An Ayrshire man lost half of his body weight in an astonishingly rapid 12 months without any fad diets, extreme exercise plans or medication.
Instead Arran Chidwick, 24, simply swapped his beloved takeaways for lower calorie meals with plenty of fruit and vegetables, and began working with a personal trainer a few times a week to improve his fitness.
Now, he exercises at least four times a week and is preparing to run the Glasgow half marathon later this year.
At the end of 2023, the aircraft fitter tipped the scales at 27st 8lbs and was caught in a toxic cycle of binge eating that made him fear he would die before he reached the age of 30.
‘I was, in a way, depressed,’ he said. ‘My way of dealing with past trauma was binge eating — I would eat whatever I wanted and drink at the weekends constantly.
‘In the morning it would be hard to tie shoe laces, I couldn’t go to the shop to buy clothes I wanted.
‘Everyone would stare at me at the pub, sweating at concerts, people judging you at football games, struggling on the plane.
Mr Chidwick struggled often with anxiety related to his weight.
Arran Chidwick rapidly lost 13 stone – half of his body weight – with a simple and sensible diet.
‘When I went for my new job I thought no one would want to hire me because of my size,’ he said. ‘Meeting new people would give me anxiety.’
The change in his lifestyle was sparked by a calorific drinking ‘blow-out’ he indulged in with his friends on Boxing Day 2023, which seemed to impact his health.
‘I had a racing heart the next day and I didn’t feel right for two weeks,’ he said.
‘My mum told me she was going to end up burying me before her.’
Mr Chidwick got in touch with a local PT, Jim Drummond, and told him he was ready to make a change.
He initially scheduled his PT sessions when the gym was quiet as he was ’embarrassed’ about his appearance while working out.
Gradually, though, his confidence built up.
Arran Chidwick was initially embarrassed when he visited the gym, but now he goes four or five times a week
‘To start with it was basic circuits and then we gradually got doing more cardio with a bit of weights,’ he said. ‘Soon, I started going to the gym by myself but I scheduled my PT when it was quite quiet. Now I go 4-5 times a week.’
As for diet, Mr Chidwick swapped his dinners of Chinese takeaways and kebabs for high protein meals with plenty of veg, like chicken fajitas.
Instead of two breakfast rolls with sausages, crisps and fizzy drinks for breakfast, he began choosing crumpet thins and a banana.
He ditched the burgers, chips and curry sauce for lunch, and replaced it with low-fat turkey slices on a crumpet, followed by a low-calorie rice cake.
The simple routine helped Mr Chidwick lose three stone in just three months — a rate of weight loss far speedier than that achieved by Ozempic.
Studies show that those using the slimming jabs lose an average of five per cent of their body weight in the first three months.
Mr Chidwick lost roughly a tenth.
He was stuck in a cycle of binge eating, using food as a way of coping with traumatic memories
‘Anybody else that feels as if they can’t do it, you can do it — you’ve just got to really go for it and believe in yourself.’
‘I’d lost over 9st by June,’ he said. ‘My goal was to go to Download festival below 20st — by the time I got to the festival I was 18st. I burst out crying when I saw the scales.’
He doesn’t have a goal weight but wants to build muscle and avoid regaining the weight he’s lost.
‘Because I’ve done it right I built muscle whilst losing weight and I don’t have that much loose skin,’ he said.
‘I tracked every calorie and it’s important not to feel sorry for yourself and think everyone is against you. You’re the only one that can change yourself.
‘Anybody else that feels as if they can’t do it, you can do it — you’ve just got to really go for it and believe in yourself.
‘I hope this is me for the rest of my life.’
