Obese Scots dad sheds half his body weight after taking NHS weight-loss jab

Edinburgh Live

05-05-2025

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A formerly obese dad who lost more than half his body weight after starting weight-loss injections has credited the drugs for saving his life and stopping him from 'eating himself to death'.
On an average day, Bryan Spark, 49, would eat over 5,000 calories, more than double the recommended amount, through a combination of finishing off his son's dinners, eating whole packs of biscuits, and drinking litres of fizzy drinks.
The dad-of-three, from Castle Douglas, Dumfries and Galloway, decided enough was enough in November 2023, after seeing a picture of himself at 33-stone (209 kg; 462 lbs) at his son's birthday party.
He was so heavy that he couldn't tie his own shoes or see his bathroom scales due to the size of his chest and stomach, reports the Record.
Now, he's lost 18 stone (114 kg; 252 lbs) - which he credits to starting the £200 per month weight loss injection Saxenda and, later, NHS-prescribed Mounjaro.
Bryan, who stands 6'3" tall (190 cm), said: "It was embarrassing, it was horrendous. My wife was writing down my weights because I couldn't see the scale.
"That sounds really stupid, but the size of my chest and stomach - I couldn't see the scale anyway. When I stopped off it, it said 'overload' on the screen."
A full-time carer for his son and wife, Bryan decided to make his goal losing 10 stone - through a combination of diet and exercise, assisted by the weight loss injections.
Bryan bought an exercise bike and went through three saddles after the pins became bent due to his excessive weight.
He said: "I just kept replacing the seat and kept going, it's when I started cycling like that, I felt myself getting a bit healthier, being able to breathe a bit easier.
"I was always out of breath going up the stairs and literally doing anything. It was just horrendous, when you start seeing the difference, when your t-shirts are far too big for you.
"In the first six months I lost close to eight stone, it was just a huge difference."
Now a keen cyclist, Bryan, who now weighs 15 stone (95 kg; 210 lbs) is planning a 1,000-mile charity bike ride from Lands End to John O'Groats in 2026, to celebrate his 50th birthday.
He thanked his doctor for giving him the motivation to go to a weight loss clinic, saying he 'wouldn't have survived' without his drastic lifestyle changes.
He said: "I see in the news and the papers all the time, it always says 'this could happen to you if you take these injections', and tonnes could go wrong.
"There's not a huge amount of positive stories out there - it's been life saving, I don't think I would have lived much longer, I was a heart attack waiting to happen, amongst other things.
"I was eating myself to death really."
He added: "My attitude towards life has improved, I'm a lot happier in myself.
"My family have supported everything, my wife loved me no matter what size I was, but obviously she was concerned about the size of me and illnesses.
"The differences, my goodness I can do stuff. I can go for walks, I can tie my shoelaces, it's stupid things. My stomach was in the way, I always wore slip-on trainers and put my laces in my shoes because I couldn't do it.
"I was struggling with everything, it sounds a bit dramatic, but literally I was struggling with everything and not able to do much."