David Tilling, 61, had struggled with his weight for years but after reaching breaking point in 2022, the supermarket worker decided to make major changes – and the results are incredible
David Tilling’s life had been dominated by his weight for years, trapped in a vicious cycle of unhealthy eating and lack of exercise.
His shift work routine led to him ordering takeaways three times a week, and he could polish off a loaf of bread in just two days. With a diet heavy on convenience foods like pies, chips, and snacks, it wasn’t long before David’s weight skyrocketed to an alarming 30st 10.5lbs.
As his weight increased, so did his difficulties, with the 61-year-old struggling to perform simple tasks at his job in a food factory. He confessed: “After lockdown and going back to work, work had been restructured, and I was moving around more and really struggling. I had gone over a tipping point. I was climbing up stairs and had to go to the lockers, standing at the top of the stairs, hearing my heart pounding.”
By the time 2022 arrived, David had reached his limit. His knees were in pain, he had no social life, and he lived in fear of developing heart disease like his mother. That’s when David, hailing from Wythenshawe, decided to make significant changes, reports the Manchester Evening News. He initially contemplated weight loss surgery in Turkey, but travel restrictions thwarted his plans. Instead, he chose to join his local Slimming World group in January that year, and saw immediate improvements.
“I was eating the wrong type of food. I would eat pies, chips, bread – two pies at a time and half a tin of beans,” he admitted. David, who’s shed a staggering 17 stone, has opened up about his former lifestyle.
“Takeaways as well, three a week,” he admitted. “I was eating thousands of calories a day. Sweets, crisps, anything that was quick and easy. I was not being active outside of work. It was gradually one of those things that built up.
“I was working shifts, coming home, eating food, and going to bed. It was work, bed, work, bed. It’s just what you do. You get yourself into a rut and a routine. It was a general feeling of being really unwell. I had to do something. I was at breaking point.
“I looked at gastric sleeve operations in Turkey but they went into lockdown. I wasted a whole year doing nothing about my weight. I had procrastinated enough, and in January, I told myself I had to do something.”
Now weighing around 13st 10.5lbs, David highlights a pivotal moment in his transformation — discovering Slimming World’s ready meals at Iceland. “A game changer for me were the ready meals from Iceland,” he said, praising the large, satisfying and flavoursome meals, particularly the Korean beef noodles which added variety to his diet.
As David’s waistline diminished, he found joy in simpler activities like walking his dog Alfie, an activity that became easier as they both got fitter, making their adventures increasingly lengthy. David realised the full extent of his incredible transformation just before Christmas, when a car on the tram tracks in Manchester left him with no choice but to trek four miles home – a feat that would have been unthinkable for him three years prior.
“I always avoided doctors,” he confessed. “You don’t go and see the doctors and you don’t have your photo taken. You don’t really look in mirrors, but that might be a blokey thing. You don’t confront yourself that way.”
His motivation for change was deeply personal, rooted in concern for his mother’s health issues. “Part of the reason for doing it was worrying about my mum who had a heart problem,” he explained.
“She had a stroke towards the end of her life and died of heart disease. I always remember a photo of us – she was winched out of bed. You don’t want that. You don’t want to be relying on people to look after you like that. You don’t want to be a burden on them. I’ve done as much as I can now to make this next stage better and look forward and hope things are brighter for me.”
