'˜Humpty Dumpty' Brian sheds more than 14 stones

Brian Little, 71, now weighs 12 and a half stone and hasn’t smoked for nearly 20 years but said people used to call him Humpty Dumpty.

Dad of three Brian, who lives in Burlingham Park in Cabus, near Garstang, suffered heart attacks, bad knees and back pain before deciding it was time to make a change.

He said: “Working as a long-distance driver, I was eating rubbish and smoking 80-100 cigarettes a day. I was then diagnosed with asthma and in five years I just ballooned to 26 stone at my heaviest.

“The turning point for me was walking into a store and before I’d even said a word the shopkeeper said ‘We don’t cater for your size here’. I remember think how rude it was but I was also thinking she was right, they didn’t.

“From then on I tried all sorts of diets, the Atkins diet, the banana diet, you name it, I tired it. Finally I joined Slimming World and that’s what worked for me.”

He joined the Garstang group with wife Jean, 71, and the weight began to drop off.

“It’s just simple things like trimming fat off meat and being sensible with the treats you have,” Brian said.

“You literally can eat what you want but in moderation. I can’t thank Slimming World leader Nicky Evans enough, without her I would never have been able to do it.”

Jean joined the group and ate the meals just to support him but has had her own success story. Jean slimmed down from a size 14 to a size 8, losing two and a half stone.

Brian said: “Anyone can do it, because it just becomes a way of life and I’ve never felt happier.”