Man celebrates 12 stone weight loss with 1:1 Diet by Cambridge Weight Plan after pre-diabetes scare

Video shows the impressive transformation of determined super-slimmer, Martin Bryan, who lost 12 stone after a life of comfort eating. Mr Bryan, 36, was just six when he began sneaking food into his bedroom to cope with the stress of being bullied.

He then began bingeing on takeaways to ‘numb the pain’ of losing his mum, at 20. By the time he turned 29 he was 27 2lbs stone and a size XXXXL with a 63inch waist size - and began having random fainting episodes.

‘I needed to buy two seats on a train’

Martin, from Glasgow, Scotland, said: "I was over 27 stone - I could barely get out of bed and needed to buy two seats on the train because of my size.”

When he discovered he was pre-diabetic, it spurred him to make some lifestyle changes. In 10 months he had shed 11 stone - and then lost a further stone after having excess skin removal surgery. Four years on, he has maintained his new figure - 15st 6lbs - and is now even a weight loss coach to help others. He celebrates with a carboard cut out of his old self to show how far he's come.

‘People can’t believe I used to look like that’

"Once I started, the more weight I lost, the more energy I had, the better I slept and the better I felt. I hit my goal and I've maintained it ever since - I could never go back. I have a life-sized cardboard cut out of myself from how big I was at the start and people can't believe I used to look like that. It reminds me where I started and how far I've come."

Martin said food was always his comfort and he was one of the larger children at school. He then began getting bullied for being "different" - as he was gay but hadn't come out yet. He said: "I used to get picked on because people could tell - I used to hang out with the girls."

‘I would consume over 4,000 calories of pure garbage a day’

By the age of 19, he was 20 stone and things spiralled further after losing his mum, Margaret McMaster, 43, to a brain tumour when he was 20. Martin's overeating got worse "to numb the pain" of the loss - consuming ‘over 4,000 calories of pure garbage a day’. He said: "I would have sugary coffees and donuts for breakfasts, then lunch would be McDonalds, KFC or kebabs. I'd get crisps and chocolates from the work vending machines too.”

In February 2019 he started with a coach using The 1:1 Diet by Cambridge Weight Plan - and lost a stone in a WEEK. By his third month he was five stone lighter - and by December 2019 he had lost 11st and hit his goal weight of 16st 1lbs and size L.

In 2023 he had a male breast reduction and a tummy tuck to remove his excess skin, costing £20k - which he paid for with the money he had saved by not buying takeaways and snacks. This year he had a £13,500 veneers to conceal the sugar damage to his teeth.

Now unrecognisable from his former self, Martin still sticks to a healthy meal plan, and exercises six times a week to maintain his trim figure.

"That cardboard cutout is a reminder of someone I once was, and someone I don't want to go back to.”