How Shane Thomas lost five stone in six months

Today he is slim and muscular with a short trendy haircut and a tan.

But the old Shane was pale and pasty, with hair down to his waist.

At five foot eight he was overweight at 15 and a half stone.

A lover of junk food he often ate two takeaways a day, and spent the rest of his time snacking on chocolate and crisps.

He admits that he had become lazy and moody – wanting to sit on the sofa rather than go out with his girlfriend, Helen Peel.

In April this year Helen ended their six year relationship.

He was devastated. But it was the catalyst he needed to transform his life.

Shane had wanted to get fit for a while. Within a week of Helen leaving, Shane, who lives in the New Forest started hitting the gym – hard.

“I put all my anger and upset into getting fit,” says Shane, who works in music marketing.

He began to go to the gym for two hours every day. He also transformed his diet.

“The first time I went shopping on my own I walked around with my brain switched off,” says the 23-year-old.

“I came out of the shop without even knowing what I’d bought. I had things in my bag that I would never normally buy like turkey and salad. I think your body knows what it wants but you over programme it with junk food.”

He found that by using spices he could make healthy food taste just as good as the junk he used to fill up on.

Within three weeks Shane had lost an incredible two stone and after nine weeks his weight had dropped to 12 stone. Since then his weight has dropped to just ten and a half stone.

“I was excited to think ‘wow I’m really progressing’,”

he says.

“But I still felt like I was a failure and I couldn’t keep my girlfriend. That’s what’s inspired me up to now because I still kind of think the same thing,” he admits.

Initially Shane was training for two hours to lose weight.

Now he is working on building muscle and maintaining his fitness and has changed his programme to a more manageable 45 minutes to one and a half hour sessions, six times a week.

Helen says that while Shane’s weight was never an issue for her, she is very proud of what he has achieved.

But he has been getting a lot more attention with his new physique.

He has even been invited to become an ambassador for the charity Active Nation to help promote fitness.

“Some people who didn’t talk to me before talk to me now. It’s funny more than anything,” he adds.

“They are shallow and now they want to be my friend.

They are clearly people who only care about how you look.”

• Find Shane’s Facebook fitness page under Taste Don’t Build Muscle.