Dave aiming to become 'half the man he was'

Dave Annas has lost nearly 7stone (44.4kg) in weight in just over a year, dropping from 28stone (177.8kg) to 21stone (133.3kg) thanks to Coningsby’s Slimming World group.

He said: “I had done slimming world before lockdown and had some success and lost five stone but then we went into lockdown and all the clubs had to close, and because I was sitting in front of a computer all day and not exercising, sadly I put it all back on.”

There were a couple of things that prompted Dave to take action, he said – the first was that he was desperately unhappy at 28stone at his heaviest, and he felt that being so overweight in his professional capacity looked very unprofessional in meetings.

He said: “In October 2022, my wife bought us tickets for a West End show as a present and I found I couldn't fit into my seat because the gap between the rows was not big enough and I had to stand at the back.

"Eventually we had to give up and leave, but the final straw was when I was trying to walk my 12-year-old Labrador, Lester, and I couldn't walk him because my knees just weren't strong enough to take my weight.

He then went for a consultation with an orthopedic surgeon to enquire about having a knee replacement, but his surgeon told him bluntly that he may die during the surgery as they were too many risk factors caused by his weight.

Dave was told to lower his BMI from 54 to under 40 and then come back – and so it was in January last year that Dave went to Coningsby’s Slimming World group.

He said that straight away consultant Jo West put him at ease: “She was absolutely brilliant and she's really inspirational leader of the group.

"One of the best things is that she is right there with you going through it which I think is so important for a leader.

And now a year on, Dave is almost seven stone lighter and does not even need his knee replacement anymore as he is so much fitter and healthier and is able to walk Lester for three miles at a time.

He said: “Another great thing is that I was able to walk into Horncastle garden centre the other day and just buy myself a fleece.

"It was so frustrating before having to buy all of my clothes on line because nothing fit me in the shops, but now I can just walk into M&S or somewhere and just buy clothes which is brilliant.

Dave said he wants to lose 14stone in total so then he can proudly say that he is half the man that he was before.

He said: “Another thing for me is I want to have a backseat ride in a Spitfire and the weight limit for that is 17stone so I want to be able to reward myself with that.”

Dave said he also wants to get across that although Slimming World may seem like a female dominated group, that he was made to feel so welcome by the group as a male and once to encourage other men to not be afraid and that they can go as well

Jo also has a new Slimming World session opening in Tattershall Village Hall at 8.30am from today (Wednesday) as well as her Wednesdays sessions in Tattershall at 10am and Coningsby Methodist Church at 5.30pm and 7pm.

For more information, contact Jo on 07825 728195.