Craig Stokes is the real big dipper after a humiliating experience on a rollercoaster led him to shed half his body weight.
Craig was on his nephew’s stag do to Thorpe Park in 2022 when he was forced to get off the Stealth ride because he was too big for the seat.
Several people tried to help strap him in, but they could not do up the harness around his 23st frame. He was forced to get off in front of all his friends and family, as well as the strangers queuing, and said it was the “ultimate most embarrassing moment”.
Craig, 43, said that moment, and seeing how overweight he looked in the following wedding pictures, made him change his lifestyle.
He signed up to Slimming World and started running and has since dropped from 23st 3lb to 11st 8lb and shrunk his waist by a whopping 26 inches.
Before the weight loss, he struggled to walk his dog round the block without getting out of breath. Now, he has run a half marathon in an impressive time of 1hr 45m and has signed up to do the London Marathon next year.
Craig, a managing director of a financial advisory company, saw his weight balloon during the Covid lockdown when he began comfort eating.
“I went to Thorpe Park and they tried to get me on the rollercoaster; several of them tried to close the restraints but they physically couldn’t do it up, and I had to get off the ride in front of all my friends and family and all these strangers,” he explained. “It was the ultimate most embarrassing moment of my life.”
However, things have turned around for Craig. He recently returned to Thorpe Park with his other nephew and was able to go on every ride, including Stealth.
“Now I fit into a small. I’ve got a bit of imposter syndrome about that because I’ve never seen myself as small. My life couldn’t be any more different now. I feel so positive, happy, and active,” he said.
Craig’s story is a tremendous example of how personal determination can lead to significant lifestyle changes.
Source: Bournemouth Echo
