A man who weighed the same as a baby elephant has managed to shed half of his body weight after refusing to have a gastric band.
Lorry driver Jason Anderson would binge on fry-ups, Greggs sausage rolls, Chinese takeaways and McDonald's and ballooned to 27 stone in a matter of years.
But the 49-year-old refused to have the surgery which helps aid weight loss - despite being told he only had six months to live.
Suffering from high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and sleep apnoea, doctors gave Jason the stark warning and said he would be dead if he didn't undergo the surgery that same week.
Instead, he turned down the gastric band and decided to drop the weight by himself by himself by joining a local Slimming World group, hitting the gym and overhauled his diet of fast-food.
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"I started piling on the pounds in my 40s after a relationship breakdown," Jason, of Nuneaton, Warwickshire said.
"I was eating fry-ups, Greggs sausage rolls, Chinese takeaways, McDonalds - anything really.
"It got to the point where I could barely walk, I needed two walking sticks, my joints constantly ached and I was awake every 40 minutes in the night due to the sleep apnoea.
"I got signed off long term sick, I was at my lowest and I couldn't see a way back. I was pretty much housebound."
Now Jason, a grandfather-of-three, weighs just 12-and-a-half stone and goes to the gym six times a week.
He has described his transformation as "quite a journey" and did have to undergo cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) following his incredible weight loss as he didn't recognised the much slimmer person looking back at him in the mirror.
Of his initial startling diagnosis at the obesity clinic at Coventry's Walsgrave Hospital in May 2016, Jason said: "They told me I would die if I didn't have a gastric band fitted and they needed to do it that very week.
"But I refused it. I wanted to do it by myself. I enjoyed my relationship with food too much and once you have a gastric band, that's it for life.
"To be told I was months away from death was the kick start I needed. It was the shock I needed to really do something about it."
Instead, Jason's GP referred him to a 12 week free trial at Slimming World which he plucked up the courage to join three months later.
"I went along to this church hall thinking it would be full of women but there was one other bloke there and everyone was brilliant and really supportive," the trucker said.
""I was still able to eat foods I liked, it was just about preparation and balancing everything out.
"I cut out carbs and red meat mainly. I batched cook everything with fresh ingredients.
"I joined a gym where I had to learn how to run again, as my body was not used to it. I started in the pool and eventually I moved on to spin classes and body pump sessions.
"I even had to have CBT therapy just to even get my head around the transformation as I didn't recgonise the man in the mirror.
"I was still the fat Jason in my head, for a split second you don't know who is looking back at you.
"I even jumped physically at my own shadow as I thought somebody was creeping up on me. It was bizarre."
Jason adds that he is still working towards weight-loss goals, the next dropping four pounds to reach a total loss of 200lbs.
"Before I did not have a future, now I do. It has given me a new lease of life I never thought I'd have," he adds.
"And it means I'm still able to have the odd treat - every Saturday I still manage to have a Chinese takeaway, as that's still my favourite."
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