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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Emma Dunn & John Bett

Man sheds a third of his body weight and now 'family don't recognise' him

A man who almost died due to his 24 stone weight lost an immense eight stone - but he looks so different that now his friends and family don't recognise him.

Jamie Anderson, 34, was rushed into hospital with an abscess which caused an infection - and while he was laid up doctors broke the news that he had diabetes.

Determined to make a change and reclaim his health, Jamie embarked on a fitness regime and managed to lose an impressive eight stone - a third of his body weight.

Now Jamie, from Skegness, Lincolnshire, looks so different that no one recognises him - not even his family.

Jamie almost died when he was taken to hospital (Jamie Anderson / SWNS)
He decided to reclaim his health (Jamie Anderson / SWNS)

What do you think about Jamie's incredible efforts? Let us know in the comments...

Jamie, who sells static caravans, said: "It was touch and go. I've got a young child and partner. I didn't want that to end.

"I decided to put on a tracksuit and started running. I looked at what I was eating.

"I started losing weight and feeling great. People close to me – I can walk towards them and they don't recognise me at first.

"I'm what I have always wanted to be."

Jamie had a wake-up call in February 2022 after he went to his GP with a painful lump.

He was told it was an abscess and put on antibiotics.

Jamie wanted to lose the weight so he could spend more time with his son, Oliver (Jamie Anderson / SWNS)
Jamie bought a treadmill and got to work (Jamie Anderson / SWNS)

But, after they failed to ease his pain, he went to Pilgrim Hospital, Boston, Lincolnshire, and was immediately admitted when they realised he had an infection.

Doctors told Jamie he had high cholesterol and diabetes – which caused him to become septic.

He had four emergency operations to drain the abscess and remove the infection, an operation that saved his life.

He added: "It became septic and got into my skin. I had a blood disease eating away at my skin.

"They tried to drain in and then it worsened. It got close to my reproductive area."

Soon the weight started falling away (Jamie Anderson / SWNS)
Now people don't recognise Jamie (Jamie Anderson / SWNS)

After a month, Jamie was released and he was determined to lose some weight for the sake of his partner, Amanda Wright, 35, and their son, Oliver, 11.

He continued: "I wasn't unhappy. I was a confident person but I had to look after my health."

Jamie looked at his diet and switched daily Chinese and Indian takeaways and meals out for home-cooked food such as chicken and vegetables.

He cut out the five cans of Pepsi he had been drinking and bought a treadmill to start running.

Even Jamie's own family don't recognise him (Jamie Anderson / SWNS)
Jamie has never looked back since losing the weight (Jamie Anderson / SWNS)

Jamie said: "Seeing the changes made me feel really good. I had felt too fat to go to the gym.

"When I'd lost some of the weight I found the confidence to go."

Now at 16 stone and a size large, Jamie is able to ditch his 4XL wardrobe and buy from designer brands for the first time.

He said: "I feel more active. More awake. It's difficult to look back.

He now has a new lease of life (Jamie Anderson / SWNS)
Jamie can now shop in high-street stores (Jamie Anderson / SWNS)

"I look at myself then and I'm quite disgusted."

Jamie is now happy with the weight he is at and works out twice a day but still allows himself to have a takeaway once a week with his family.

He said: "I've got some loose skin. I'm going to tone up with weight training."

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