Nottingham man loses 16 stone in just six months

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Simon Reynolds is keeping his biggest pair of trousers as a souvenir

A Nottingham man has halved his weight in just six months.

Simon Reynolds, an IT infrastructure manager in the city, went from weighing 32 stones to 15st 9lbs.

He said the weight loss was life saving, "Food was going to kill me, no question, and doing this [regime] for six months has changed my life around."

He believes he is the first person in the UK to have halved their weight in just six months, having only found one other account in the world.

The massive change in Simon's appearance has left him almost unrecognisable.

"I'd reached a point where I thought I can't solve this by myself, I'd do anything to change and as soon as I thought I'd do anything, it worked for me. Simon Reynolds

"Because the change has been that fast, people apologise for not recognising me, but it's good. I'm a different person now."

Simon had lost weight before but only a few stones at a time, which was unnoticeable on his large frame: "No-one would notice and it had been so much work to achieve, it didn't seem worth continuing."

On this occasion, Simon lost 16 stone using the LighterLife programme and a strict exercise regime.

The programme provides set food packs as well as giving counselling sessions to the person losing the weight.

Simon said the lack of meal choice made sticking to the food plan easier for him, "I didn't have to decide how much to eat so I had clear boundaries."

As each week of weight loss passed, Simon believed he felt better and better, "The old me couldn't do what the new me does."

IT manager Simon Reynolds before and after he halved his body weight

Simon also moved into a building which had a swimming pool and a gym which has made exercising more convenient.

The decision to lose weight on this occasion came after Simon was put on an NHS list of people waiting for gastric band surgery.

He said at that point he had given up, "I'd reached a point where I thought I can't solve this by myself, I'd do anything to change, and as soon as I thought I'd do anything, it worked for me. It clicked into gear."

A major part of Simon's exercise routine has been indoor cycling, also known as spinning, and he has now developed a phone application to encourage others to take up the high-energy exercise.

The programme works using the voice of a fitness trainer alongside the exerciser's own music, and Simon hopes it will soon be commercially available.

Simon said he is determined to maintain his new figure, "I'm keeping my biggest pair of trousers as a souvenir but I've thrown out the rest."