New Forest father-of-two Mark Foster shed 10 stone in 10 months after his previous morbid obesity put his life at risk

The morbidly obese dad-of-two was in and out of hospital over his life-threateningly high blood pressure and could not walk anywhere without having inhalers to help him breathe.

However tipping the scales at 25 stone, he became so fat he literally ‘popped’ at work suffering a hernia.

As he recovered from that operation life got worse. He was walking his dog in the New Forest when his knee gave in, leaving him in agony and stranded with no option but to call 999 who brought in specialist equipment to rescue him.

Mark and Diana before the weight loss

Severely depressed, Mark was so sure his weight would kill him, he even began studying his life insurance policy to protect his wife Diana and their two boys aged 11 and 12.

Mark, 49, said: “It was horrendous. I waited all my life for boys and I couldn’t do anything with them. In my eyes there was nothing I could do to get out of it. I had eaten myself to death.”

After being denied a gastric band by his GP who he now hails a hero, Mark was spurred on by his family to try to shift the pounds.

Diana, a community nurse, pledged to support him through healthy eating and exercise and within 10 months he has lost a staggering 10st 5lbs - and she has even lost three stone herself.

Diana, 52, said: “I am so proud of him. I have got a new husband in every way. He thought he was going to die and now he is living with a vengeance.”

Mark joined his local Slimming World group in August 2013 after he was forced to give up work with troubled youths at The Priory due to the hernia.

He explained: “I herniated at work, I literally popped. It was very uncomfortable and very frightening. Myself and Diana had to swap roles. I stayed at home and she went to work full time because I was too fat to do anything.

“I ended up in hospital three times on one occasion my blood pressure 200/150, which is off the scale. I was told I was very likely to have a stroke any minute and despite losing three stone, doctors warned me the strain of being overweight could be fatal as I went under the knife to operate on the hernia.

“Whilst in recovery, I was trying to walk the dog to get fit again and I had an arthritic pad burst behind my knee which totally took me out. I had to be rescued in the forest. I couldn’t walk, I couldn’t do anything. The ambulance had to bring out a three axle buggy to drive across the forest.”

Mark, who was taking eight types of tablets each day, was so mortified, that incident led to severe depression.

“I was so clinically obese I couldn’t do anything but sit on the sofa and retreat into myself, pushing the family away all the time.

“To outside people I would be the jolly giant and make them laugh. At home though, I’d build big barriers around me.

“I would eat a massive dinner then sleep in the chair or pretend to be asleep so I’d be left alone because if anyone came near me, I would snap.

“I would watch other dads with their children but I couldn’t do anything with mine. If I did, it just broke my heart.

“I went back to the doctor and discussed having a gastric band because I fitted the criteria but he looked at me and said ‘no, you won’t learn anything’.

“I went home and talked to Diana. I knew Slimming World worked before but this time was different. She said she would come with me and we would do it together.”

After joining Emilie Drew-Rook’s group at Calmore Community Centre, the couple learned about healthy eating and enjoying fresh, homemade meals.

Today, life couldn’t be more different.

Previously when they went out together, Mark was so unfit he had to sit in a chair while Diana brought the car to him, and when he tried to ride his bike he would cause a puncture or buckle it.

Now though he swims, runs and cycles with his family, and has even fulfilled a dream of playing a veterans rugby match.

They are so inspirational they became one of just 23 couples from across the UK to reach the finals of Slimming World’s Couple of the Year competition.

Mark, said: “Everyone has had the humiliation of not being able to fit in a seat, bending over and not being able to do your laces, being out of breath when your friends are still dancing, I’ve had chairs crashing underneath me and with the help of my friend I even managed to break my sofa because I was just too big.

"Doing this together has made a huge difference because we understood how the other person was feeling and didn’t ever feel like we were alone.

“I can’t say it’s an improvement of my life because it is a completely different life now.

I compare it to Forrest Gump when they say ‘Go on Forest, run!’ and literally as he runs the calipers come off and that is what the weight was like. It stopped me being normal and there is no going back now.

“The boys are beside themselves and it’s just wonderful.”