- Always large, Brendan’s poor diet led his weight to rise to nearly 26st
- Aged 30 he decided to tackle his size and joined Slimming World
- Drastically changed diet and discovered a love of running
- Lost over 11st to reach 14st 6lb and is now slim enough to learn how to fly
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A man has gone from struggling to fasten his seatbelt on a plane to looking forward to taking his first flying lessons after losing more than 11st.
Thirty-one-year-old Brendan O’Donnell has dreamed of fulfilling his ambition to learn to fly for years but was always too heavy for light aircraft. Now he’s slimmed from 25st 9lb to 14st 6lb and been named Slimming World Man of the Year 2014 – and to celebrate he’s planning to take to the air.
Brendan, who works for insurance firm Aviva, was nicknamed ‘Big Bee’ as a child and has struggled with his weight since school.
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Weighing in at 25st 9lb at size 6XL and a 48in waist Brendan, pictured cuddling a friend’s baby, decided to tackle his diet
Standing at 6ft, Brendan lost 11st 3lb through diet and exercise, now weighing a trim 14st 6lb (right)
He would hide behind jokes about his size and, despite attempting to slim down in the past, it wasn’t until his 30th birthday that he decided to make a serious change.
He says: ‘I turned 30 at the beginning of 2013. You get to that age and I suppose you start to grow up a bit. I’d been lucky and didn’t have any health problems, but I began to wonder how long I could continue with the lifestyle I was leading and remain reasonably healthy.
‘We organised a number of birthday celebrations throughout the year and looking back I realise my weight impacted on a lot of them. A holiday to Spain last summer was almost ruined because I spent the whole time feeling too hot to enjoy myself, and on the plane home I only just managed to fasten the seatbelt. It dug into me for the whole flight and I decided enough was enough.
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George W,
London,
1 hour ago
It looks like he’s getting ready to eat that baby in the first picture………….
Big Vinny,
Tunbridge Wells, United Kingdom,
2 hours ago
Good for you mate. It’s amazing how much younger one looks after they’ve lost weight too.
duffle,
durham, United Kingdom,
3 hours ago
He looks amazing well done
Scarlet,
Castle in the Air, United States,
4 hours ago
I guess once a certain weight threshold is reached, being young can’t save one’s elastin. You can tell he has loose skin in his torso area. I thought that was just because I was past 50 when I went from 17st to 11st. Was rather shocked as I didn’t think 85 lbs was all that much weight to lose compared to people like this gentleman. I’d rather be fat and have round boobs, not flat ones!
poppy67,
London, United Kingdom,
1 hour ago
Rosie And Jim,
On the Canal, United Kingdom,
4 hours ago
Wow, what a good looking guy that looks about 15yrs younger now.
Well done to you and your wife, a great achievement. Slimming World is great.
Nancy13,
Akron,
6 hours ago
Very well done! You must feel so much healthier and energetic now. And cudos to your wife as well. I’ve yet to ever see a story where the wife/partner tells the man he’s sexually unattractive to her, or calls him names to force a change (unlike many stories where men do those things to women). Emotional extortion doesn’t work long term. What does work is a supportive spouse/partner who helps and encourages you when you’re ready to change.
Bwanza Mungwanza,
The Royal Borough of Chelsea, United Kingdom,
6 hours ago
FYI, you don’t train to be a pilot at age 30. You do it in your early 20s. Plus, flying is a very sedentary profession. Someone with weight issues needs to find a non-desk-based (or cockpit-based) job that allows them to burn off calories, otherwise the weight is likely to pile back on again. I suggest he trains as a postman instead.
TheTruthHurts8892,
Midlands, United Kingdom,
2 hours ago
poppy67,
London, United Kingdom,
1 hour ago
hayley in vegas,
Las Vegas NV, United States,
7 hours ago
Great job! Enjoy the results of your hard work! You look amazing.
Maggie,
Oxford,
7 hours ago
Slimming World’s weekly advertisement in the DM.
(But well done for losing the weight!)
IP Freely,
Geelong, Australia,
7 hours ago
Well done, you look fantastic!
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