Feeling breathless kicking a football about with his kids, James Jenkins knew he had to lose weight.
At 25 and a half stone and with a 44 inch waist, he constantly felt uncomfortable. But after 10 years of calorie counting and getting nowhere, he felt a "horrible hopelessness" about slimming down.
The teacher from east London said he had an unhealthy lifestyle, drinking lots of beer and usually having a hangover at the weekend.
His size meant he didn't feel comfortable while playing with sons Dylan, eight and Owen, four.
Having just about given up on dieting, James's wife Jo suggested he try an NHS-backed low carb diet.
The healthy eating programme doesn't ban any specific foods, while allowing chocolate, cream, butter, nuts and other full-fat items.
For more of the news you care about straight to your inbox, sign up for one of our daily newsletters here
After counting calories for years, James admits he was sceptical about trying the Second Nature diet - but just three months after first giving it a go, he'd dropped more than four stone.
James said: "My weight really ballooned at secondary school. I grew to 5ft 11ins, but went up and outwards at the same time.
"In 2011, aged 26, I weighed 20 stone, so I decided to count calories. I have an obsessive all-or-nothing nature, so it suited me at the time.
"I would log everything on an app, restricting myself to 2,000 calories in the beginning, then down to 1,500 over about a six-month period.
"When my weight hit 15 stone, I was happy, so I started eating normally again for about a year to 18 months, and, of course, the weight piled on."
James said, over the next 10 years, he fell into a pattern of calorie counting and losing a few stone before putting it all back on again.
His strict calorie counting habits saw him skipping breakfast, having a small sandwich for lunch and eating spaghetti bolognese for dinner.
When he went back to 'normal' eating , hed'd tuck into a cooked breakfast first thing in the morning, have sandwiches for lunch and something like pizza and chips for dinner.
Throughout the day, he'd also snack on six bags of crisps washed down by five cans of Diet Coke.
On nights he was going out drinking, James would only eat a small meal to keep down his calorie intake, before drinking "way too much beer."
By the time lockdown eased in 2020, James's 25.5 stone frame had become uncomfortable.
"Sitting on the floor and playing with my children wasn’t pleasant so I would avoid doing it or half-heartedly show interest, because I was embarrassed," he said.
"Going to play football, not even taking many steps and being really out of breath was just horrible."
James added he made "a lot of excuses" for himself because he didn't want to go back to calorie counting.
But when Jo suggested the Second Nature diet in September of this year, he decided to give it a go.
After signing up, James was given a recipe book assigned a qualified nutritionist through an app - and he says he noticed a difference within days.
"After just three days I thought ‘wow I feel full up on what I’m eating’. It felt as though I wasn’t on a diet," he said.
"The recipes are the big win because I’ve never had a diet when I feel as though I’m trying new foods all the time. And it’s not like they’re a second best alternative trying to pretend they’re the real thing, they’re genuinely really nice food.
"It doesn't feel like I'm being restricted. It just feels like I'm gaining lots of food, new tastes and recipes."
And just three months into the diet, James's weight has dropped to 20st 2lbs and is feeling much more comfortable in himself.
His heartburn has gone away and he's also decided to cut out alcohol for now.
"The best part is that my kids have a new version of their dad," he said.
"I no longer wake up with a hangover at the weekend, so we spend more time together, and I now walk them to their swimming class. My losing weight has had such a positive effect on my relationship with them.
"They’ve got a new version of their dad that they’ve never really seen before. My four year old who isn’t good at filtering himself has said 'daddy, your tummy isn’t as fat as it was'. And my older son is now interested in what foods are healthy.”
Instead of a full English, James now eats Greek yoghurt with hazelnuts for breakfast, homemade dhal for lunch and homemade stew for dinner.
"I can’t stress enough how different this programme is. I used to be exhausted from the constant need to be thinking about calories and what I was eating all of the time when I was counting calories," James said.
"I felt lethargic all the time - and guilty too if I ate the ‘wrong’ thing. Now all I think about is the simple process of meal planning and setting out the week. That’s the only time I have to think about what I’m eating for the week.
"It’s made us a happier family."
Have you had an incredible body transformation? Email jessica.taylor@reachplc.com
