A morbidly obese fast food addict who was given a “diet or die” ultimatum from his doctors not only lost 266 pounds (approx. 121 kg), he also completed a half marathon with his personal trainer.
Twenty-eight-year-old Brit Darren McClintock, nicknamed “Dibsy,” weighed 560 pounds (approx. 254 kg) in 2018. Doctors warned Dibsy that his junk food habit may very well send him to an early grave, and the shocking revelation spurred the young man into action.
Personal trainer Mike Hind, notorious for his practice of taking on one pro bono client every year, noticed Dibsy and his mom outside his healthy diner one day and offered the overweight man his assistance. It was the boost Dibsy needed to get started on his formidable weight loss journey.
Hind, a married father of three, had an ingenious idea. He planted posters around Dibsy’s hometown of Middlesbrough, England, urging fast food vendors not to serve his client.
“Save Dibsy,” the poster read. “Obesity is killing him. Do not serve this man.”
Dibsy pledged to give up his vices: fast food, fizzy drinks, and alcohol. He pledged to reduce his staggering 11,000 daily calorie consumption, and Hind helped his overweight friend to design the perfect, tailor-made exercise regime.
Hind provided Dibsy with the expert advice and moral support he needed to thrive on his new regime. With hard work, determination, and gargantuan willpower, Dibsy started to see impressive results.
Ten months after his weight loss journey began, Dibsy had lost almost half his original body weight. In celebration of his progress, Dibsy completed the Great North Run in Newcastle, England, on Sept. 8, 2019.
As good as his word, Dibsy finished the race in a triumphant 2 hours and 43 minutes.
“It’s an amazing feeling afterwards, knowing you have done it,” the young runner continued. “I found it hard but the sense of achievement is unbelievable.” Dibsy hopes to achieve an even better finishing time in 2020.
While Dibsy has been left with excess skin after his dramatic weight loss, he hopes to raise enough money for a skin-removal procedure in the future. He has also passed his driving test, has a new romantic interest, and even earned himself a job working at Hind’s healthy diner.
“I am living proof that it can be done,” he said.