Rhys loses nine stone in a year

A MAN who weighed 16st at the age of 14 and 26st at his heaviest has spoken of the torment caused by school bullies.

Rhys Jones, 20, has now shed 9st in 12 months – but the weight loss comes after years of comfort eating to help deal with cruel jibes during his school years. Rhys was around eight years old when he was diagnosed with an underactive thyroid.

After starting secondary school, he began to pile on the pounds due to his craving for pastries and cakes as he sought solace from being bullied.

“By the time I was 14, I weighed 16st and was a target,” said Rhys, from Ogmore Vale.

“Sometimes I felt like I was in a completely different world – it felt like I was in hell.

“I spent a lot of time on my own, like a hermit. Looking back now, I can see that I constantly teetered on the brink of depression, sinking into low moods as the torturous days went on. They didn’t let up and it was always about the same thing – my weight. It was almost daily. It was hard to deal with and it put me off my school work.”

At that time, Rhys blamed his weight gain on his thyroid condition, failing to see the impact of his eating habits.

He said: “When I was at home, I craved food, pastries and cakes, anything that helped lift my mood.

“I didn’t see any connection between my eating habits and the bullying. I just knew that sweet foods and carbohydrates made me feel better.

“I didn’t think I was eating too much food; I just put the weight gain down to my thyroid problems.”

For Rhys the decision to lose weight came weeks after his 19th birthday.

Weighing 26st, he travelled to New Zealand to visit family when he saw his grandfather turned away from a rollercoaster due to his size.

Rhys, who works at the Ogmore Vale Non Political Club, said: “They waited for ages and my grandfather couldn’t fasten the overhead strap down.

“He had to do the walk of shame back which prompted his weight loss and I saw how much he lost in such little time.

“I just thought enough was enough. I looked at myself and was disgusted so I had to do it.”

Together with his aunt and grandfather, Rhys became a member of his local Weight Watchers group at Nantymoel.

With the support of the group he has shed 125lb in 50 weeks, and has another 11 and a half to lose to reach his ideal weight.

He said: “People keep saying I look so much better now. Before people were thought I was 30 when I was 19. I’m so much more active now, I go swimming and go the gym.

“I can walk around without people criticising me about my size.

“Before, I had one or two people looking back at me and turning their head. It’s not a nice feeling having loads of eyes staring at you in a bad way.”