A MAN who shed more than nine stone after a stark warning from his brother says the transformation has given him his life back.

Shaun Coffey, 55, weighed 22 stone when he paid his brother a visit in Australia last January.

After returning, a phone call between the two brothers about a new baby in the family led Shaun onto a path that would change his life within a year.

Shaun said: “We were out there for three weeks and had a great time, but I was struggling to walk around and the flight was really uncomfortable.

“We got back to the UK and my brother Ian phoned me and I said we couldn’t wait to do it again.

“He said, ‘do you want to watch Cora grow up?’ I couldn’t believe it – I said, ‘of course I do’.

“He said to me, ‘you will be dead in two years. I’m telling you his because I love you, and I would hate for anything to happen to you’.

Northwich Guardian:

“I came off the phone and my wife Sharon said I just went white.

“I couldn’t walk 20 yards pain-free, and that was it. I just said ‘that’s it, I’m going to do something about it’.”

Having consistently weighed around 13 stone, a barrage of medical problems led to Shaun piling on the pounds to a peak of 22 stone.

He lost his job and – while taking 36 medication tablets a day to cope with issues including arthritis, fibromyalgia and sleep apnoea – he began to eat out of boredom and for comfort.

After returning to his Leftwich home from Australia in January 2018, Shaun started off by walking short distances, pushing through the pain to go further each time.

Sharon eventually persuaded him to join Slimming World, and after losing his first half-a-stone, he was hooked and carried on setting small, achievable goals – all with his brother’s words ringing in his ears.

Northwich Guardian:

“I have just stuck to it,” said Shaun, who now weighs 12st 10lbs.

“I just will not touch things like chocolate, crisps and biscuits. In fact, I’m telling other people not to have them now as well. I cut my portions down, and I understand what’s good for me and what’s not.”

Back in work at Asda in Northwich and down from 36 tablets to just two, Shaun is regularly on his feet and says some neighbours don’t even recognise him anymore.

Slimmer of the Year Shaun said: “It has changed me. It’s the best thing I’ve done and if I can do it, anyone can.

“Two or three years ago I thought my life was over, but if you want to do it, you can do it.

“All of my family and friends have been so supportive and it has given me my life back – it’s changed everything. People see me and say it’s taken 10 years off me, and I feel like I’m a new person.”