A FATHER has told how he lost 20 stone to walk his daughter down the aisle on her wedding day.
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Drew, 63, had feared the bride might have to push him down the aisle in a wheelchair for him to give her away when he tipped the scales at 34 stone.
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 His weight ballooned when his 30- year- marriage broke up and he had to ‘fend for himself’ in the kitchen for the first time.
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But he started dieting in November 2014, the same month Chloe got engaged to her partner – and earlier this month Drew’s dream of walking her down the aisle came true.
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Retired oil executive Drew from Buckie, Moray, Scotland, said: ‘ It felt immense to walk Chloe down the aisle and give her away. It was a huge ambition and I am so pleased I managed to fulfil it.
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‘She looked so beautiful and I was also described as ‘dapper,’ during the speeches which hasn’t happened in a very long time.
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 ‘After your children are born their weddings are the next important day and to be able to play a part in it and give her away without getting out of breath made it very special.’
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Father of three Drew said separating from his wife of 30 years triggered his weight to spiral out of control in his early fifties.
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He explains: ‘ I was already a big guy at around 24 stone but when I found myself living on my own it went crazy.’
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He described how his limited skills in the kitchen left him reliant on convienience meals and takeaway food.
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He said: ‘ I had gone from living with my mother to living with my wife and had never before had to fend for myself in the kitchen.
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‘I just didn’t know how to cook and the weight began piling on.’
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Over the next ten years he gained ten stone making him dangerously obese. He lived in XXXXXXXL size joggers and t -shirts – and even they were tight.
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He said: ‘ I could barely put my own socks on and used a walking stick. I cut myself off from people and that just made me eat more.’
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He suffered high blood pressure, gout and diabetes. As eldest daughter Chloe was living with her long- term partner he knew marriage was on the cards one day and had already pictured the nightmare he faced giving her away.
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He said: ‘ She would have had to push me in a wheelchair to give her away because I wouldn’t have made it down the aisle.’
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He saw his GP in November 2014 and confessed he had failed each diet he tried within a day. She recommend the LighterLife weight loss plan.
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He said: ‘ She told me the diet would replace food with meal packs that limited my calories to 600 a day so I wouldn’t have to cook or even think about food.
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‘There was also therapy to help me understand my eating habits and change them for life.’
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Drew signed up to the LighterLife Total plan and swapped all conventional food for four meals, bars, shakes or soups a day plus weekly sessions with his counselor Carol Groves who used CBT to help him break his bad relationship with food.
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Days after signing up Drew heard his daughter was formally engaged, her partner having proposed on holiday in Dubai, which helped him remain committed to the strict LighterLife programme.
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In the first week he lost 21lb pound and inspired he continued. He said: ‘Who wouldn’t go back for more after a loss like that. I was delighted.’
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He spent £70 a week on the meal replacement products food packs.
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He says he remained focused by thinking about his daughter’s wedding and says it was liberating not to be constantly eating food.
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When Chloe saw how quickly her father was losing weight she too decided to slim for the big day and in September 2015 also started on the LighterLife plan.
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Drew was proud to wear a 40inch trouser during the ceremony which took place at Storrs Hall, Lake Windermere on June 6th.
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Dew, also a father to Alex, 30 and Sophie, 19, said: ‘ All my children are all proud of me which is a great feeling. I am so glad I am healthier. I look forward to living longer and being there for them.
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‘Walking my daughter down the aisle was the motivation I needed to change my life.’
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