Man looks unrecognisable after shedding a whopping eight stone – thanks to an incredibly simple switch
A former binge-drinking DJ who weighed over 22 stone has revealed he shed a colossal amount weight in just one year by ditching ultra processed foods.
Liam Willers, 35, from Cheshire, lost a mammoth 7st 8lb after realising he had ‘no control’ over his eating and drinking habits.
The former DJ said he used to only eat unhealthy processed meals, starting the day with croissants before snacking on sweets and crisps and ending on a takeaway.
‘I just couldn’t look after myself – I was drinking very heavily and had no control over my eating habits as well’, he said.
‘I’d be staying up until 3am, whether that was trying to make beats or smoking. I was waking up and not liking the person that I was looking at in the mirror.
‘To put on a white t-shirt, a double XL and look at myself, that was really hard’, he told his brother, Sean, on his podcast.
But, after hitting rock bottom — regularly spending up to £350 a week on drugs and alcohol — he knew it was time to change his destructive habits.
Mr Willers put his weight and low mood down to his lifestyle, which often saw him begin partying on a Wednesday and continue for the rest of the week.
Liam Willers weighed 22st 8lb before he decided something needed to change
Mr Willers dropped 7st 8lb in a year, thanks improving his diet and regular exercise
In a mark of how far he’s come in his health journey he ran the 26.2 mile run London Marathon last month
He said that admitting he had a problem was the hardest part of the journey.
Mr Willers began to turn things around with the help of his brother, Sean, 37, a personal trainer and fellow former DJ who gave up the career in pursuit of a healthier lifestyle.
‘He gave me the power to take that first step, and sometimes that is all it takes to completely transform your life, Mr Willers said.
He started with a ‘benchmark’ of two 5-kilometer-long runs a week and completely changed his diet – swapping the takeaways for whole foods.
These are foods that like that are not or minimally processed like fresh fruit and vegetables and whole grains.
Mr Willers said changing his diet made the biggest difference in his transformation.
‘Nutrition is the most important thing. Just changing from an ultra-processed diet to a whole foods diet will make a massive impact,’ he said.
Mr Willers now has a protein packed breakfast of eggs and sourdough bread, snacks on fruit and oats to boost his fibre intake and has protein paired with either rice or potatoes for dinner.
After hitting rock-bottom and spending hundred of pounds on drugs and alcohol, Mr Willers decided to enlist his brother’s help
Liam said when he was DJing and drinking he neglected his family
He recalled how it was really hard to look at himself in the mirror and face family and friends, which gave him the motivation he needed to slim down
‘It wasn’t long before my body began thanking me’ he said.
‘I found it easier to get up in the morning, after previously sleeping until midday.
‘I was losing around a kilo a week, so the results weren’t massive to start with. But I had a lot more energy and it aggressively snowballed from there,’ he added.
He then began to train more with his brother, starting with three at-home full-body sessions a week, using resistance bands, alongside his running and diet.
This combination of healthy eating and exercise completely changed his life, providing him with the discipline and stamina to run this year’s London Marathon.
‘The resistance band training led to me joining the gym and starting a weight training routine, and the 5k built to 10k, which built to a half marathon and then a marathon.’
‘I now have quite the routine with a lot of discipline’, he added.
He added that the mental transformation he experienced has had a much more profound impact on his life than his physical one, enabling him to reconnect with his family.
‘My productivity levels almost ten-folded over night because I went from somebody that couldn’t get up in the morning to waking up at 5am every single day,’ he said.
Liam is now a partner at his brother’s fitness coaching platform, helping others to transform not only their physical appearance but their mental health too
The Nova system, developed by scientists in Brazil more than a decade ago, splits food into four groups based on the amount of processing it has gone through. Unprocessed foods include fruit, vegetables, nuts, eggs and meat. Processed culinary ingredients — which are usually not eaten alone — include oils, butter, sugar and salt
‘When I was deep in the DJing and drinking, I neglected all my family. I’ve now spent time rebuilding those relationships’ he added.
Mr Willers now hopes to inspire other people looking to make a similar transformation but warns there are no shortcuts.
‘You have to do the work, there are no shortcuts, but don’t be afraid of making a start.
‘A lot of people don’t originally start this journey because they’re scared on failure’, he said.
‘Nutrition is the most important thing. Just changing from an ultra-processed diet to a whole foods diet will make a massive impact.
‘I also recommend resistance training, which is the bread and butter foundation of my training.
‘But at the end of the day, it’s important to find something you enjoy and lean into that. For me, it was running,’ he added.
Despite having a tendon injury, Mr Willers completed the London Marathon last month, putting his incredible transformation down to a better diet.
