East End man shifts 10 STONE after schoolkids make joke about his weight

Inspirational Justin Dott stepped away from fad diets, and shocked his family and friends by dropping from 24 stone to 14 stone - and he did it by researching what he was putting in his body.

At 6 ft 1 inch, Justin, who works in security, has even managed to build muscle through hitting the gym up to four times a week.

Now he hopes to inspire others into healthy eating so they too can reach their goal weight, and he even plans a future in motivational speaking.

Justin, 32, said: “Last May, I had an epiphany which spurred me on to losing the weight. I was in the barbers getting a shave and a haircut when schoolkids went past and made a joke about my weight.

“I heard them say, ‘Oh look at him in the chair, he is about to break that’

“I remember I got so angry because they were talking about my size.”

He added: “That moment made me realise I had to make a change, it was like a light switch coming on.

“I phoned up my local gym at Tollcross the next day, and that night I had an induction.

“It was from May, last year to this May that I completely changed and lost 10 stone.”

For that change to happen Justin, from Sandyhills, had to overhaul his diet which was full of sugar thanks to his addiction to cans of Irn-Bru.

Breakfast would consist of two rolls and square sausage, dozens of packets of crisps and cans of full fat Irn-Bru.

For Justin, Lunch was often high calorie pasta dishes bought from the supermarket, washed down with more fizzy juice.

He would finish off his day with a take-away from the Chinese.

He said: “I did some research and I looked into different diets. I am always hearing of people going on diets and coming off, so I needed something I could stay on.

“I now follow a low carb and high fat plan. I found that as soon as I dropped the sugar and the hard carbohydrates such as pasta, rice and potatoes, the weight just started dropping off me.”

They journey to a healthier version of himself was not an easy one for Justin as he had to get over the hurdle of going to the gym.

He said: "The gym was daunting at first. As it is my local, a lot of boys I grew up with go there so I was self conscious.

"But my mindset had changed so I focused on myself rather than what other people thought."

With a new mindset, he also focused on his diet and that even includes a fry-up for breakfast.

Justin, whose partner Natalie Moran helps him prepare his meals, said: "When you hear what I eat, you will be shocked because my diet is high fat but I am losing weight.

"I wake up and still cook a couple of square sausages and fried eggs which is cooked in butter. Although I have looked into the best butcher to buy from.

"I have a meal that is already prepared. So I still have my chicken curry but replace the rice with green beans.

"Throughout the day I snack on nuts. I have replaced Irn-Bru with one or two cans of the diet version and drink more milk."

The plan is one which works for Justin who admits it feels like a dream to get to this point.

He said: "I had dreams of being this weight. I never thought I would do it never mind doing it in just a year.

"The get-up and go, and enthusiasm I have now is unbelievable."

Justin credits preparing his meals for the week ahead as one of the things which has helped keep him on track.

He said: "My partner helped me make a lot of the meals like spaghetti bolognese or chilli in advanced. It is the one thing that has kept me on track."

Now Justin is celebrating his new body and he jokes that excess skin is part of the deal.

He said: "I have put muscle on now but there is some excess skin. I don't know what I will do about that in the future but for now I call it the wounds from my past.

"I am just so glad I am a lot healthier now. My family and friends are in absolute shock.

"A friend I had not seen for a while walked straight by me as he didn't recognise me, I find that is happening a lot."

He added: "People keep saying they need to get on a diet. If you say that it implies you plan to come off it.

"People need to change their diet for life. If you are on a diet which has made you overweight, go on a fad diet and come off it - you will end up back to where you were."

• Do you want to share your weight loss story? Contact stacey.mullen@heraldandtimes.co.uk