Get the biggest stories sent straight to your inbox Sign up for regular updates and breaking news from WalesOnline Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

A man dubbed “the human doughnut” has lost an amazing 29 stones by following a very low calorie diet and making regular visits to the gym.

Rob Gillett, 27, received cruel taunts after appearing on Channel 4 show Supersize v Superskinny when he weighed 41 stones and, despite being only 5ft 3in tall, had a waist measuring a massive 6ft 6in.

But, with a lot of determination and the help of LighterLife counsellor Claire Warren, he has shrunk to a healthy 12st 9lbs by eating a very low calorie diet with group support, cognitive behavioural therapy and transactional analysis techniques.

He now goes to the gym six times a week, which is even more impressive given that just two years ago, he used to have to get a taxi to take him down the road to get to the bus stop.

The youth worker, from Bridgend, said: “I wanted to do Supersize as I thought that it could help me deal with my weight, however, I just felt humiliated at the media headlines. The attention I got from the show was just horrendous at times too. Somebody sent me a big box of doughnuts and put jagged pieces of metal in them.

“The police never caught the person who sent the box, but needless to say my family and myself were distraught.

“I know that I was the person putting food into my mouth, but the reality is that food was not the issue; I was battling with underlying, deep-seated problems and I was using food to dull the pain. I felt the show really didn’t help at all, and I ended up putting on the four stone I lost quickly after filming stopped.”

When he finally decided to slim down his BMI was an alarming 104 – compared to a healthy range of 18 to 25 – thanks to a 7,000 calorie-a-day diet of sugary food, sweets and cream doughnuts, which also left him with very weak gums.

At his heaviest, he was housebound, suffered mini strokes and sleep apnea, and couldn’t drive because his stomach was in the way. Now, he is at the gym every morning at 6am, does nordic walking and circuit training.

Rob says: “I knew I had to do something about my weight, and had seen people like Pauline Quirke lose weight on LighterLife and thought it could work for me. I had tried so many diets in the past that I was sceptical it could work, but it was like a light bulb came on for me when I we2wnt to my first session.

For the first time I was on a weight loss programme that tackled the emotional issues of eating, and it allowed me to see why I was basically eating myself to death. I still can’t believe I have lost the same amount of weight as two grown men. I have a new lease of life now.”

Claire Warren, LighterLife counsellor for Bridgend says: “Rob has worked so hard to lose weight and he is a real inspiration.”

More like this:

How super-fit civil servant who used to weigh 25 stone ran five marathons in five days - on his way to work

'Pole dancing helped me shift four stone - and drop four dress sizes'

Ditching the takeaways led to 9st weight loss in just 15 months for slimming mum