After his 26-year weight gain, a man found it difficult to wear his socks while eating up to 35 chocolate bars per week. He has now revealed that his journey to becoming a professional boxer helped him lose 11 t.
Tobie Vermeire was 29, a Malvern Hills native from Worcester. He had previously struggled with his weight, but soon discovered that he could eat a four-pack Cadbury’s Double Deckers at lunchtime and sometimes even more.
Every bar has 30g of sugar, which means that the Double Decker addicted man was regularly consuming one kilo per week.
His heaviest weight was when he ate an additional 10,000 calories a day. He ate sausages, eggs, bacon and Pringles every morning. Two Domino’s pizzas each lunch and dinner.
Tobie Vermeire is a 29-year-old from Malvern Hills in Worcester. He weighed 26st when he was at his largest. Since then, he has shed 11st to be a professional fighter. Tobie’s weight loss
He was an insurance broker at the time, and wore 46 inch waists and XXXL clothing.
Tobie started his journey on September 2020. Tobie stopped eating chocolate, ice cream, and fast food and concentrated instead on his love for boxing.
While it was hard to stop the vicious cycle, “addicted” to calories, grease and fast food made him feel ill. He believes that had he not changed, he would still have eaten to his death.
The motorbike salesman lost over 11 stone in just over one year of hard training and diet. He now wants to become a professional boxer before the year ends.
Tobie stated, “I have always struggled with food.” I found it a familiar comfort in my childhood and continued to do so through my adulthood.
“When I was 18 years old, I played rugby at a decent level. However, when I suffered an injury I couldn’t play, it was eating like I was training. It just seemed like I got larger and more.
Tobbie (pictured right) is now weighing just below 15st. He set up social media accounts in order to hold himself accountable and lose weight.
Tobie claims that she has always struggled with food. She would consume around 35 bars (pictured) of Cadbury Double Decker chocolates per week.
Tobie stated that he had reduced the level of rugby (pictured right), to allow him to concentrate on his training.
Tobie couldn’t put on socks as his weight rose. He was unable to focus on his previous job as an insurer broker. Before his weight loss, Tobie
“Around 25 years old, I focused my attention on my job but that meant my health was worsening. My weight rose from 18 to 26 st. It was impossible for me to put on my own socks.
Tobie was a rugby player for his county until age 20 but his weight gained and Tobie made the decision to lose weight so that he could focus more on training.
Tobie commented: “With rugby, my playing was at a decent level but I stopped keeping up my exercise as I gained weight. I chose to stop trying to keep my body fit and drop the levels.
Tobie claimed that at 26 years of age, he was more susceptible to injury than he thought (see photo) and that even though he was injured, he would continue eating rugby-style.
Tobie says that the weight increased as he became less focused on his health. Tobie following weightloss
“I played rugby at 26st, but at a low level. I did not have to train. It was possible to show up at work when you were massive, and I still managed to get a job.
“It was not good for my health, and it made me more susceptible to injury. It was like playing, so I ate as if I were still healthy. The weight continued to mount.
Tobie chose to be a broker in insurance and put more emphasis on his health. His daily intake of 10,000 calories was enough to sustain him for a year.
He would chow down on two Domino’s pizzas at lunch with a four pack of Double Deckers, before having a large takeaway every evening.
Tobie admitted that he used to be a food addict. His only pleasure other than work was eating food. Photo: Prior to his weight loss
Tobie claimed he was shocked to learn that his 26-year-old self was so large (pictured right) when he saw the scales at work. Tobie, after weightloss
Tobie stated, “I was a food addict.” Food was my only pleasure and drive outside of work.
“I was working one day when they took the scales to everyone’s house so that we could all check our weight. My initial thought was that I’d be 21-1/2 inches tall, however I found out I was actually just two weeks lighter than I had previously been.
When I stepped on the tiles, I was 26-years old and was embarrassed by how much I’d grown. My 46-inch waist and XXXL clothing made me massive.
“I felt really sick. My fatigue, inability to move around, and constant headaches made it difficult for me to get up. My thyroid and diabetes were checked, but I ended up with depression.
Tobie said he had begun to feel ill with symptoms including fatigue and headaches, which turned out to be the physical signs of depression. Photo: Prior to his weight loss
Tobie made the decision to give up his favorite foods and lose weight. After losing weight, Tobie and his dog are pictured here.
Tobie, who had initially considered weight loss surgery, decided to go cold turkey and eat his favorite foods.
Tobie stated, “I had to treat this like a drug dependence and go teetotal with most foods that I had eaten before. No chocolate, no takeaways, or crisps.
I felt really sick and awful the first time. For several weeks, I experienced withdrawal symptoms. It was because I stopped eating the processed foods and chocolate that I had been eating.
“I became addicted to fast food, calories, and grease. So I decided to overhaul my diet.
I don’t think that I could have eaten as much if I hadn’t. It would be nice to believe that I have added 10-15 years to my life through overcoming years of eating disorder.
Tobie stated that withdrawal symptoms occurred after he stopped eating processed foods and chocolate. However, he believes that it has added years to his lifespan because he quit destructive eating. Photo: With a friend after weight loss
Tobbie has fought previously in white collar fights and said that he had set the goal to become a professional fighter to stay on track. Left: Tobbie after his weight loss
Tobie set a high goal for himself to maintain a healthy diet and began boxing after he had fought in white collar fights with the intention of going professional.
Tobie was quoted as saying: “There and then, I decided to make a shift and grab life by its horns.
“Rugby was no longer inspiring me so I decided to do something else. It was time to find a challenge that would get me up out of my bed, and motivate me.
“I was a long-time boxing enthusiast and set myself a goal to keep me focused. It was my goal to be a professional boxer.
Tobbie, (pictured right now), said that he started exercising after losing some weight and joined a gym.
I tried asking for advice from others, but realized I could do this all by myself. After losing a bit of weight and feeling confident, I signed up for a boxing club and began to work on heavy bags alone.
“It just hasn’t stopped from there. Since the covid restrictions were lifted, I have had some amateur fights and sparred regularly with pros.
Tobie started an Instagram page and TikTok profile called Obese2Boxer as a means of holding himself accountable. It now stands at just below 15st.
Tobie said: ‘I’ve never been happier. It’s how I ought to have felt when I was 18-19. This has brought me a new lease on life.
Tobbie (pictured), stated that he felt bad about not making changes sooner. He also revealed that he wants to fight as many people as possible during this season.
The only thing I regret is not having done it sooner. It’s a shame that it got to this point and I didn’t make a change sooner.
“It has been an incredible year of transformation. My mental health has been greatly improved. Because I love motorbikes, I quit my job as an insurer broker to sell them.
“I still need to fight more before I’m able to go pro and get sponsorship.
“I was supposed to be fighting at January’s end, but this has been postponed due to covid. This season, we are trying to make as many fights as possible.