of a friend and his wife, and he said that 'something clicked' this time around.
Jon started cooking his meals from scratch and going for daily walks as well as exercising.
Thanks to the support of his father - who joined the programme himself - Jon felt even more encourage to keep at his goal.
'It really does make a difference when the people around you understand and support what you are trying to achieve,' he said.
Jon, who could barely walk at his heaviest now walks at least 2.5 miles a day and has completed two 10 kilometers races. His eyes are now set on climbing Mount Snowdon, but there's another thing on his agenda.
'It might sound corny, but my biggest dream is to find someone to share my life with,'
'I feel like I’ve got a second chance and I want to fill it with things that I used to miss out on because of my weight, so meeting that special someone to share those memories with me would be amazing,' he added.
Jon's before diet
- Breakfast: Half a box of cereal covered in sugar
- Snacks: Sweets, chocolate, crisps
- Lunch: Sandwiches filled with salad cream and egg mayonnaise
- Dinner: A takeaway or a couple of microwave meals
- Snacks: More sweets, chocolate bars and crisps
Jon's after diet
- Breakfast: A cooked breakfast of scrambled eggs, baked beans, mushrooms, spinach and lean bacon
- Lunch: Home-made chilli or pasta dish or a home-made soup
- Snacks: Fresh fruit
- Dinner: Something made from scratch from one of Slimming World's recipe books - such as diet coke chicken
- Snacks: More fruit or a small chocolate bar
