Man loses half his weight after 'ultimate humilation' on rollercoaster

Bournemouth antheral Craig Stokes says helium felt embarrassed and shamed aft helium was incapable to spell connected a thrust astatine Thorpe Park due to the fact that helium was excessively overweight - sparking his fat-shedding journey

Craig Stokes mislaid fractional his value aft a humiliating rollercoaster experience.

Craig was connected his nephew’s stag bash to Thorpe Park successful 2022 erstwhile helium was forced to get disconnected the Stealth thrust due to the fact that helium was excessively large for the seat. Several radical tried to assistance strap him successful but they could not bash up the harness astir his 23st frame.

He was forced to get disconnected successful beforehand of each his friends and family, arsenic good arsenic the strangers queuing and said it was the “ultimate astir embarrassing moment”. Craig, 43, said that moment, and seeing however overweight helium looked successful the pursuing wedding pictures, made him alteration his lifestyle.

He signed up to Slimming World and started moving and has since dropped from 23st 3lb to 11st 8lb and shrunk his waist by a whopping 26 inches.

Before the weightloss helium struggled to locomotion his canine circular the artifact without getting retired of breath. Now helium has tally a fractional marathon successful an awesome clip of 1hr 45m and has signed up to bash the London Marathon adjacent year.

Craig, a managing manager of a fiscal advisor company, saw his value balloon during the Covid lockdown erstwhile helium began comfortableness eating. The value crept connected implicit the pursuing 2 years until his waist was 58ins.

Craig, from Bournemouth, Dorset, said: “The trigger was my nephew’s stag bash successful summertime 2022. At that clip I was my heaviest and truly unfit.

“I went to Thorpe Park and they tried to get maine connected the rollercoaster, respective of them tried to adjacent the restraints but they physically couldn’t bash it up and I had to get disconnected the thrust successful beforehand of each my friends and household and each these strangers.

“It was the eventual astir embarrassing infinitesimal of my life. The wedding pictures were the astir horrific photos of me, I was embarrassed astir the mode I looked. But it’s benignant of travel afloat ellipse now, I went backmost to Thorpe Park with my different nephew 2 weeks agone and I went connected everything, including Stealth. And I’m going to beryllium champion antheral for his wedding adjacent twelvemonth and I cannot hold to beryllium successful those wedding photos due to the fact that it’s going to beryllium specified a antithetic feeling.”

Craig said helium had ever suffered with his value and was adjacent bullied astatine schoolhouse but helium had ne'er done thing astir it. He said: “I moved to Manchester for enactment close astatine the opening of the Covid lockdown, that didn’t assistance astatine all. I became inactive and started comfortableness eating and I was successful a acheronian place.

“I couldn’t locomotion circular the artifact with my canine and going connected Christmas parties with enactment I couldn’t locomotion betwixt venues. I had antecedently loved shot and tennis, I had been progressive earlier but my beingness had conscionable wholly changed. My wellness was truly poor, I had slumber apnoea, which was scary for maine and my partner, and I was past falling dormant astatine work.

“I was eating takeaways 3 oregon 4 times a week. I could devour a ample pizza with sides to myself. Everything that was atrocious for you, I was eating it truthful I had to alteration my mindset. My extremity was to suffer fractional my assemblage weight. At archetypal I didn’t person the quality to workout due to the fact that I was conscionable excessively large truthful the archetypal six months oregon truthful was conscionable astir eating much healthily.

“I didn’t adjacent commencement walking decently until I had mislaid 5st. Then I joined the gym. I’ve ne'er been a runner but astir 8 months agone I decided to instrumentality up running. I had ne'er adjacent tally 5k earlier and present I’ve completed a fractional marathon. I started by walking 5k and past moving successful abbreviated bursts and walking the rest. Then I did my archetypal parkland tally 4 months ago.

“Before I couldn’t bargain apparel successful shops, due to the fact that they didn’t marque things large enough, I had to get everything online. It was a horrible experience. Now I acceptable into a small. I’ve got a spot of imposter syndrome astir that due to the fact that I’ve ne'er seen myself arsenic small. My beingness couldn’t beryllium immoderate much antithetic now. I consciousness truthful positive, blessed and active. I secured my imagination job, which I ne'er would person had the assurance to adjacent interrogation for before. I’m the healthiest I’ve been successful my full life.”

Craig besides finished successful the apical 10 for Slimming World’s Man of the Year successful May, competing against 33,000 different men.