SHEDDING more than 14 stone means Matthew Briggs now does a double-take when he passes a mirror.

Matthew says he still does not recognise himself after shedding 14 stone five-and-a-half pounds in 17 months. At his heaviest, the 29-year-old tipped the scales at 31 stone three-and-a-half pounds and had to shop in specialist stores to fit his XXXXXL frame and his 56” waistline. Now Matthew, of Strensall, weighs 17 stone and half a pound and has a 38” waistline – meaning he can now shop on the high street.

Before, Matthew said he tended to eat only one meal at night, but he would “stuff myself silly” on pre-packaged meals, takeaways and his daily indulgence of a two-litre bottle of full-fat cola.

Now he eats three regular meals a day and has swapped the greasy food with his new found enthusiasm for cooking up imaginative healthy meals.

“I have never felt fuller,” said Matthew, who works for a mobile phone operator. “By eating three small meals a day I never feel like I am being denied anything and I am never hungry.”

He now exercises four or five times a week at a gym and has recently completed a 50k charity bike ride.

Matthew said he was active in his younger teens, but when his mum became ill with multiple sclerosis and he had more responsibility at home exercise fell by the wayside. Consequently, he said, the weight began to creep on.

He said it was after Christmas 2010 when family pictures were posted on Facebook that he realised how unhappy he was with his weight.

“Quite simply, I looked huge,” he said. “My step-mum went to Slimming World and asked if I wanted to join her and my dad encouraged me by saying he would pay for the first 12 weeks – but if I hadn’t lost anything by then I would have to pay him every single penny back.”

He said the bet spurred him on and he lost 12 pounds in the first week after joining on January 20, 2010.

Since then Matthew’s weight has showed a steady decrease with him crediting the support and advice from fellow members at the Huntington Slimming World Group for his amazing achievement.

“Everyone is so supportive and I have made some fantastic, life-long friends,” he said.

Matthew said he feels like a different person. “Sometimes I forget what I look like now,” he said. “I catch myself in the mirror and I do a double take as I do not recognise myself,”

He has taken over as consultant of the Holgate Slimming World Group, on Wednesdays at 7pm at Poppleton Road Memorial Hall.

Matthew's vital statistics

BEFORE

Waistline: 56”
Weight: 31 stone three-and-a-half pounds
Ate/drank: Takeaways, pre-packed food, full-fat cola.

AFTER

Waistline: 38”
Weight: 17 stone and half a pound
Eats/drinks: Healthy home-cooked meals and diet cola.