A jumbo-sized dad who ballooned to almost 40 stone shed more than half his body weight – after he dreamt about his own FUNERAL.
Richard Payne, 34, piled on the pounds after years of gorging on greasy fry-ups and secret late-night takeaways.
At his heaviest, Richard tipped the scales at a whopping 39 stone 11lbs (252.6kg) and was so unfit he needed to use an inhaler just to walk upstairs.
But he decided to take drastic action after he had a nightmare one night of his three children standing over his grave.
The next day Richard – dad to Joshua, eight, Grace, three, and Angel, five – joined Slimming World after his dream in July last year.
After just one week he lost more than a stone and has since shed a staggering 22.5 stone (143kg) to weigh in at a leaner 17 stone 4lbs (110kg).
Richard, of Castle Vale, Birmingham, has now become a fitness fanatic and goes to his local gym every day for a 90 minute workout.
He said: “Before I’d had that dream, my weight wasn’t really something that bothered me too much, it was just a part of how I was.
“It was so vivid. I was at the bottom of a grave, looking up at my children, who were peering at my dead body.
“Then my wife stepped in front of them, and peered down at me too, and I was powerless to do anything or say anything to them.
“When I woke up I was in absolute bits, I had to wake my wife up to comfort me, and give my kids a big cuddle when they woke up.
“Of course I’d thought before about how I might have potential health problems, but this was the ultimate kick up the backside.
“It was my mind’s way of telling me that if I didn’t change quickly, I would die young.
“The day after the dream I signed up to Slimming World, and the next day I went along to my first session.
“I’d become a bit of a hermit, in truth, so I felt incredibly awkward walking in to a room of 30 women.
“Every time you got a session you have to be weighed, but it was clear when I first walked in that I was going to be far too big to fit them.
“But the group leader just said ‘leave it with me’.
“The next week, he’d bought in bigger scales, and I was able to go into a separate room to have myself weighed.
“The diet is fantastic, because you’re still eating a lot of the things you want to eat, just lower fat options.
“My diet before was awful. If I had breakfast, it would be six sausages, six bacon rashers, a mountain of beans, loads of hash browns – the lot.
“If I didn’t have breakfast, I would get a KFC bucket or go to an all you can eat buffet for lunch, but then I wouldn’t be hungry when we sat down for dinner.
“So, instead, I’d sneak out when my wife Christine was unaware and get a takeaway and eat it secretly in the car. There were a lot of times when I did that.
“It’s awful, because you’re lying to yourself then.
“Whenever I have a hankering for fatty foods now, I go out and buy myself some nice aftershave as a treat. It’s a good alternative.”
Richard, a factory worker, has now been forced to buy an entire new wardrobe after becoming swamped by his jumbo-sized clothes.
He added: “Christine can’t believe it, and the kids have been really supportive. They love messing around with my old clothes.
“I’m constantly finding I’m having to clothes shop now, but it’s a great feeling.
“At the moment I feel as though my weight is a bit of a mistruth, because I have two stone (12.7kg) of loose fat, so I feel as though I’m a slimmer guy that’s still surrounded by old fat.”
His wife Christine, 30, a shop worker, has also noticed a marked difference in her husband.
She said: “He’s like a new man. His energy levels are so much improved and he can keep up with the kids more.
“When I look at him now it’s like having a different husband. I’m very proud of his achievement.
