I’d eat a fry and two takeways every day.. but now I’ve shed 5st

New lease of life for trucker Tom

A MAN who ate a fry and two takeaways every day has transformed his life by losing five stone.

Tom Robb, 58, was just under 20 stone at his heaviest and as a distribution driver binged on junk food for convenience.

But, in just 14 months, he has changed dramatically physically and mentally.

He told the Mirror: “To be absolutely brutal, it was self-disgust. I was tired of getting out of showers and seeing myself in the mirror and nearly throwing up.

“I thought I really have to do something about this. I tried absolutely everything. Some things worked for a while but then didn’t work for me.

“I came to my age, my late 50s and came to a crossroads – there’s one path to health and another path which leads to A&E.

“I went to my GP, I said, ‘I’ve done this, I’ve done that’. She suggested Slimming World and she gave me a brief outline. So I looked it up online, went to it and the rest is history. “More than five stone later and this is me.” Belfast man Tom also admitted it was his lifestyle which led to his weight gain.

He said: “I am a bachelor involved in road haulage and distribution and therefore I’m on the road five days a week and it’s just too easy to have a fry for breakfast, a takeaway at lunchtime and then come home and order pizza.

“It was pure laziness and convenience. I’d get home on a sad day and you’d compensate with a pizza. And if I had a great day I’d celebrate with a pizza.

“By the time I washed my hands, took my boots off and boiled the kettle – knock, knock there’s

BELFAST YESTERDAY

your pizza.”

Fourteen months ago, his GP recommended Slimming World. Seeing it as a “last chance”, Tom admitted he wasn’t exactly comfortable giving it a go.

He said: “I was scared within an inch of my life. I walked in to a room full of 60 women and thought I was being judged for being a big fat man – but they were totally welcoming.

“In my first week I lost 10-and-a-half pounds. They handed me my first certificate and I felt like a million dollars.

“I thought, ‘Bloody hell. One week in and I’ve got an award’. What does a bloke do with an award? He goes home and puts it on the fridge.

“That was the start of the journey, then after that it was a pound and a half, one pound, two pounds and it took 14 months and I got to five-and-a quarter stone off.”

As well as that, Tom cycles and walks miles and miles in a week.

He said: “I joke with the group that I used to get a taxi from the living room to the kitchen. Now, I’m so active that it’s unreal.

“I could do 80 to 150 miles on the bike now in a week. On average, maybe 120 miles.

“I’m a different person mentally. I’m much happier with myself. I tell everyone I’m running around like a teenager.

“You see a woman struggling with the shopping and you jump up and open the door for her. You can move instantly, you don’t grunt when you stand up or grunt when you sit down.

“If you have no milk, you walk to the shop. It only takes 15 minutes and all of these things add up.”

And Tom has some simple advice for anyone battling the bulge.

He said: “Don’t be frightened. Anyone can do it. Don’t be embarrassed about it. My shtick is: For every pound I lose I push the A&E doors further away from me.”