By Helen Le Caplain

Copyright dailyrecord

A ‘fit’ army lad ballooned to a 19st ‘fat b*****d’ with 12-pint sessions with his mates – before being scared into losing weight by a doomsayer doc who said he’d die. Dave Stewart piled on the pounds after leaving the armed forces in 2011, gorging on takeaways, crisps and fizzy pop daily and supping up to 12 pints on a Saturday with pals. Tipping the scales at 19st 7lbs, 6ft 2in Dave was painfully self-conscious and battling a number of weight-related health issues including a heart condition related to his high blood pressure. However he stayed that weight for 18 years, despite enduring judging stares at his 47-inch waist on the school run , jibes off his mates and feeling ‘disgusted’ at the way he looked. It was only when a doctor told the 40-year-old he needed to lose weight otherwise he would be dead before 50 that he decided to make a change. Going ‘cold turkey’ in October 2024, size 2XL Dave quit fatty, processed foods for homemade protein-rich meals and veg, weighing everything out and diligently tracking it. The dad-of-two also signed up to a night-time gym membership, working out doing weights and cardio at 3am under the cover of darkness so he wouldn’t be watched. Now, 11 months on from starting his health and fitness journey, Dave’s dropped a whopping 6st 3lbs and now weighs 13st 4lbs – the same he did when in the army. Quitting his job as a mechanic and launching DS Personal Training, Dave is sharing his story as a former ‘fat b*****d’ to encourage anyone struggling with their weight that change is possible. Dave, from Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire, said: “I had a typical Scottish diet including scotch pies, rolls and square sausages. “Almost every day I would be eating a fatty breakfast. For lunch I’d have a McDonald’s and at night I’d come home and order a takeaway. “When I wasn’t at work I went to the pub – that was my favourite thing to do, socialising with friends at weekends. I’d drink 10-12 pints of Tennent’s then have a kebab. “I felt like I was a loser, that I couldn’t achieve anything, [I would think] ‘why couldn’t I have healthy meals?’ I felt judged taking my kids to school, I felt people were staring at me like ‘look at the big, fat so-and-so’. “People would comment on my weight all the time and I used to laugh it off and pretend I wasn’t bothered but deep down you are bothered by it. I had more stick off my mates than I did off strangers, lads are like that. “I used to look in the mirror and I was disgusted with the way I looked but then I would continue eating anyway as a coping mechanism, it was a vicious cycle.” In the army Dave studied fitness, health and exercise and so was ‘really fit’ – while spending four years in the army and his last role being in the royal military police. Going from an active role in the military to working as a mechanic, Dave wasn’t exercising as much and devoured fatty foods daily. This, coupled with boozing with pals at the weekend saw the pounds pile on, contributing to high blood pressure-related health problems. It was only when doctors warned him that if he didn’t change his ways he wouldn’t live another 10 years that Dave made a change. Dave said: “I went from fit to fat and I stayed fat for a long time. Although I knew all the stuff and the correct way to do it there was no discipline and motivation there to continue to do it. “I went from a medium up to 2XL. I was overweight and the older I got, I started getting more health conditions. I developed a heart condition related to high blood pressure. “The doctor said ‘you need to lose weight, you need to get a grip of yourself, you will be dead before you’re 50’. “He looked me in the eye and said ‘you will not see your children grow if you don’t make a change’. That’s when I decided ‘right now is the time to change’.” Now a size medium with a trim 32-inch waist, Dave has switched careers to become a PT and shares content on social media to help others. In one self-deprecating post Dave describes why he decided to become a personal trainer at 40 claiming ‘because I was the fat b*stard making excuses always’. Dave said: “I went cold turkey in October 2024. I stopped drinking, started tracking my food, started looking at my nutrition and got myself a personal trainer. “Within a month I started losing quite a lot of weight, started feeling better, had more energy, my clothes felt looser and my general mood became a lot better. “I’d go out jogging crazy early in the morning or late at night because I didn’t want anyone to see me, I was paranoid about my appearance. “I would work out in secret. I got a night-time membership for the local gym and would train at 3am when it was at the quietest. I also found when I went then, other people in a similar body position as me were going at the same time as me. “This got me thinking about getting into personal training and focusing on people like me who were obese and didn’t know where to start to create a safe environment for them. “I wrote the ‘fat b*stard’ post to get some self-depreciating humour in there and engage with other people by showing my true self. I wanted to try and encourage other people to say ‘if this guy can do it, why can’t I?’.”