TRANSFORMATION: Keith has lost a staggering 18 stone
A MAN who got so fat he was nicknamed after Jungle Book bear Baloo loses a whopping 18st.
At his heaviest, Keith Clements ballooned to a huge 39st on a no-limit diet of booze, KFC and pizzas.
On an average weekend the 36 year-old, who was nicknamed Baloo bear because of his billowing stomach, would down 25 pints and munch his way through endless takeaways.
But four years ago he was diagnosed as diabetic and told by his doctor he would be dead within five years unless he lost weight.
Desperate to turn his life around, he had a gastric band fitted which saw him quickly drop 9st.
However, at 30st he was still alarmingly overweight. But after cutting booze from his life, Keith managed to shed another 6st.
The super-slimmer then took up boxing and a further 3st dropped off of him.
OBESE: The 36-year-old would chug down 25 pints a night
“I think boxing is one of the best things I have ever done,” he said. “Scott would shout at me until I pushed myself to the absolute limit, and that’s what I needed.”
Keith, who from Gloucestershire, England, now tips the scales at just over 20 stones and is hoping to lose yet more weight.
He said: “I was classed as diabetic four years ago and had to have four injections a day.
“I had type-two diabetes and was borderline going into a coma because my blood sugar levels were so high.
“My doctor told me that unless I went on a diet immediately, I could be dead in five years.
“I cried myself to sleep that night, and knew things had to change.
“I went to hospital and had a gastric band which saved my life.”
Keith – who still gets called Baloo despite the transformation – says he also owes his success to his friend Pete Nunn who gives him nutrition advice.
AFTER: Keith hopes to inspire others to lose weight
“All of my friends have helped me and encouraged me so much – we’re like a family,” he said. “I never expected to lose this amount. My target weight is 20 stone so I am almost there.”
Before his weight loss, Keith would never set himself limits when eating and drinking.
He said: “I thought I could eat everything – I would go out every weekend and drink up to 25 pints, then get KFC or pizza.
“When you’re young, you don’t worry about what might happen in the future – you eat stuff and think nothing of it.
But he’s transformed his diet and his life and is now happier and healthier than ever.
“Now, I eat porridge, chicken and broccoli, and go to the gym five times a week,” he said. “I’ve completely cut out bread, chips, lager and fizzy drinks.
“If I can help one person to do what I have then that’s an achievement to me,” he added.
The post Morbidly obese man cruelly dubbed ‘Baloo bear’ sheds 18 STONE appeared first on Irish Daily Star.