Man who lost half his body weight now lapping Sefton Park for the NHS

A man who once remarkably lost half his body weight after a health scare is now getting fit to raise funds for the NHS.

Kevin Sartorius, from Toxteth, is vowing to complete 100 laps of Sefton Park in order to raise cash for NHS Charities Together.

His charitable efforts come just four years after Kevin turned his life around and shed a staggering 11 stone - partly from exercising around Sefton Park.

Speaking to the ECHO in 2016, Kevin said he lost the weight after being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes at 39.

He said he thought he had been given a life sentence before transforming his lifestyle and diet.

He said: "They warned me I was at risk of heart disease and a stroke, blindness, my feet swelling and I thought, God, what have I done to myself? I thought I was stuck like that for life and I was shocked I’d let myself get that way.”

The former DJ added: "When I got diagnosed I thought, this is time to change your life. So I took all the foods that were harmful for me out of the cupboards and swapped them for healthier ones.

"I was still DJing at the time but instead of going to the takeaway at 3am I’d make sure I had a nice healthy meal before I went and then if I felt hungry afterwards I’d wait until I got home and get myself some fruit before I went to bed.

“It was hard in the first few weeks but then I started power walking and doing little runs in Princes Park and Sefton Park. There was a guy who used to jog with me and at the beginning he said ‘you’re a pretty big fella aren’t you?’ and I know he was trying to be polite, but then he saw me a few years later and he said ‘you’re so trimmed down it’s unbelievable’.”

Now Kevin can be seen lapping the park where he first began training, and it's all in aid of our fantastic NHS.

Kevin said on his fundraising page: "I am doing the 100 laps of Sefton Park, starting Monday, April 27, 2020.

"Five laps per day around the park circuit, starting from the obelisk. It's a walk of five laps per day, at 40 minutes per lap, seven days a week ending Saturday, May 16.

"My final fifth lap will be the 100th, but [I] will carry on raising funds."

More about Kevin's fundraising page can be found here - https://www.facebook.com/donate/1337137093162452/2988110391309599/