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Feb 8

Obese man mocked and ‘judged’ in McDonald’s loses half his body weight – Liverpool Echo

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A man has shared how reconnecting with his childhood friend finally helped him lose 13 stone after years of feeling unhappy and judged for his weight.

Thomas Dreha, from Kirkby, tipped the scales at 30 stone and would see people "rolling their eyes" at him whenever he walked into McDonald's.

When he saw his former school pal, Kevin Poole, now a personal trainer, sharing his clients' body transformations on Facebook, the die-hard Liverpool fan decided to reach out.

Since reconnecting with his friend, the 29-year-old has managed to lose 13 stone - losing 10 stone in just 12 months.

Speaking to the ECHO, Thomas, from Kirkby, said: "I'd always wanted to lose weight and tried all sorts over the years but nothing stuck.

"I'd join the gym and go by myself for a few months, then stop, then start again, so it was a cycle.

"Then I saw one of my old school friends on Facebook who had since become a personal trainer.

"I hadn't seen or spoken to him since we left school but then I saw some of his client transformations so I got in touch.

"He was made up to help me, he jumped at the chance - I'd always been big, even as a child, and me and Kev had been friends since primary school right through seniors.

"He's been with me the whole way and has helped with my nutrition too - he's just won Liverpool's best personal trainer."

Before his successful weight loss, Thomas felt depressed about his size and judged by strangers on a daily basis.

He would be ignored in shops and felt shop assistants would purposely avoid him so describes his new weight as "bittersweet".

He said: "If I walked into a McDonald's, I always felt instantly judged - you could see people turning round and rolling their eyes at me which made me feel self conscious whereas now I could walk in and nobody would bat an eyelid.

"People would stare but they didn't know me, it was judgement for my size which is heartbreaking.

"You could see sales people and shop assistants look and then look away - I'd be ignored and nobody would come up to me to help, it was like they didn't want to whereas now they'll help me.

"I can actually go into a shop and pick something up off a rail now which is just an incredible feeling, it's a foreign concept to me - though I do spend a lot more money on clothes because of the ease of it.

"The mental pressure of being that size is gone.

"It's a bittersweet thing because I feel normal now but it's so disappointing at the same time because everyone should be treated the same."

Growing up, Thomas was bullied by school peers and turned to food for comfort.

With both his parents being deaf, he shared that he'd come home from school and raid the cupboards knowing they couldn't hear what he was doing.

In his twenties, Thomas turned to takeaways four or five times a week - though wouldn't eat much throughout the day, opting to gorge when he got home from work instead.

He said: "As a kid, I knew my parents couldn't hear what I was doing so I'd just go through the cupboards eating.

"I felt depressed at a young age because of my size but then I would comfort eat which was a terrible cycle.

"Not many people saw that side because I'd put on a smile and a brave front and be the happy jolly guy everyone got on with, but I felt depressed.

"If I wasn't getting a takeaway, I'd have a large tea instead but I'd go to the shop on my way home from work and get two of those 1 sharing bags of crisps, two bottles of fizzy drinks and two of those large 1 sharing chocolate bars.

"Then I'd go home and eat my tea then eat all that afterwards."

Thomas, who works as a nursery practitioner, has managed to get his weight down to 17 stone with regular exercise and a new diet arranged by Kevin.

Thomas said: "The first couple of months was really tough, but because I made the effort on the nutrition side too, I started seeing results fast.

"I was losing a stone a month for the first five months and seeing the results made me stick to it because I was excited.

"My first training session with Kevin, I couldn't even get through the warm up - had to go outside because I thought I was going to be sick whereas now I can do the warm up in six or seven minutes then do a full session.

"I never expected to lose this weight - especially in this time."

Friends and colleagues have been supportive of Thomas' lifestyle change - though the change has been so drastic some people haven't recognised him.

"If I hadn't seen someone for six months, they'd have to double, triple take to realise it was me.

"That was an incredible feeling when I spotted them realise it was me.

"My friends and family have been really impressed especially because I'd been talking about doing it for so many years whereas now they knew I meant it.

"I've changed everything about my diet - Kev had me doing a food diary at first so I could keep on track and now I don't need to do that anymore because I know what works for me.

"As soon as I touch carbs, I will balloon so I don't really eat them but I look at it as a change of life rather than a restrictive diet and I still have treats every now and then which has made it a lot easier.

"I've had support from Kev every day and even the owner of the gym Fitness for All, Jill Purdy, has supported me."

Thomas shared his parents' reaction has been one of pride.

He said: "My parents have been absolutely amazed, they're very complimentary towards me and they're really proud.

"My work colleagues have been supportive too, everyone around me has.

"A lot of the parents of the kids I look after have been supportive with me - quite a few of the parents in the summer would bring in protein bars for me instead of chocolate because they knew what I was doing and wanted to support me.

"My life has completely changed, I play football now and I go on runs.

"Everything used to be a real struggle and it's all the little things you take for granted, just getting ready for work or walking to the train station was a massive effort and I'd be out of breath constantly and hot all the time.

"When I started with Kevin, I was in 52" waist jeans whereas now I'm in 38" which has made life so much easier.

"I've gone not being able to run for 30 seconds to doing 5k runs."

Now, Thomas wants to use his newfound fitness to take part in charity fitness events like Tough Mudder and marathons in order to raise money for the homeless.

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He said: "Now I'm at the point where I'm maintaining and I've booked a tummy tuck in April because I'm bored of dealing with excess skin and I can feel it all the time when I'm exercising.

"Once I'm healed, I want to use my experiences for something positive.

"I want to keep pushing myself and I'd like to do some fundraising events for homeless outreach."

See more here:
Obese man mocked and 'judged' in McDonald's loses half his body weight - Liverpool Echo

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