A man has said he was inspired to lose weight after being told to get off a rollercoaster at Thorpe Park as he was "too big" to ride on it.
Joe Thompson, 35, lost five stone and eight inches off his 40-inch waist. after making a drastic lifestyle change.
The former yo-yo dieter weighed 19 stone when he was told to get off the Colossus ride at the theme Park in Surrey as the safety harness wouldn't close around his belly.
Mr Thompson said he had to get off the rollercoaster and walk past a queue of people, which initially made him feel "completely mortified" - but then motivated him to lose weight.
He said: "I couldn’t fasten the safety harness on the Colossus ride. I had to get off and walk past a queue of people, who I'm sure all knew exactly why I couldn't ride.
"I tried to brush it off, but inside I was completely mortified."
His motivation pushed him to swap a bacon and sausage bap breakfast for poached eggs on wholemeal bread and instant noodles for lunch with a healthy veg soup.
Joe also replaced his sedentary lifestyle, made worse by gout, by going on long walks with a 30kg weighted vest to keep off the pounds.
Gout is a type of arthritis that causes sudden, severe joint pain, explains the NHS.
Getting to a healthy weight and eating a balanced diet can help manage the condition.
Before his diet Joe's chronic gout meant he suffered from "flare-ups" every month and on some days he couldn't even walk.
But now, Joe has been dubbed Slimming World's 2023 Mr Sleek after joining the Woodford Green group in London to help him with his weight loss challenge.
He understood he needed to lose weight after seeing photos from back-to-back weddings he had attended in the summer of 2021.
He had taken to using photo editing apps to create the illusion of a slimmer man.
Joe said: "I really hated having photographs taken by other people.
"I'd become quite good at angling the camera so I looked slimmer or cropping out my body so you wouldn't notice my weight as much.
"So, when the photos came back from my friends' weddings, I was shocked. I couldn't believe it was me in the pictures and I just felt terrible."
He joined Slimming World weeks later in November 2021, saying: "I struggled with my weight for most of my life. I was adopted at birth, so I found it hard looking different to the rest of my family – I convinced myself that I had the ‘fat gene’.
"Leaving home for university meant I was away from my mum's healthy cooking, relying heavily on takeaways and drinking more than I ever had before.
"During this time, I was also figuring out my sexuality and realised I wasn't straight. I struggled to come to terms with this and sought comfort in food."
Joe had tried cutting carbs for years which he found too restrictive, making him "miserable", whilst calorie counting caused panic as he ran out of calories and went to bed hungry.
He continued: "With Slimming World that never happens because there’s always something substantial to eat when you are hungry.
"I love that the plan allows me to eat to satisfy my appetite. It was totally revolutionary for me.”
He is now inspiring others by documenting his journey on social media. Follow him on Instagram at @joeyjoejoe__sw
Joe's daily menu before his diet
Breakfast: Bacon and sausage sandwich with butter and ketchup
Mid-morning: Tube of crisps
Lunch: Pack of instant noodles topped with extra cheese
Dinner: A takeaway such as Chinese, Indian or pizza
Snacks: Chocolate, sweets, crisps, white toast with butter
His daily menu now
Breakfast: Poached eggs on wholemeal toast
Lunch: Homemade vegetable and chilli soup
Dinner: Home-cooked meal such as spaghetti bolognese, burgers or a Chinese fakeaway
Snacks: Low-fat yogurt with sugar-free syrup
