A formerly obese man who ballooned to 31 stone is literally half the man he used to be after he shed the pounds as he battled cancer and fought back after a cardiac arrest.
Sheldon Donovan weighed 31 stone at his heaviest but has now lost 13 stone after an incredible weight loss journey which saw him shed almost half his body weight.
Mr Sheldon, 32, of Malvern, trained at Freedom Leisure gyms, including Perdiswell Leisure Centre in Worcester and Malvern Splash, using classes to burn off the fat and slim down.
The Cardiff-born retail manager now weighs 17 stone and 7lbs and is unrecognisable from the man he was back in 2016 when he weighed 31 stone.
But it has been far from plain sailing for 6ft 4ins Mr Donovan who has battled cancer three times (Hodgkin lymphoma) and suffered a cardiac arrest in 2022 and ended up in a coma for seven weeks.
Now in remission from the cancer, he had to learn to walk again which took him nine months, including using walking aids and ankle braces.
He said: "My health hasn’t been the best from me going through chemotherapy, radiotherapy and after having a cardiac arrest. My perspective on life is that I’m better today than I was yesterday.
"This has been a massive life change looking constantly at what I’m eating and attending fitness classes and the gym regularly.
"It all started with Emma at Perdiswell when I joined the 8-week weight loss bootcamp.
"The gym classes have been an incredible part of my week in recent times. Not just great for me physically but amazing for my mental health. I have loved meeting new people and really enjoy talking part in Les Mills Body Attack and Body Combat as well as lifting in the gym.
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"This has given me a ‘new’ lease of life. At the start thinking I couldn’t do it and not being fit enough to thinking how much I love it. I am now fitter, stronger and healthier than I have ever been before.
"The instructors are so welcoming and help me to believe that I can do it."
He now says he can buy clothes off the rack rather than having to order online. Slimming World has also been a big part of the transformation although he still says he enjoys an occasional takeaway.
"I'm near enough half what I was. I have just got on with it. I just want to get back to a normal life."
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