Single dad seems unrecognizable after dramatic weight loss resolved diabetes

A single father of two seems unrecognizable after his incredible weight loss helped him “reverse” his type two diabetes.

Dave Wood, 56, of Croxteth, who with his maximum weight of 24 stones, has two daughters: Ellie, 23 and Estelle, 18.

The climax of life events and the reliance on food for convenience helped make Dave fat and he was eventually diagnosed with diabetes and sleep apnea.

After years of eating junk food – from Mars Bars to getting bags of chips and deep-fried tea – Dave started making small changes in his diet and started his childhood hobby of Karate in 2014.

But it wasn’t until 2018 that he mustered the courage to join Slimming World, a decision that, he says, completely changed his life.

Dave told ECHO: “I raised up to 24 stones at most. It was 2002 and I was an IT manager in Lancaster at the time.

“I literally got in my car, stopped at a gas station and grabbed a coke, a choccy bar and a bag of chips and was driving up and down the M6 ​​chewing.

“I wasn’t really acknowledging the damage I was doing to myself really.”

Dave, who was 38 at the time, said he stopped exercising due to a knee operation he had to undergo after suffering an injury during a marathon.

His weight soon started causing problems for his health and he was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes followed by sleep apnea after taking separate visits to see his family doctor.

Due to sleep apnea, which affects breathing and causes it to stop and resume while you sleep, Dave had his driver’s license removed until he was given the treatment he needed.

He said, “My diabetes actually affected my vision. They were just a little blurry, but I went to my GP and they had a test for diabetes.

“When they said you have diabetes, all of a sudden, all kinds of things go through your head. It’s scary.

“I was also told I had sleep apnea. I used a mask that breathes air into my nose and mouth when you sleep.”

After he was diagnosed with diabetes, Dave said, “I managed to lose four stones in a few years and have shrunk to 20 stones.”

In 2010 Dave became a single parent to his two daughters who were 8 and 13 at the time.

He said it was “a whole series of things” that had contributed to him gaining weight and his lifestyle became very hectic.

Dave said: “When I became a single parent I cut down on the amount of travel I was doing up and down Lancaster and started working from home a little.

“My lifestyle became very hectic. I didn’t exercise, it was convenience and circumstance.

“When I walked in, I fed the girls, ordered them and took them to bed. Then I did the housework and ironed the uniforms ready for the next day. There was no real time for me to go to do things.

“We had a lot of ready-made foods and spicy teas. Now I look back and I’m ashamed. I rarely cooked from scratch because I felt like I didn’t have the time.”

Dave said, “My girls are my world. I wanted to be around to see them get married and hang around for as long as possible.

“I’m thinking I’m going to die. What will become of them? It was deep in my mind.”

In 2014 Dave started losing weight after starting his childhood hobby of Karate and was determined to work for his black belt.

Despite losing a few stones, Dave said his weight still left him breathless and affected his health, which led to him joining Slimming World in 2018.

Enter your zip code for the latest news in your area

She said, “My daughter said ‘I’m going to Slimming World, do you want to come with me?’

“At first I was reluctant. I thought ‘that’s what women do. Guys don’t.’

“Speaking as a single parent, there is very little for boys in what is traditionally seen as a female role.

“I thought it would be a little bit like that and people would be like ‘what’s doing here’, but it couldn’t be further from the truth.

“My daughter went ‘the boys go too’. So I went and there was a couple of guys who were really friendly, I walked in and I felt really welcome.

“I wanted to get that extra stone for my black belt which was my motivation”.

But Dave’s weight loss has gone way beyond, and since becoming a member he has lost four and a half stones.

He now weighs 14 stones and six months after starting Slimming World he was told the extraordinary news that he no longer has type 2 diabetes or sleep apnea.

Dave said, “My GP said ‘well, we can take these blood pressure tablets off and we can take these cholesterol tablets off and you are no longer diabetic.’

“It was as if someone was telling you that some time has come. Suddenly I had pressed reset.

“Now I have a good chance of seeing my girls grow up and see my grandchildren.

“It’s phenomenal.”

Dave now has a black belt in karate and in January he signed up to become a Slimming World consultant at Dovecot, hoping to help others.

He added: “If I can make another person feel like when I was told I no longer had diabetes, then it’s worth it.”