‘I lost 8st after being told I was too big to ride a rollercoaster’
A man lost 8st and overcame his "food addiction" after he was left feeling "mortified" about not being able to fit on a rollercoaster at Alton Towers.
At his heaviest Rhys Collington, 29, from Nottingham weighed 22st (308 lbs) and wore a size 3XL clothes.
Having tried various diets since he was a teenager, Collington says in January 2023 he made a commitment to make a change to his eating and fitness regime.
After combining a low calorie daily diet with regular exercise the optical assistant went on to lose 8st (196 lbs) and now weighs a trim 14st.
"My weight just made me miserable," he says.
"I couldn't buy clothes from regular shops but would have to get them from certain retailers that would stock a 3XL.
"I also couldn't ride some of the rides at Alton Towers as barriers wouldn't close properly."
Collington recalls one specific time when he tried to go on the ride Oblivion, but was refused due to his size.
"It was absolutely mortifying," he says of the moment. "You have to get off in front of everybody."
He says the experience became something of a "light bulb" moment.
"I had a sudden realisation of how unhappy I was and how far I’d let it get out of control," he explains. "As I was approaching 30, I really wanted to make a change."
Collington says he began struggling with his weight from an early age, believing it stemmed from "overeating and not moving enough."
"I'd eat loads - a typical lunch would have been a sandwich, a share bag of crisps and some chocolate afterwards," he says of his diet.
"Just things that people eat, but far too much of it.
"A dinner I would cook maybe a curry or a spag bowl but I'd usually end up eating the entire thing I'd cooked instead of portioning it out, which I do now.
"I did a lot in the arts but I wasn't necessarily a lad that ran around and played football.
"But the older I got the heavier I got."
Collington says he began to develop a food addiction with his days filled with thoughts on when he would next be eating.
"Food can be very addictive," he says.
"I'd spend the first half of my shift at work thinking of lunch.
"My mum told me we used to be on holiday and I would ask about lunch whilst eating breakfast and that all stems back to a food addiction."
Having tried various diets that never seemed to work for him, Collington recalls listening to actor, Denise Welch, talking about her own food addiction and the diet she used.
"I thought I'd give this new diet with LighterLife a go," he says.
"For me, the quicker results were a big motivator. In the first week, I lost 13lbs and in three weeks I'd lost nearly 2st.
"Sometimes I'd be going into work and someone might not have seen me for a few months and they'd be shocked at the difference - it was a really rapid change."
After the LighterLife diet, which relies on a meal replacement concept, Collington reintroduced food and kept up with exercise and re-educating himself about his fitness and eating habits.
He now goes to the gym five times a week in an effort to maintain his new habits.
"I go in the mornings before work," he adds.
"I'm implementing some weight training to gain muscle and tone up a bit.
"Maintaining it is always going to be the hard part but the good thing about the diet is it teaches you ways to manage that addiction.
"I eat smaller portions now and I don't think of food like I used to.
"I usually take something with me to the office that's healthier.
"Some mornings I might have breakfast, some I might not.
"I think of food as something that fuels me rather than a necessity throughout the day."
As well as feeling healthier, Collington says the weight loss has had other knock on impacts on his life.
"Just generally I feel so much better," he says. "And I feel much more confident. I can dress how I always wanted to dress, I've formed new friendships and it's given me the confidence to date again.
"Dating as a bigger guy in the gay community is hard as it's so body-centric.
"But it [my weight] will always be something that I've got to manage. It's a lifelong thing. You have to manage it."
NHS recommended weight loss rate
The NHS recommends losing weight at a safe and sustainable rate of 0.5kg to 1kg (1lb to 2lbs) a week.
For most men, this will mean consuming no more than 1,900kcal a day, and for most women, 1,400kcal.
The health service has put together some suggestions for helping you lose weight safely including:
getting active for 150 minutes a week
aiming to get your 5 a day
aiming to lose 1 to 2lbs, or 0.5 to 1kg, a week
reading food labels – products with more green colour coding than amber and red are often a healthier option
swapping sugary drinks for water
cutting down on food that's high in sugar and fat
sharing your weight loss plan with someone you trust to help keep you motivated
Additional reporting SWNS.
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