A man who began comfort eating to cope with the loss of a close friend has shed 50lbs.
Alex Lee, 27, dropped three stone with a controlled diet and fitness plan, which he's shared below.
The young dad from Hull said that his weight 'ballooned' as he coped with grief following the death of his friend Danny Stansfield, a former England futsal player.
Danny was just 24 years old when he suffered a heart attack while playing five-a-side football at Hull City's KCOM Stadium in 2016 and died shortly afterwards, HullLive reports .
Alex started putting on weight as he struggled to overcome the tragedy and at his heaviest weighed 21 stone .
He said: "I pretty much started comfort eating without knowing and ballooned. I didn't realise how big I was but I had a moment of realisation.
"I remember looking in the mirror one day and just realising what had happened and thinking, 'I've got to change'. I went to the gym where Danny used to go and met my personal trainer who set up a plan for me and I haven't looked back since."
Alex, who works for a security firm and runs his own clothing company, said: "I turned to food through grieving. Some people deal with it in different ways but I took a lot on and it was the first death in our friendship group. I didn't find the time to grieve and without knowing it I lost control."
Since joining the gym a year ago, new dad Alex, who has six-week-old baby Lenny with partner Hayley Fisher, 27, shed 50lb (three stone) and has gone from a size XXL to a size L in just a year.
He now attends the gym five times a week, working with personal trainer Keith Thresh twice a week and doing two high intensity sessions and two cardio and weight mixed sessions.
Alex has also overhauled his diet and to help shed his weight, Lee and Hayley spend Sunday nights preparing their meals for the week, making sure to follow a special diet plan made by Keith.
Alex's diet now consists of four meals a day, including two snacks and supplements.
He said: "I still eat a lot and have 2,000 calories a day but it's better food. I'm really strict Monday to Friday and have a cheat meal on a Saturday. I spend a lot of time training and can now play football on a Saturday again.
"The biggest thing Keith has taught me is to eat your calories in a weekly amount so if you eat a lot one day you can cut back another day."
On the diet plan, Alex can enjoy hearty breakfasts made up of two turkey sausages, two full scrambled eggs, half a tin of chopped tomatoes, half an avocado and a handful of blueberries.
Dinner consists of a variety of options such as salmon, chicken, cod, steak, lean mince with potato, rice and a vegetable and a sauce.
He also takes supplements including cod liver, L-cartine, BCAA Glutamine and a fat burner tablet.
Alex said: "I have 10,000 calories a week. I've been doing this a year but we have been focusing month to month on small targets but hitting them and I've lost 50lb from that.
"It is small progression but the way I've done it means there is no real pressure in getting on the scales, I just go by my feelings and how my clothes feel and how I look in the mirror.
"Keith has been a massive, massive help. Personal trainers are good and can help you and they get to know your lifestyle, your friends and family - everything. He's been brilliant."
