Dad who feared he'd never see his kids grow up loses 46kgs

22 February 2024 , 10:29

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James started to put on weight after getting married (Image: Collect/PA Real Life)

A dad who was 'terrified' he wouldn't see his daughters grow up after spending a summer stuck in bed has now lost an amazing 46kg and can run faster than his girls.

James Scroggie, 40, who lives in Wilmslow, Cheshire, with his wife Sarah, 35, and their two children, Eloise, seven, and Robyn, four, reached his heaviest weight of 139kg during lockdown. He thinks he started to gain weight after he got married because he wasn't trying to "look good for somebody else any more".

Before deciding to lose weight, James would eat up to 6,000 calories a day, often relying on fast food and having takeaways two or three times a week. But in 2022, he was diagnosed with diabetes and leukocytoclastic vasculitis a condition that causes inflammation in small blood vessels and was stuck in bed for six weeks. Hearing his children playing outside and not being able to join in made James realise that he had to start looking after his health.

After talking to his doctor, he was given semaglutide a medicine that helps you lose weight by making you feel full and less hungry and he managed to lose around 15kg, going from a size XXXXL to a XL. In May 2023, the dad joined his local Ultimate Performance gym to help him lose weight. He started eating better and working out more. Now he's lost 46kg and weighs 93kg. He can even run faster than his daughters.

James has gone from a size XXXXL to XL (Collect/PA Real Life)

James said: "I'm a different human being now both physically and mentally. I don't recognise myself when I look in a mirror. I can play with the girls and pick them up without getting out of breath. Earlier, my youngest said 'Daddy is so strong' when I picked her up above my head she never would have said that before and it's so easy to take that sort of thing for granted."

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After getting married in 2015, James started to gain weight. He admitted: "I guess I settled down and got comfortable and stopped caring what I looked like, to be honest with you, because I wasn't really trying to look good for somebody else any more. I already secured a wife and I just let myself go I put on half a stone every year for eight or so years."

Before, James ate lots of convenience food and didn't exercise much. He said: "I'd have a takeaway two or three times a week, and when I was in the office I'd eat sandwiches and a lot of pasties... I'd eat a lot of red meat, I'd have a steak two or three times a week. My portion control was horrendous... a chocolate bar and a couple of bags of crisps wouldn't be out of the ordinary in the daytime."

"And I'd go through two litres of fizzy full-fat drinks a day and never really drank water. I was probably having 5,000 or 6,000 calories a day I could have a ready meal for dinner, and be hungry an hour later, then have another one." But, in June 2022, a rash appeared on his thigh, and he was eventually diagnosed with leukocytoclastic vasculitis.

James does not recognise his reflection in the mirror now he's lost the weight (Collect/PA Real Life)

He said: "From there, I spent 23 hours a day in bed for six weeks... it apparently affects about 30 out of a million people a year so it's very, very rare. By September, I was still in a lot of pain and ended up taking a variety of pain medication and was on very high doses of gabapentin an epilepsy drug used to treat nerve damage."

"It turned out that the solution for the vasculitis was steroids but it caused my blood sugar to spike significantly and I became type two diabetic." When James was diagnosed with diabetes, in October 2022, his GP urged him to lose weight. He said: "I know I had to lose weight the tipping point was, when I spent that time in bed over the summer, I could hear the girls playing in the garden having water fights and not being able to spend time with them was really hard."

"I thought 'I'm not going to see my girls growing up', and I was terrified." James was soon prescribed semaglutide and said: "I physically couldn't eat anywhere near as much and I stopped drinking full-fat fizzy drinks. One of the things that I noticed while taking it was that my taste changed slightly I didn't enjoy food as much as I used to."

After being on the medication from October 2022 to January 2023, James managed to lose 15kg. When he stopped taking the drug because there wasn't any more left, he decided to start exercising. In May 2023, he joined a special gym called Ultimate Performance where you work out with your own personal trainer.

James reached his heaviest weight in lockdown (Collect/PA Real Life)

He explained how tough it was at first: "When I first started training I found it exceptionally hard because it was almost rehab I went into the gym very, very unhealthy and very weak. I have two sessions a week they're whole body workout sessions with a mix of high intensity interval training at the end of the sessions."

He talks about his exercise routine: "It's a case of hitting whole body parts a couple of times a week for me with things like dead-lifts, dumbbells, lat pull-downs and hip extensions. It's not always high reps, it's not always high weight it's a real focus on form." James also walks 10,000 steps every day and eats healthy foods like chicken, plain rice, and lots of veggies. Thanks to his hard work, he has lost an amazing 46kg.

He proudly added: "I run faster than both my girls now and I no longer take any medication I'm not on any painkillers or on any of the diabetes medication, and that is purely because my health has improved. I go for regular blood tests for my diabetes and my blood sugar is normal and my resting heart rate is very good as well."

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"I couldn't be where I am today without the love and support from Sarah and the girls they are what drive me forward." He encouraged others to lose weight and stated: "I always thought I'd be the size I was, and never thought I'd be able to lose it. I just want to inspire others, and show them if I can do it, they can do it."

"It's changed my life and I needed to hit rock bottom to make me realise how much I needed to lose weight." For more details, visit: ultimateperformance.com.

Rom Preston-Ellis