Martin Fletcher was a size 4XL and weighed more than 24stone at his heaviest
A dad has revealed how he shed an impressive 10st in just over a year without the aid of weight loss injections. Martin Fletcher, 46, tipped the scales at a hefty 24st 7lbs and wore a size 4XL at his heaviest.
He found himself unable to run even a short distance or play games in the garden with his two young daughters. However, when he began to develop several health conditions, he knew it was time for a change.
Despite having tried to lose weight around 50 times before, and being told by doctors that weight loss jabs and surgery were his only options, Martin was determined to do it the ‘natural way’. Instead, he opted for daily yoga sessions.
He embarked on a fitness programme which combined yoga, strength training, and cardio, dedicating an hour each day to his new routine. This saw him slim down to a much healthier 14st 4lbs and a size medium within a year.
Martin, a music producer and musician from Liverpool, said: “It was just getting unbearable to be in my body, it wasn’t really a life, it was an existence. “Over the years, I’d regularly lose 50 to 60lbs in three months, but then something would get in the way, and I would lose momentum.
“We’d go to the park, and the kids would get an ice cream and not finish it, and I wouldn’t want to waste it, or I’d be out with them every day during half term, and suddenly, I hadn’t worked out for a week.
“I knew this time, I had to do something drastic, and be extremely disciplined. Every time you engage your muscles, your heart rate goes up, so if you can engage the muscles at the same time as doing the yoga moves, you end up sweating, without moving from the same spot.
“By the end of half an hour, you’re absolutely dripping in sweat. I do around an hour, to an hour 15 every day, and within a week I’d noticed the difference, it was miraculous.
“Everyone always assumes I’m on Mounjaro or I’ve had surgery, and doctors had told me that they were the only options I had left, but I’m not touching that rubbish. I didn’t fancy sticking a needle in me every week, and knew I could do it the natural way.”
Martin has constantly battled with his body image and weight, but the struggle intensified during his 30s. He developed sleep apnoea – a severe sleep disorder that disrupts breathing during sleep, preventing proper rest and leaving sufferers drained throughout the day.
Martin, who lives with his wife Sarah, explained: “As a teenager, I thought I was massive, but it was probably just body dysmorphia.
“From my 30s onwards, I really struggled with obesity, because of my sleep apnoea. I was just always exhausted, because what happens is you don’t breathe properly, so you don’t get full, deep sleep.
“Your body is crying out for oxygen, and you kind of choke yourself awake, it’s horrible. As a result, I had no energy to stay awake or to do any exercise. It stopped my ability to do anything. It was keeping my wife awake as well, and I was so exhausted I couldn’t play basic games with the kids, like tag, I couldn’t run five yards.”
Martin found himself consuming more food in an attempt to manage his lack of energy – and rapidly reached 24st 7lbs. He explained that whilst he maintained a balanced diet, he would frequently eat around 2am after completing gigs, which caused the weight to pile on.
“I got into a bad routine”, he said. “If I was able to have my evening meal and was offered food at my work, I would eat it. Then sometimes out of boredom, I’d get something on the way home as well.”
He discovered DPD yoga, a fitness programme created by former professional wrestler Diamond Dallas Page, which combines traditional yoga poses with dynamic movements, strength training and cardio elements in 2016. However, as a busy father he struggled to maintain a consistent exercise routine.
When he developed additional health problems, including plantar fasciitis – a condition which causes pain on the bottom of his foot – he realised he had to make a change. Martin said: “I had an unbelievable wake-up call when I did a high intensity workout called Insanity, because when I was jumping at 20 odd stone I’d land hard and damage my ankles, injuring myself until I developed plantar fasciitis in both feet.
“I had high blood pressure too and was starting to get a curvature of the spine. I thought, if I’ve got all these problems now, god knows what’s going to happen when I get to 50 or 60.”
Martin was informed that his only options were weight loss injections or surgery, but adamant not to put “that rubbish” in his body, he persisted in his efforts to lose weight naturally. Realising the need for drastic measures, Martin gave DPD yoga another shot – his 50th attempt. He started training for about an hour to an hour and 15 minutes daily and astonishingly, he shed 15 pounds within a week.
The father-of-two rises at 5:30am for his workout before his children wake up, juggling his exercise routine with his roles as a dad, husband and music producer. He has also become more disciplined with his eating habits, never consuming food past his evening meal and opting for much smaller portions.
In just over a year, he managed to lose an impressive 10 stone and now “feels amazing” and has regained his confidence. Martin expressed: “I feel absolutely amazing, I’ve got my confidence back, my sleep apnoea has dramatically improved, and my blood pressure is back to normal.
“I’m actually becoming a DPD instructor now, because so many people have asked me to help them after seeing my weight loss. It’s so good. I would recommend it to anyone.”